Politics & Government

Eatontown Introduces $22 Million Budget

The budget introduced by the Eatontown Borough Council at the March 9 meeting translates into a $80.60 increase for homeowners next year.

Eatontown’s borough council introduced its $22 million budget for 2011 on March 9 that will translate into an $80.60 annual increase for the owner of a $310,000 home.

That increase brings the amount residents will pay for the municipal portion of the tax bill to $2,111.10 for the average residential assessment, which is up 3.97 percent from 2010.

The average residential assessment for 2011 is $308,112; the 2010 average residential assessment was $309,381.

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A public hearing and further discussion of the introduced budget will be held on April 13 at 7:30 p.m. at borough hall.

The proposed budget stays below the newly imposed 2 percent cap on property taxes mandated by the state, according to Borough Auditor Robert S. Oliwa, with the exception of certain appropriations that are allowed by law to surpass the cap. These line items include employee health insurance, police salary and wages and pension increases.

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The introduced local tax rate for 2011 will be 68.1 cents per $100 of assessed value, an increase of 2.6 cents or 3.97 percent over the 2010 local tax rate of 65.5 cents.

The amount to be raised by taxation for local tax purposes totals $14.4 million and is under the allowable local property tax levy cap by $53,569, according to Oliwa. That is an increase of $473,821 or 3.4 percent over the 2010 level.

The borough received $1.46 million from the state in aid for 2011, which remains flat from last year and down $605,195 since 2008.

Total 2011 budget appropriations have decreased by $524,782 or 2.33 percent from the 2010 adopted budget as amended.

The borough’s revaluation last year brought a $11.47 million decrease to Eatontown’s ratables. Mayor Gerald Tarantolo suggested at the meeting that the borough reassessments annually to keep ratables current and avoid major shifts in the tax impact.

Following the budget presentation, the mayor said that he felt positive about the fiscal state of the borough following a recent meeting with officials from neighboring boroughs.

Citing the layoffs and furloughs other municipalities are imposing to accommodate the 2 percent cap on the property tax levy, Tarantolo said that in comparison, “I felt pretty good after hearing some of the horror stories.”


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