Red Bank Council Plans To Trim $50,000 From Proposed Budget

RED BANK, NJ – The Borough of Red Bank is still operating on a temporary budget as council members opted not to use a proposed spending plan on July 22. Instead, the council will seek to pass an amendment to cut $50,000 from the $23.2 million proposed budget and keep the municipal tax increase to 3%.

A public hearing for the budget will take place on Aug. 19.

Borough business administrator Ziad Shehady mentioned in the Wednesday meeting that officials pinpointed several areas of funding to slash – namely recreation services and redevelopment agencies – in order to lower the proposed tax increase. According to the official, the borough has seen revenue from construction, permit fees and hotel occupancy taxes drop in the double digits from 2019.

In the proposed plan, residential and commercial property taxpayers are slated to hand over nearly $14.17 million in a local tax levy for municipal operations and an added $787,640 in taxes to support the Red Bank Public Library, according to CentralJersey.com.

Last year, the borough’s budget amounted to $22.99 million, with municipal operations supported by $13.45 million. The library was supported by a $766,853 tax from property owners, with the total amount raised approximating $14.21 million.

From 2019 to 2020, the total amount in taxes to be raised is roughly $740,000.

Council members Kathleen Horgan, Kate Triggiano, Hazim Yassin and Erik Yngstrom voted to amend the proposed budget, while members Michael Ballard and Ed Zipprich voted against the motion.

The passage of an amendment to trim the budget is considered “the most beneficial for residents” by Yassin, who is a member of the finance committee. “We waited on bills from the state and that put us late in the game," the council member said.

Most other Monmouth County municipalities passed 2020 budgets between April and June of this year.

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