Analysis: If Budget is Approved, NJ Faces Fiscal Crisis Next Spring

One-shot revenues, tax cuts, pension debt, and borrowing blow $2.5 billion hole in FY2014 budget.

Article written by Mark J. Magyar for NJSpotlight.com. If the Legislature approves the proposed $31.7 billion FY13 budget and the tax cut that Gov. Chris Christie is demanding, New Jersey will face a built-in $2.5 billion hole in the following year’s FY14 budget – a gap almost twice as large as the combined increase in income, sales, and corporate taxes that Christie is projecting for the year ahead, a NJ Spotlight analysis shows. Even if the Democratic-controlled Legislature decides next year that the state cannot afford the controversial tax cut, the state would still need to come up with $2 billion in revenue growth in Fiscal Year 2014 just to cover the required increases in pension costs, transportation borrowing and already-approved …

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Hightstown Council Approves Budget with Tax Increase

Loss of state revenue is a problem the Borough is facing, according to the mayor.

Hightstown residents will be seeing a $72 tax increase on the average assessed house in the Borough after the 2012 budget was passed unanimously Monday night. The average residential property is assessed at $266,798 and Mayor Steven Kirson said the hardest part for the town is finding revenue to replace what they have lost from the state. “The issue here for the municipality is not so much on the expense side, its producing revenue. We are 1.2 square miles and built out with the lack of ability to attract substantial rateables,” Kirson said. In 2007 the borough received more than $900,000 from the state, and that has decreased to around $500,000 in 2011 and 2012. “The biggest deal for us is how do we replace the $400,000 that we had just a…

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East Windsor Council Approves Budget with Tax Increase

The state withholding Energy Tax Receipts is contributing to the tax increase, Mironov said.

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 state withholding large portions of Energy Tax Receipts from municipalities, 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 …

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Tax Increase Proposed in Hightstown Budget Introduction

The budget allocates for two additional police officers.

Hightstown council members introduced a budget Monday calling for a $72 tax increase on the average assessed house in the Borough. The average residential property is assessed at $266,798. “I’m satisfied we were able to have a relatively small increase this year,” said Mayor Steven Kirson. The majority of the 1.58 percent tax levy increase comes from contracted health benefits, raises under union contracts, loss of revenue from the Cranbury 9-1-1 contract, the allocation for two new hires in the police department and a decrease in property value, according to Borough Administrator Michael Theokas. No expenses from Hurricane Irene are in this year’s budget. The budget allocates $100,000 for two additional police officers, and overtime costs…

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Patti P

11:10 am on Saturday, April 7, 2012

From what I hear they are replacing retirements, not hiring additional officers. They are staffed at early 1980's levels from a time when EW was about half the size it is now. They are doing less with less and would have had a heck of a time responding as well as HPD was able to do during the storm. Their just stretched too thin manpower-wise.   more ›

Cranbury Approves 2012 Budget, Residents Face Tax Increase

The tax rate has increased by 1.5-cents, or about $93 more annually on the average assessed home.

Cranbury residents can anticipate on average a $93 increase in taxes from 2011, now that the Township Committee has approved the 2012 municipal budget. The budget calls for a tax rate of .410, increasing yearly taxes to about $2,481 for the average home assessed at $605,143. The budget passed 4-1, with committee member Jay Taylor voting against it. Taylor said the committee was unanimous in the spending plan for 2012, but he felt the 1.5-cent increase in tax rate was too much. “I looked at the numbers and based on the data available I felt it was appropriate to increase the rate anywhere from half a cent to one cent,” he said in an email Tuesday. “The additional half a cent difference was not material in terms of it coming from our overall…

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Week in Review

Week in Review: NJDEP Communication Mix-up on Fluoridation, Charlie Brown's Opened Wednesday

A review of the week's top stories.

NJDEP Mix-up May Have Led to No Water Fluoridation Public Notice A communication gap at the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection may have contributed to the public not being informed of the removal of fluoride from the borough’s water supply. Click here to read more. Charlie Brown's Opening Wednesday, Liquor License Approved Charlie Brown's Steakhouse will be open on Wednesday after the transfer of the liquor license was approved by the East Windsor Township council Tuesday night.  Click here to read more. 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. Click here to read more. Police …

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Proposed East Windsor Municipal Budget Calls for Tax Increase

The mayor said 25 percent of tax levy is imposed by state officials.

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 …

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NJ Top Education Official and Superintendent Talk Budget, State Aid

East Windsor Regional School District's state aid is up about $1.2 million this year.

Superintendent Edward Forsthoffer briefed Acting Education Commissioner Chris Cerf on the proposed school budget and impact of the district’s state aid allocation on Thursday, before giving the state’s top education official a tour of Hightstown High School. This year the East Windsor Regional School District received about $18.3 million in aid, up from about $17.1 last year, and will mainly be used to purchase a comprehensive K-5 literacy program and hire additional staff, Forsthoffer told Cerf. “We weren’t happy with our elementary school literacy scores, so we’re really investing in a comprehensive program,” Forsthoffer said, noting if not for state aid they would have needed to purchase the program through a series of installments. The…

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Cranbury Budget Proposes 1.5-Cent Tax Increase

A public hearing on the budget will be held March 26.

Cranbury residents will face a 1.5-cent increase in taxes this year if the 2012 budget proposed at Monday’s township committee meeting passes. The 2012 total budget is $10,822,802.38, down from last year’s budget, which was $11,696,172.34. Although the budget is lower, the tax increase is attributed to the loss in total assessed property value in town. Mayor David Cook said they had to make cuts in every area of the budget, including personnel, municipal alliance, recreation and police. “It’s probably the hardest budget that I think the town has probably had to put together in 20 years. The pressure from state and county services has been enormous as far as cutting, yet the cost of pension and healthcare and insurance increased,” Cook said…

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The Politics of the Budget

Christie got his way on his first two budgets. Will this be the year Democratic leaders say 'No'?

Written by Mark J. Magyar for NJ Spotlight. Despite being a Republican Governor with a Democratic-controlled legislature, Chris Christie got the budgets he wanted during his first two years in office. But if Democratic legislative leaders are to be believed, that’s going to change this year. The Fiscal Year 2013 budget that Christie will unveil Tuesday poses less of a fiscal challenge than Christie’s first two budgets, but Christie raised the political stakes by calling for a 10 percent income tax cut heading into his reelection year. Democrats quickly pounced on the proposal as a tax cut for the rich, with Assembly Majority Leader Lou Greenwald (D-Camden) pointing out that millionaires could go on an exotic vacation with their $7,265 tax …

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