Brundage: Committee Could Propose Reduced Budget

Paramus could see the first reduction in its budget in years, Councilman Alan Brundage said at Tuesday's budget meeting.

The state mandates that municipal budgets can't increase by more than 2%, and with Gov. Chris Christie's announcement that municipal aid will stay flat at $538,090 the Borough is already below that threshold, and can legally submit a budget immediately.

"We were planning on a substantial reduction in state aid," Brundage, chairman of the Budget Committee, said.

Brundage had expected aid to be cut by $500,000 but its retention means Paramus is $300,000 below the 2% cap. At this point, Paramus is legally able to submit a budget to the state, but Brundage will seek $600,000 more in cuts, with an eye toward the 2012 budget, when a 2009 pension deferment comes due.

Brundage didn't specify where the cuts would come, but said his goal was not to increase the burden on taxpayers or Borough employees. He said there could be a reduction in the Borough workforce, but not on the scale of last year's layoffs.

Brundage tempered the good news from the state with the fact that land values in Paramus keep dropping. The value of taxable properties in Paramus declined almost $40 million from 2010 to 2011.

The decline in values means the tax rate for individual households will likely increase, even if the budget remains flat.

The committee should be able to propose a budget for public review by its March 8 meeting, Brundage said. After that, they'll get started immediately on the 2012 budget.