Mayor: Taxing authorities holding the line for 2008

PLUMSTED- According toMayor Ron Dancer, Plumsted is poised to be one of a relatively fewmunicipalities inNew Jersey to have total property tax bills in 2008 with little or no increase over 2007.

This year, all four statutorily authorized entities with their separate capabilities to levy taxes- the Plumsted School District, Ocean County, the township and the fire commission - have either prepared or are in the process of finalizing 2008 budgets that would keep total tax dollars and rates at nearly the same level as last year, Dancer said.

In years past, one or two of the tax levy entities may be capable of not raising additional tax dollars, but rarely does it ever occur in one year that a school district, county, township and fire commission will adopt budgets resulting in total tax dollar increases being 1 percent or less, he said.

According to the mayor, this year in Plumsted, the school tax portion of the property tax bill, which is nearly 70 percent of the total, has a zero increase in tax dollars as prepared by the Plumsted Board of Education and to be voted upon by residents on April 15 between 1 and 9 p.m.

Dancer, who is also a state Assemblyman, said New Jersey's new school funding formula resulted in Plumsted receiving nearly $2 million in additional state aid for 2008-09.Also effective for the first time this year is legislation that limits, or caps, the amount of tax dollars that may be raised from one year to the next. The cap is 4 percent over the previous year's tax levy.

In Plumsted, the board kept the amount of taxes needed for the 2008-09 budget at the 2007-08 level- a 0 percent increase- while using the nearly $2 million in additional state aid to cover budget increases.

Regarding the other three components of a property tax bill, Dancer said Ocean County and the Plumsted Fire District have each adopted budgets with minimal changes from last year. The Ocean County Board of Freeholders' budget actually lowers the tax rate a few tenths of a cent, while the fire commissioners' budget carries an increase of only a few tenths of a cent.

According to the mayor, the Township Committee has prepared a draft 2008 budget that is slightly less in total spending and tax dollars than last year. Gov. Jon Corzine and his administration have proposed to reduce state aid to municipalities with populations of fewer than 10,000.

Plumsted's population is an estimated 8,200 and if the Legislature approves the governor's proposal, Plumsted could lose $156,000 in state aid.

Dancer said he and his fellow District 30 legislators, Sen. Robert Singer and Assemblyman JosephMalone, along with bipartisan support, are advocating that state aid to municipalities should be based on efficiency formulas, rather than population figures.

Dancer said that regardless of the outcome of the state aid situation, it is the resolve of the Township Committee to "live within its means" and not increase tax dollars or the local government tax rate of 9 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. According to the mayor, of the 566 municipalities in New Jersey that have a local government tax, there are only 6 municipalities that have a tax rate less than Plumsted's 9 cents.