Same old good news in Plumsted

When it comes to talk of the municipal budget in Plumsted this year, let’s just say it’s the same old, same old news.

That’s good news for the residents of Plumsted where, for the 13th consecutive year, there will be no increase in the municipal tax rate,

According to the $3,175,681 budget the Township Committee has introduced, the municipal tax rate will remain stable at 12 cents per $100 of assessed valuation.

That is a notable achievement given the fact that in a major change from years past, the township now has a full-time police department.

How Plumsted’s police ex-penses are controlled in the future will be worth watching.

Overall, the 2002 municipal budget is $440,266 lower than the 2001 budget. In part that has been achieved because the capital budget has been reduced from $1.1 million in 2001 to $600,000 in 2002.

It’s also due in large part to municipal officials’ philosophy of paying for what the town buys when it is purchased.

That attitude of fiscal conservatism bought a new municipal building and a library and has not saddled the township with crushing long-term debt.

Whether this brand of budgeting would work in a larger community or whether Plumsted’s circumstances are unique, it remains a fact that elected officials in this municipality know the value of a dollar and continue to show a healthy respect for residents’ fiscal well-being.