Manchester Municipal Budget Comes With No Tax Increase

Manchester Township residents will see no increase in their municipal taxes, under the proposed budget introduced at the Township Council meeing Monday night.

The overall 2015 budget is $32,153,971, up just over $605,000 from the 2014 budget of $31,548,169. The 2015 tax levy is $21,116,544, a $42,728 increase from the 2014 tax levy of $21,073,816.

Mayor Kenneth T. Palmer said the overall budget increase includes more than $500,000 for the purchase of a generator for the town, for which the town is receiving a federal grant via Hurricane Sandy funding to cover about 90 percent of the cost.

The proposed budget also reflects a $700,000 decrease in the township’s costs for health insurance, Palmer said. A committee looked into other options for health insurance providers, and the town’s current carrier came back to them with a lower price, he said.

The original estimate was $5.6 million, Palmer said, but as a result of them shopping around, the final cost came in at $4.9 million.