PBA Pact, Health Insurance Costs Hike Bedminster Budget

The average property tax bill for municipal purposes will rise by $29.32 in 2013, township administrator Judith Sullivan said in a public presentation of the $10.5 million Bedminster Township budget at Monday’s committee meeting.

The public hearing on the budget and its expected adoption will be held April 15. The presentation given Monday on the budget can be found on the township's website. 

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That amount does not include county and school taxes, which have not been finalized, Sullivan said. The overall bill, she estimated, would be about $5,642.

The municipal budget is 2.2 percent higher than 2012 spending.

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

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

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

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

Sullivan 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.

Unlike other Central Jersey municipalities, Sullivan said, the costs incurred after Superstorm Sandy will not have an impact on the 2013 budget. The township’s total cost for overtime and cleanup was about $135,000, she said.

From there, the federal government through FEMA will pay about $100,000, with the remainder funded through the township’s emergency fund.

By comparison, Sullivan said, Bernardsville’s storm costs were about $2.5 million.

One bit of "good news," Sullivan said, is the fact that the township's debt is steadily decreasing. But the overall value of property in the township decreases by a little less than 1 percent, she said.

The final budget was determined after six township committee meetings, Sullivan said. The first draft of the budget, which included raw requests from department heads, called for a 6.7 percent increase, but officials whittled down that number.

“The 6.7 percent increase was a bit of shock,” committeeman Bernie Pane said. “I didn’t think we could get it down, but we did.”

“It’s still a tough time,” Mayor Steven Parker added, citing that officials still have to determine ways to get government in the Somerset Hills area and Somerset County to operate more efficiently.