No Change in State Aid to Borough, Township For 2012

State aid to Westwood and Washington Township for 2012 will remain the same as in 2011, according to numbers released by the Department of Community Affairs Thursday.

Westwood will receive $1,019,536 and Washington Township will receive $713,525. Westwood Chief Financial Officer Ray Herr said state aid has not increased in several years.

"Getting the same number is a bit of a relief, but it's not great news," Herr said. "It's better than having to make the revenue up somewhere."

According to Washington Township CFO Jacqueline Do, the mayor and council had been working with the assumption that state aid would remain the same.

Both the borough and township governments are currently in the process of creating their budgets for the year. Herr said that even a small increase in aid would help make up for increasing expenses. Municipal governments have to find other sources of revenue while cutting costs as much as possible, Herr said. Westwood officials previously said they hoped to finalize a budget with a maximum 1 percent increase.

"You are limited in how you can take revenue in," Herr said. "Trying to cut costs to the bone is getting more and more difficult."