Tax Increase Proposed In Gloucester Township Amid Pandemic

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ — Amid a coronavirus pandemic that has left over 1 million New Jersey residents on unemployment, struggling Gloucester Township residents may soon be faced with an increase in their taxes.

The average Gloucester Township homeowner will see a total increase of $157.13 and a local increase of $203.51 in taxes annually if the proposed budget introduced during Monday night’s council meeting is passed next month. These numbers are according to a copy of the budget provided by the township clerk's office to Patch on Wednesday.

Gloucester Township Council unanimously approved a resolution to introduce the proposed $67,378,269.44 budget with a tax rate increase of about 10 percent Monday night.The public hearing and final vote on the budget will take place at the June 8 meeting.

In terms of cents, Cardis said the municipal increase will be 8.4 cents, with a penny on the tax rate equalling about $443,000.

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Salaries and wages are expected to increase overall from $25,764,667 to $27,125,095. The township is expecting a drop in revenues from the sale of alcoholic beverages ($55,000 to $52,000), fees and permits ($540,150 to $536,000), and recreation ($200,000 to $195,000).

The township anticipates $5,106,459 in state aid, but that number is based on the state budget address given by Gov. Phil Murphy in February, before the coronavirus pandemic threw the economy into complete disarray nationwide. Many anticipated revenues and expenses are blank in the introduced budget.

Another budget address will take place in late August, and officials expect it to impact state aid. When resident Pete Heinbaugh questioned why the township wouldn’t wait until that second address to introduce and approve the budget, Township Administrator Tom Cardis said it is strongly recommended by the state.

“It would be risky not to approve the budget,” Cardis said.

The municipal budget is part of the overall tax bill residents receive. The county, the Gloucester Township K-8 Public School District and the Black Horse Pike Regional School District make up the other portions of the tax bill. The other entities have proposed zero increases in taxes, with the high school district cutting taxes by 2.42 percent. Read more here: Black Horse Pike Schools Approve Tax Cut

At a time when businesses deemed non-essential by the state have been shut down for two months due to the outbreak of the coronavirus, residents who spoke during Monday night's meeting via telephone asked the administration to go through the budget carefully, looking for ways to save money.

The closures have resulted in nearly 1.1 million New Jersey residents filing for unemployment since March 16, according to the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

Some good news came in the last few days, when Gov. Phil Murphy announced non-essential businesses in New Jersey would be permitted to reopen for curbside pickup. Read more here: Gov. Phil Murphy To Reopen NJ Businesses Amid Coronavirus

However, many are concerned about what a return to normal will even look like in the long and short terms, both nationally and locally. Read more here: Gloucester Premium Outlets May Have Radically Different Reopening

Gloucester Township has increased the tax rate in five of the last 10 years, including 2018, 2016, 2014, 2012 and 2010. In years in which the rate has not increased, the budget has remained flat.

See related: NJ Coronavirus Updates: Here's What You Need To Know