'Major Hurdles' Prompt Montville Twp. Tax Increase

On June 22, the Montville Township Committee unanimously voted the proposed budget for 2010 into adoption.

"The bottom line is, there were major hurdles to be dealt with," Township Administrator Frank Bastone said.

The budget, which was first introduced on May 25, features a 1.71 percent increase in municipal taxes over the previous year. The raise in taxes comes as a result of loss of revenue for the township, officials said.

The revenue drain stemmed from a reduction in government funding and a decline in town surplus due to tax appeals. All told, the two items combined for a loss of almost 1.5 million dollars to the township, officials said.

The committee was able to negotiate with the PBA, Superior Officers, Blue Collar and White Collar unions, as well as non-union employees, in order to avoid layoffs. The workers agreed to take salary concessions and personal cutbacks.

"We mitigated the loss of revenue as much as we could," Bastone said. "The most important thing were the salary concessions and early retirement."

Besides the tax increase, the police department has been forced to outsource its fleet maintenance. Public event funding has also been reduced.

Preliminary stages of the budget had the tax increase as high as 6.8 percent. The cuts to public events and police fleet maintenance, along with the salary and personal concessions of workers, resulted in the smaller tax increase. The committee was able to avoid layoffs by and large, with only two jobs being lost.

The two cut jobs were a part-time clerical position in the township assessor's office, and the director of social services.

"Social services has two components, senior citizen services and youth services," Bastone said. "The position is being replaced with two part-time positions, one for each."

The next committee meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, July 27.