Proposed East Windsor Municipal Budget Calls for Tax Increase

The East Windsor council proposed a budget that would increase taxes by about $47 from 2011 for an average residential property.

The proposed .415-cent tax rate translates to a yearly tax of $1,098 for average assessed house in town, Mayor Janice Mironov said at Tuesday's council meeting when the budget was formally introduced. 

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

The 2012 tax base has dropped by about $29 million because of a decline in valuation of property and the fund balance is also on the decline, Mironov said.

East Windsor has also seen a drop in rateables, which is consistent across the state in light of the economic conditions in the in the commercial and housing markets.

“It’s probably fair to say there’s less development overall in town and throughout most of the state,” Mironov said. 

Other factors that contributed to an increase in the budget included the increase in group medical, gasoline and the reserve for uncollected taxes, which is the money the town has to set aside to pay county and school taxes when residents do not get their taxes in on time, Mironov said.

Mironov said 25 percent of the municipal tax levy is imposed by state officials because they have . 

“It’s time they stop using municipal monies to plug holes in the state budget,” Mironov said. 

Under tax levy laws, the council could propose a budget with up to a 4-cent increase in taxes but kept it more than half under the cap, Mironov said.

The public hearing on the budget is scheduled for April 17.