Gloucester Township Awaits State Approval On Proposed Budget

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ — Although it held a public hearing on its proposed budget Wednesday night, Gloucester Township Council is still awaiting approval from the state before adoption can take place, Council President Orlando Mercado said.

In April, council introduced a proposed $64,288,627.63 budget with no tax rate increase. The budget is $1.7 million more than last year's budget. The total amount to be raised through taxation would be $47,829,279.04.

Council set aside a resolution amending the budget in case it had been approved by the state, but the township had not received word from the state as of Wednesday night.

During the introduction of the proposed budget in April, resident and Republican party chair Ray Polidoro told council he hopes that the budget is responsible, and that the council could “guarantee to the people of Gloucester Township that they won't see a budget increase for the next three years.” During Wednesday night’s council meeting, he reiterated that call.

“I can’t guarantee that, so no,” Mercado said.

“On the schedule you seem to keep, you raise taxes every other year, almost double digits each time,” Polidoro said. “So we’re probably going to get one next year. You still haven’t settled the contract with the police department, and I hope you don’t blame the police when you raise taxes next year because they’ve been working without a contract for 2 ½ years and it could’ve been settled long ago.”

Mercado said it was Polidoro who has been critical of spending for the police department in the past.

“The capital budget each of the last three years has increased spending for the police department,” Mercado said. “I have a budget from each year that shows how much I support our police department.”

Polidoro said his criticism in the past centered around the purchase of an armored rescue vehicle. Polidoro claimed the township used its own money at a time when a lot of towns were purchasing those using grants, but Business Administrator Tom Cardis said no grants were available for rescue vehicle purchases during that time. Polidoro maintained that they were.

Cardis said that the proposed budget is a responsible budget, and that it does take into account the township’s present and future financial status. There are some areas of the budget that the township controls, but some areas, such as pensions, are beyond the township’s control.

Resident Pete Heinbaugh pointed out that part of the $1.7 million increase from last year’s budget is due in part to the $1 million sale of the former radar site on the Nike missile base on Williamstown Road. In January, the township sold the site to a developer to build market rate housing units.

“Next year, we’ll still have this spending increase, but there will be no $1 million land parcel sale to help with that,” Heinbaugh said. “So we are on target for a tax increase next year, even if nothing else happens.”

Mercado said last year at this time, he wouldn’t have been able to say that the land was going to be sold, meaning the possibility of another large land sale within the next 12 months always exists.

“You can’t forecast what will happen,” Mercado said.

The township cut back on the amount of money it spends on grants by having the department heads fill out grant applications. Fees for attorneys have drastically increased over the last two years for lawsuits related to affordable housing, RCA and other litigation that wasn’t immediately known.

Heinbaugh also asked if Dave & Buster’s will receive a tax abatement when it opens at the Gloucester Premium Outlets in April 2020. Cardis said it has applied for one. Mercado called abatements a marketing tool as the township competes with surrounding towns for incoming businesses.

“That area doesn’t seem to need incentives,” Heinbaugh said, saying the outlets draw customers from all over the region and that it’s in a highly-trafficked area.

Cardis said any business that applies for an abatement and meets the criteria must be granted one or the township exposes itself to possible litigation.

“That just seems to be bad business all the way around,” Heinbaugh said.