Brick Municipal Taxes To Rise 2 Cents, Mayor Says

BRICK, NJ -- Brick Township’s municipal tax rate is expected to rise about 2 cents under the municipal budget proposed for 2016, Brick Mayor John Ducey said Tuesday night.

That increase, however, is much smaller than it could be, Ducey said, because the township is feeling a significant impact of Superstorm Sandy this year. The proposed budget also is contained below the 2 percent cap, he said.

The increase equates to $59 for a house assessed at $293,600, the township’s average assessment, Ducey said.

“This year’s budget is a fiscally sound one that continues our work to put Brick Township on a path towards a more fiscally strong and responsible future,” Ducey said.

The proposed budget includes costs and lost revenues due to Sandy that have a total impact of 11.3 cents on the municipal tax rate, he said. They are:

• A $6.9 million appropriation to pay down an emergency note taken out for Sandy recovery costs, equal to 6.7 cents on the tax rate;
• Continued impact of the loss of $357.7 million in ratables, with an impact of 2.04 cents;
• The elimination of an Essential Services grant that in 2015 was $2.1 million and helped offset the lost ratables and storm recovery costs. That is an impact of 2.08 cents, Ducey said.

Other items that had significant impact on the budget include increases in the cost of medical benefits and prescription coverage, which are rising 9 and 35 percent respectively, and increased contributions from the township to the state’s pension benefits fund, which Ducey said resulted from the state not funding its obligation to the system.

Areas where the township has made cuts and found savings, the mayor said, include a reduction in liability and workers compensation premiums (savings of $127,500 and $104,400 repspectively) as a result of improved workplace safety; a savings of $135,000 in the cost of animal control services by renegotiating the contract, and a savings of $134,000 by administering the Community Block Development Grant program in-house, Ducey said.

Ducey said the budget also continues his efforts to reduce the township’s overall debt, with what he expects will be another $2.3 million removed from the overall debt in 2016.