Ratables On the Rise As Brick BOE Introduces Budget

The Brick Township Board of Education introduced its tentative 2014-15 budget at a meeting Thursday night, though the spending plan is likely to change prior to a public hearing and adoption scheduled for next month.

The $143,415,057 budget will be supported by a $97,537,041 tax levy. The levy will remain nearly the same as in the current school year. The 2013-14 levy is $97,160,762.

But the tentative budget is based on 2013-14 spending levels and will change as officials crunch the number, Business Administrator James Edwards said.

"It will not look anything like it does today. I guarantee that," said Edwards. "It’s inevitable. It’s a tentative budget."

The Board of Education requested Edwards introduce a budget without a tax hike.

"If nothing is changed, the school tax portion of your tax bill will decrease," Edwards told a resident at the meeting.

Edwards said Brick Township's ratables are up about $50 million from last year, since some homes damaged during Superstorm Sandy are back on the tax rolls.

The revised budget will be up for adoption after a public hearing to be held April 24.