Municipal Taxes for Average Westwood Homeowner Will Rise $29

Westwood council members unanimously approved the 2011 municipal budget Tuesday night, which will raise taxes for the average borough homeowner by $29 for the year. The average house in Westwood is $398,240.

The approved budget comes in at $16,423,222, which is $16,429 less than the 2010 spending plan. The tax levy in the 2011 budget increased $338,657 to $11,957,786.

The budget uses $1.36 million of the borough's surplus, which represents 60 percent.

CFO Ray Herr explained, "The borough has had a consistent policy of using 50 percent of available surplus every year as a revenue source in the budget. This year, however, we were forced to use 60 percent in order to balance the budget."

Herr added that the use of surplus was still less than other municipalities similar in size to Westwood. He said he disagreed with state officials who he said have made clear they want municipalities to deplete their surpluses. Herr compared the surplus to a savings account and said, "You have to have something in the bank for a rainy day."

Councilman Peter Grefrath, who is head of the Finance Committee, outlined the major increases in expenditures. He said police salary and wages increased $143,000, state pension contributions rose $104,000 and payment to the Bergen County Utility Authority went up $84,000.

Grefrath also explained the breakdown of Westwood residents' tax bills. He said the municipal portion of the bill is 29.8 percent, the county portion is 10.3 percent and the school district is 59.9 percent.

Auditor Gary Vinci said the county has not yet adopted a budget so he was unable to provide numbers to residents about that portion of their tax bill. He also explained that because of a new state mandate, residents will now see a separate line item on their tax bills showing the amount they're paying for the library. Grefrath said $682,166 was in the budget for the municipal library.

Before approving the 2011 budget, council members accepted a resolution to amend the spending plan. Grefrath said it was "primarily a last minute change by the state in the tax levy cap regarding the library."

The total reduction in the budget was $12,662. Grefrath said the resolution removed $6,700 from Westvale Park, $500 for Finance, $300 for the Tax Assessor, $4,262 for Tipping Fees and $5,000 for Pension. The resolution added $4,100 for Police.

Grefrath thanked members of the borough Finance Department, Finance Committee, the auditor, department heads and the governing body as a whole for all the work that went into keeping the increase of the municipal portion of residents' taxes within one-tenth of a percent of the 1 percent target.

"In these economic times, that is something we are all proud of," Grefrath said.