Proposed Budget Discussed At Howell Council Meeting

HOWELL, NJ — The Howell Township Manager presented the proposed municipal budget to the Howell Council on Tuesday night.

According to Brian Geoghegan, Township Manager, the proposed budget of $55,562,000 includes a $719,000, or 1.31 percent, increase in spending from the current fiscal year. Municipal taxes are expected to raise $30,280,000, which is a 3.69 percent increase over the current fiscal year, in comparison to 2021.

“Breaking down the budget, a significant portion of that is salaries, our people, our employees, our police officers,” Geoghegan said.

Salaries are the largest part of the proposed budget totaling $25,303,961, a 2.60 percent increase over the current fiscal year.

Contractual and non-contractual pay increases account for the majority of the salary budget. In addition, the township plans to hire five new workers: two full-time EMTs, one police patrolman, one laborer and one EMS supervisor.

However, while certain aspects of the budget are increasing, the rate at which households are taxed has decreased by 2.8 cents per $100 of assessed property value to 35.82 cents, according to Geoghegan.

The average property assessment in Howell totals $416,890. Homeowners may see an estimated increase of $58 in the municipal tax levy. “This is based on the assessment value since last year,” Geoghegan said.

The final budget will be discussed at a public hearing and adopted on May 10, according to the Township Council's agenda from Tuesday.