Critics Challenge Gloucester Township On $59.3 Million Budget

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ — Gloucester Township residents won’t see an increase in their taxes from last year after council unanimously approved its $59,389,202.90 budget Monday night.

Critics of the budget pointed out during the public hearing that although there is no increase this year, residents are still feeling the pinch from previous budgets, including last year’s 12 percent municipal tax increase.

In fact, taxes have seen dramatic increases in a number of recent years. Gloucester Township Republican Chairman Ray Polidoro cited a 26 percent increase in 2010 that was followed by a zero percent increase the following year.

“There was a zero increase in 2011, but it was still 26 percent higher than it was before 2010,” Polidoro said. “You keep building the zero higher and higher.”

Polidoro consistently credits Democratic Mayor David Mayer’s administration with the increase, saying Mayer’s name and the names of the council members from that year are on the budget.

Council President Orlando Mercado, a Democrat, counters by pointing out the 2010 budget was introduced by Republican Mayor Cindy Rau-Hatton, whose term was shortened when the township changed its election system in 2009.

Mayer was elected into office and ultimately signed the budget, but the party responsible for that year’s budget and who wanted what increase has been debated between the two parties since. Mercado also pointed out that in 2009, the township saw a 22 percent increase under Rau-Hatton.

But the consensus among members of the public who spoke during Monday night's hearing on the 2017 budget is that taxes continue to increase, and the taxpayer needs a break.

“What has to happen for taxes to go down?” resident Joanne Carr asked.

She said people were upset after last year's increase, and are discouraged to think their taxes will never go back down.

Residents Sam Sweet and Dave Johnson said recent increases are a big reason they decided to challenge the incumbents in this year’s Democratic Primary races. Sweet is challenging David Mayer in the mayor’s race, while Johnson is running for one of three open seats on council.

“Taxes are through the roof and property values are down,” Sweet said. “ … Taxes have gone up two of the last eight years.”

“We would look at where we could minimize spending, and at least level it,” Johnson said.

The two candidates said they would go through spending with a “fine toothed comb” and look at every possible angle. While they might not be able to cut taxes, they said they would look at ways they could restructure them.

Last year’s increase was due to several factors, including clean up for a pair of major storms, a decrease in expected surplus and an increase in salaries and wages.

Business Administrator Tom Cardis and Chief Financial Officer Christie Ehret cited increases in cost of living, salaries and health care, as well as contract negotiations, as factors in keeping taxes level.

Cardis also said property taxes are expected to go up all over the state. While not saying it was impossible to reduce taxes, he did call the prospect very difficult.

During the public hearing, Polidoro suggested using some of this year’s surplus, which came in at $5,240,000 after amendments were made to the budget Monday night, to help pay for some of the township’s proposed projects. Using the surplus instead of borrowing the money would take some of the burden off the taxpayers, he argued.

Cardis countered by saying he doesn't like using the township's surplus to pay for projects, as that tends to have a negative effect on a municipality’s bond rating.

Gloucester Township’s current bond rating by Standard & Poor’s is A+. It is considered “upper medium grade.” The highest bond rating is AAA, which is considered “prime.”

Ehret said it is also better to pay the debt off over a period of time instead of using the surplus to pay it off all at once, and raising taxes due to a depleted surplus.

Last year’s surplus was $3,175,830. The dramatic increase from one year to the next was due in part to $1.7 million in FEMA reimbursement money, with the rest coming from varying sources, including $120,164 for an IRS error refund.

For the full list of what contributed to this year’s surplus, view Gloucester Township’s Annual Financial Statement for 2016 in the downloads section of the township’s website. The list is on sheets 19-20.

To view the township’s user friendly budget, click here.

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