Berkeley Council Adopts Municipal Budget With No Tax Increase For 2017

Taxpayers in Berkeley Township won't be paying any more in municipal taxes this year, according to the 2017 budget adopted by the Township Council on Monday night.

The $45,292,831 budget is down $1,174,961 from last year. Homeowners with a house assessed at the township average of $199,500 will pay $1,232 in municipal taxes, the same as last year, Mayor Carmen F. Amato Jr. said.

The municipal purposes tax rate remains the same as last year, at $.681 for each $100 of assessed valuation. The amount to be raised by taxation in 2017 has decreased by $47,525, to $31, 566,481.

"It will be five years this October since Superstorm Sandy caused so much damage to the township, and along the road to recovery in the last four years, we have been able to achieve an A+ bond rating, refund debt for cost savings, restructure labor agreements with only a 1.8 percent increase to employees including some years with no increase for one of the units," the mayor said in his budget message.

This will be the last year the township will have to make a $1.2 million payment for the special appropriation in emergency funds Berkeley received to help with Superstorm Sandy damage.

Amato, Township Administrator John Camera and Treasurer Frederick Ebenau started budget preparations this year with two goals - to keep as few as possible "dedicated quality employees" and to develop more township-wide activities.

The tax collection rate rose slightly in 2016, to 97.77 percent, a .29 percent increase in collections.

Other savings came from restructuring township departments and divisions to eliminate overtime costs for some department heads, the mayor said.

Thanks to a very mild winter, township officials were able to trim $350,000 from the snow removal budget, leaving a cushion of $150,000, the mayor said..

Image: Berkeley Township