Township Committee Passes $10.5 Million Budget

With no public comment and no discussion, the Bedminster Township Committee unanimously approved a $10.5 million budget Monday that will raise the average property tax bill for municipal purposes by $29.32.

The municipal tax bill on an average home assessed at $413,674 will be $1,125.

That amount does not include county and school taxes. The overall bill, township administrator Judith Sullivan has said, will be about $5,642.

The municipal budget increases by 2.2 percent over 2012 spending, and is in line with the increase in the consumer price index.

Contributing to the budget increase, Sullivan has said, is a 4 percent increase in the PBA contract and a $106,182 rise in employee health insurance premiums. Employees’ contribution of $104,485 will keep the net increase to 12 percent.

The increase would have been higher if the township had not left the state insurance plan and joined the Central Jersey Health Insurance Fund, Sullivan has said.

Also helping to keep costs down are an $11,123 decrease in police and fire pension costs and $5,000 in electricity costs realized through the installation of solar panels at the municipal building and the department of public works building.

Sullivan has also said that the township’s $1 million capital improvement program, which includes improvements to Country Club Road and new equipment for the Pottersville Fire Company, police department and public works department will be funded by surplus monies and $725,000 in grants.

State aid to the municipality will remain flat in 2013 at $866,000. That is a drop from $1.19 million in 2007.

Sullivan has also said the amount of money the township earns through investing its money has dropped significantly from $500,000 in 2007 to $40,000 this year because of the decrease in interest rates.