Borough Tax Would Rise About $128

A typical Morris Plains taxpayer would see property taxes rise about $128 under the budget the plans to introduce Thursday night.

The proposed 2012-2013 budget sets the tax rate at 69.4 cents per $100 of assessed valuation, up from 2011-2012's 66.2 ceents. For the owner of a home valued at the borough average of $400,000, that means an increase from $2,648 to $2,776 in municipal taxes. That figure does not include school and county taxes, which are established separately.

The total proposed budget of $12,523,979 increases a little over $5,000 from 2011-2012. The budget includes a 1.15 percent tax levy increase, which still remains under the 2 percent cap set by state law.

"I think that's a relatively tight budget in this day in age," said councilman Jason Karr. "I think it's pretty phenomenal." 

With school, county, and municipal taxes all factored in, the tax rate would be $1.98 per $100 of assessed valuation. For that $400,000 home, the owner would have to pay $7,928 in yearly taxes, which is a $380 increase from last year.

There are no new programs or staffing added to the budget that would increase spending, officials said. Council members said they're not eliminating any programs or jobs.

The anticipated surplus for the 2012-2013 budget is $1,250,000, which is a $50,000 increase from the current budget. The borough will receive $613,886 in state aid, which is the same amount it has received in the past few years.

Ana Thomas, the tax collector for Morris Plains, said that losing $51 million from rateables in 2011-2012 was a major issue in crafting this year's budget. The 2011-2012 budget included a 2.67 tax levy increase over 2010-2011.

"People don't realize that when their taxes go up a certain percentage because it's over the 2 percent cap that the governor puts in, a lot of it has to do if we lose rateables," she said. "Everyone has a portion of that to make up."

The council expected to adopt the budget after a public hearing May 3.