Belleville Mayor: ‘Drastic’ Budget Cuts Needed To Avoid Tax Hike

BELLEVILLE, NJ — Without “drastic” cuts to the municipal budget, Belleville residents may face a tax hike in the near future, Mayor Michael Melham says.

On Monday – a day before the Belleville Town Council prepares to introduce the municipal spending plan – Melham issued a call for “sweeping budget cuts” beginning Jan. 1, 2021.

Belleville’s proposed municipal budget would mean a tax increase of $298 for the average home assessed at $276,000. The municipal portion of a property owner’s taxes come in addition to county and school levies.

“The township council must consider drastic measures to cut spending,” Melham said. “I expect that my council colleagues will review the township manager’s proposed spending cuts and move forward on prudent initiatives that will limit tax increases in the future.”

Some possible spending reductions that are being considered include:

• voluntary furloughs, staff layoffs and/or demotions
• privatizing some municipal services
• developing more shared services agreements with surrounding municipalities

“While COVID-19 has certainly made this a challenging year, we need to prepare not just for next year, but for the years after that,” Melham insisted. “We need a solid long-term plan.”

As he’s suggested in the past, Melham said that the town will reap the tax benefits of new redevelopment that has been secured over the past two years. But “true tax stabilization” can only be achieved if new tax streams are coupled with a “strategic, consistent reduction in spending,” he added.

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