State Aid to the Town of Westfield Remains Flat

State aid to Westfield’s town government remains flat for 2013, as anticipated by members of Westfield's finance committee.

Documents released Monday by the State Department of Community Affairs showed that Westfield’s state aid will remain at $3,073,326 for the coming year, the same as it has been since 2011.

Councilman Sam Della Fera, chair of the finance committee, was not surprised by the figures released today.

"We began preparing our 2013 municipal budget weeks before the final numbers were available," he said. "While we would welcome an increase in state aid, being realistic, particularly in light of the challenges that the State faces in recovering from Sandy, we assumed that the funding level would be flat, as it was. So we were prepared for the news."

According to the DCA, Christie’s property tax reforms and stable aid funding are helping drive down the cost of local government and control property taxes for Union area taxpayers. The municipal aid funding total for Fiscal Year 2014 is $1.364 billion.

The following information is taken from a DCA press release: 

“This preserved funding means no town in Union County will see a decrease in formula municipal aid for the upcoming year. It also demonstrates that providing stable, predictable levels of municipal aid to support local governments and taxpayers is a core priority of my Administration,” said Christie in a press release. “Together with bipartisan reforms such as the 2% property tax cap, pension and health benefits changes, and a 2% cap on interest arbitration awards, we are delivering real relief to property taxpayers in New Jersey as evidenced by two consecutive years of the smallest property tax increases in two decades.”

In 2011, New Jersey homeowners saw a statewide average rise of 2.4% in property taxes. In 2012, the statewide average increase was just 1.4%, the lowest in 24 years.

“The Christie Administration is by no means finished with property tax reform. My Department stands ready to assist the Governor in his efforts at preventing municipalities from increasing user fees, ending accumulated sick and vacation leave payouts for government employees, and giving Union County’s municipalities greater flexibility in removing barriers to shared services,” said DCA Commissioner Richard E. Constable, III in the release. “Working with Governor Christie, we are committed to doing whatever we can to ensure that sustainable, long-term property tax relief continues.”

The fiscal year 2014 budget proposal continues to decrease the Transitional Aid to Localities Program, which reflects Governor Christie’s commitment to keeping this discretionary aid as a temporary program for municipalities that are transitioning to self-sufficiency. The coming fiscal year’s program is funded at $94.5 million, a reduction of $14.2 million from the FY13 appropriation. In the program’s first year in fiscal year 2011, 22 municipalities received aid. That number dropped to 11 municipalities in fiscal year 2012 and 10 municipalities in the current fiscal year. Transitional Aid awards are based on aid applications submitted to the DCA. The DCA will continue to oversee and assist distressed municipalities to help reduce their dependence on discretionary aid.

The new municipal state aid figures are available on the DCA’s website at http://www.nj.gov/dca/divisions/dlgs/resources/stateaidinfo.shtml.

Below is a list of Municipal State Aid to communities in Union County:

Municipality

State Aid

Berkeley Heights Township

$1,540,591

Clark Township

$1,788,527

Cranford Township

$2,900,712

Elizabeth City

$29,190,687

Fanwood Borough

$755,288

Garwood Borough

$490,186

Hillside Township

$4,314,699

Kenilworth Borough

$996,188

Linden City

$19,909,229

Mountainside Borough

$767,600

New Providence Borough

$1,303,819

Plainfield City

$7,777,999

Rahway City

$4,008,973

Roselle Borough

$2,441,981

Roselle Park Borough

$1,084,086

Scotch Plains Township

$2,227,587

Springfield Township

$1,753,357

Summit City

$3,023,257

Union Township

$6,137,868

Westfield Town

$3,073,326

Winfield Township

$191,489