Summit Budget Vote To Be Held May 26

SUMMIT, NJ — The city's $52.1 million budget, introduced at the March 24 Common Council meeting, will be up for a final hearing and vote on May 27.

The budget includes a $476,000 increase in the total amount to be collected for taxes, or the tax levy. But with the amount partly offset, it equates to only a .75 percent rise in the rate that each homeowner pays per $1,000 of property.

The city budget is one component of three that will determine a resident's total property tax bill this year. The school budget is expected to draw 50.7 percent of property taxes collected this year, and the Union County budget and county open space budget will draw 28 of a Summit property owner's taxes. The remaining fifth is attributed to the town budget.

An official said Friday that thusfar, no layoffs are anticipated in the spending plan. Nor will there be an increase in personnel. According to the city's March budget presentation, the city will maintain 198 full and part-time employees, down slightly from 200 in 2018. A full-time position in the Department of Community Programs will not be filled.

Some towns have had to propose layoffs to make up for emergency spending and a loss in revenues due to the coronavirus. Cities normally collect fees from businesses and courts, but will have to look to other revenue sources now, such as taxes, surplus, or aid, or keep spending flat.

The Summit budget, as currently proposed, maintains the city's current $6.9 million surplus.

The city also has proposed a $4.2 million capital budget for special projects, including a proposed parking structure. Last year's capital budget was $16.96 million, including a proposed firehouse.

The largest appropriations in the budget go toward salaries for city workers, including police and fire; benefits and pensions, debt service, and approximately $1 million in transfer station disposal charges.

To read the budget presentation and analysis from the city, click here.

If major changes are proposed before the budget's final vote, it would have to be reintroduced, then passed at a separate meeting.

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