East Windsor Council Approves Budget with Tax Increase

The East Windsor council unanimously approved the 2012 budget Tuesday night that calls for an increase in taxes.

Taxes will increase about $47 from 2011 for an average assessed residential property – to about $1,098, said Mayor Janice Mironov.

Mironov said there were no new positions or programs in the $20.2 million budget, and all municipal services will continue at the existing levels.

The primary cause of the increase is not spending, but rather a decline in the fund balance mainly from the state of the economy and the , Mironov said

According to Mironov, East Windsor was shorted $2.8 million from the state in 2012, which translates to 10 cents on the municipal tax levy, or about 25 percent of the municipal tax.

“We hope that situation will change,” Mironov said on the Energy Tax Receipts.

Other major costs in the budget included the cost of health insurance and gasoline, Mironov said.

“We believe this represents a responsible fiscally conservative maintenance budget that will well serve the residents of our community,” Mironov said.

Spending in 2012 is down from 2011, and is more than $1.4 million less than 2009, according to Mironov.