[ back ]
Budget adopted; municipal portion up $55
(by Megan Burrow - May 28, 2008)
The Borough of Westwood adopted its 2008 municipal budget Tuesday, May 20.
Amendments were made to include several grants the borough was able to secure from the state since the budget’s introduction April 1.
The eight grants will add $45,629 to the town’s general revenues for a total of $15,392,371. The grants include money for drunk driving enforcement, the “click it or ticket” program, and the alcohol education and rehabilitation fund. They will be offset by appropriations and will not effect the tax rate.
The municipal taxes make up about 34 percent of Westwood residents’ total tax bill, which also includes county and school district taxes.
The council will use $1,234,000 in surplus for tax relief in the budget, about half of the 2007 year-end total. Since 2002, the borough’s debt has been reduced every year, going down again in 2008 by $144,000 from $18,925,000 to $18,856,203.
At the May 20 council meeting, Councilman Peter Grefrath, stated the council’s goal for the 2008 budget was to ensure that each average household saw tax increases of $100 or less.
In the adopted budget, the owner of an average assessed home worth $395,000 will see their municipal taxes go up by $55 for a total of $2,638.60. Approximately $10.9 million of the budget will be raised through taxation.
“This wasn’t easy,” Grefrath said. “We did not get $153,018 from the state and we did not get $80,000 from
Pascack
Valley
Hospital . So, in essence we started out by losing $233,000.”
In the capital budget, the borough is spending a total of $1,710,000 on administration costs, $381,500 for the Fire Department and $54,000 for the Westwood Public Library. Upgrades to the
McKinley
Park tennis courts costing $125,000 and new lights for the fields in
Westvale
Park are part of the recreation budget, totaling $1,102,000.
The capital budget for the Police Department totals $122,900.
Grefrath credited Westwood Chief Financial Officer Ray Herr for explaining “almost daily” what “each new state mandate meant and how it was going to impact our budget.” He said the council would continue to look at ways to reduce expenses, including reducing energy costs by “going green.”
Megan Burrow's e-mail address is burrow@northjersey.com.
[ back ]
