County Slashing Spending, Tax Rate

The county freeholders unanimously approved a proposed $201.9 million budget Wednesday night that includes $4.3 million less in spending and a $3.9 million reduction in the county tax rate, dropping that rate to its lowest level since 1967.

The county tax rate will drop a penny, from 51.4¢ to 50.4¢, meaning the average West Deptford home assessed at $208,179 will see a savings of about $21 on their 2011-12 tax bill.

“Planning and shared services are the key to doing more with less,” Freeholder Director Robert Damminger said. “We made a pledge to the taxpayers to cut the tax rate and we are keeping that promise.”

The freeholders had to close an $18 million gap in the budget to reach the goal of cutting the county tax rate, and the bulk of that–about $7.5 million–came via attrition, union concessions and layoffs.

“We have eliminated 180 positions since 2008, while taking on important services to our residents and municipalities like EMS and regionalized tax assessing,” Damminger said.

Along with spending cuts, Damminger said, the county is also working on a seven-year debt service reduction plan that will aim to reduce the county’s debt–currently up around $330 million–by nearly a third, starting with paying off $23.1 million by the end of 2011.

Damminger pointed out that the county undertook several major projects, including the new Justice Complex in Woodbury, that took advantage of favorable market conditions, when interest rates and costs were lower.

The county is also not choosing to reduce the open space tax, Damminger said, a move that some other counties have used to show a reduction in the overall tax rate.

“Farmland preservation and saving open space are important to our residents,” he said.

Damminger said the county would use some of the surplus in the 2011 budget to help offset cost increases, as it has done in previous years.

“There are still several large industrial and commercial tax appeals that are looming,” he said. “This is not a matter of if we will have to pay, but a matter of when. It would be irresponsible to our taxpayers and to future generations to use more surplus now.”

County Treasurer Gary Schwarz noted that using more of the county’s surplus now to further slash the tax rate could leave the county in a deficit by 2015, and potentially leave the county cash-strapped when it comes time to pay the tax appeals.

Damminger said, “We are fiscally strong in Gloucester County and we won’t jeopardize our taxpayers’ futures with gimmicks.”

Now that the freeholders have approved the budget, it’s scheduled to be adopted at the April 20 meeting.