County Budget to Raise Taxes About $26

The owner of the average Hopatcong home assessed at $305,000 should expected a $25.89 increase in the county portion of their property taxes in 2012, according to the New Jersey Herald.

The newspaper reported that the Sussex County Board of Chosen Freeholders approved a $107 million budget, which boasts a $26.20 county-wide average tax hike, this year.

The newspaper, however, didn't report Hopatcong's county tax rate.

Earlier in the year, Patch reported the average borough homeowner could expect an $88 school tax increase while the municipal tax portion would jump $71.

Hopatcong's tax increase was the closest to the county average, the newspaper said, while Hardyston ($96.38) saw the biggest county tax raise and Bryam ($54.30) took the most severe drop.

The 2012 Sussex County budget is about $1 million, or just less than 1 percent, lower than the 2011 spending plan, the Herald said.

But the budget's total tax levy increased because the  county must absorb a $1 billion drop—down to $18.5 billion—in equalized assessment from last year, County Administrator John Eskilson told the newspaper.

The county has seen an approximately $3 billion equalized assessment fall since 2009, or when the current economic recession was in full swing, the newspaper said.

Click here to read the full New Jersey Herald article.