Sunday, September 5, 2010
BY TERESA EDMOND
Suburban Trends
STAFF WRITER
Although the municipality will spend less, taxpayers will be taxed more because of the hits the borough took in state aid and revenues.
And while the borough had to decrease budget line items due to the revenue drop, residents were not content with the outcome.
At the Aug. 17 meeting, the Borough Council adopted the 2010 municipal budget that totals $14.4 million. This year's municipal budget translates to a $281 increase on the average assessed home of $356,235 in the borough. That $281 increase includes county, Lakeland Regional High School and Ringwood’s kindergarten through grade eight school taxes, according to Borough Auditor Charles Ferraioli.
The 2010 municipal tax levy is $10,007,344, compared to the 2009 tax levy of $9,140,143. That's an $867,201 increase.
Meanwhile, the total $14.4 million budget is down 6 percent or $913,000 from the 2009 total budget of $15.3 million.
The borough has taken a roughly $1.8 million hit in this year's revenue in terms of grants, surplus, interest on investments and state aid. Shortfalls include a $675,000 surplus reduction in 2010, a $415,000 state aid decrease for 2010, and $55,000 less in interest on investments this year than in 2009. In addition, grants are down approximately $640,000, according to Borough Clerk/Manager Kelley Rohde.
The budget was introduced at the June 29 council meeting.
Budget cuts
In order to make up for the revenue shortfall, the borough had to shave $966,123 from the 2010-11 municipal budget, Rohde said at the Aug. 17 council meeting.
Among the cuts were $126,210 from the Department of Public Works (DPW), $54,785 from administration, $40,000 from legal, and $104,865 from engineering.
The DPW budget trim was "probably the largest line item," including street and road maintenance, snow and ice, vehicle and equipment maintenance, solid waste and recycling, public buildings and sewer, Rohde said.
For residents, all of the 2010 trimming efforts may not be enough.
"While you made some steps, it seemed analogous to every municipality not doing enough and not facing the reality," resident Ned Clausen said. "The public officials seemed to be disengaged from the public."
Resident Dennis Licalsi, a 30-year resident, called Ringwood taxes "ridiculous." He said he was "surprised" more people didn’t show up at the final budget meeting.
"The fact remains that taxes are too high. We’re getting less and less, and there’s more people still employed in this township making lots of money," he said.
The budget cut presentation was "interesting but a little misleading" because the borough compared the reduced numbers to the 2010 introduced municipal budget rather than to last year’s budget, said resident Robin Canetti.
"It’s kind of like apples and oranges," she said.
When another resident asked a similar question, Mayor Ted Taukus responded that the presented 2010 budget cuts were compared to the 2009 municipal budget, not the 2010 introduced budget.
Canetti also found it "interesting" that the borough hired a new fire inspector at a decreased salary, thus saving $5,952. In the past, Canetti argued that the borough should not have tapped Deputy Borough Manager Scott Heck as the DPW director "at the top" of the salary guide.
When Heck was hired as the new DPW director, his salary was $95,000 as DPW director and $10,000 plus benefits as deputy borough manager.
Canetti also said that the borough cut over $966,000 from this year’s budget, yet adopted a $1.1 million ordinance that would include bonding – the second taken out in three years, she said. Last July, the Borough Council adopted a $1.1 million allocation for various improvements throughout the municipality.
"I appreciate the cuts you have made, but I think you could have done better in areas if you tried to be a little less hypocritical," Canetti said.
E-mail: edmond@northjersey.com
Although the municipality will spend less, taxpayers will be taxed more because of the hits the borough took in state aid and revenues.
And while the borough had to decrease budget line items due to the revenue drop, residents were not content with the outcome.
At the Aug. 17 meeting, the Borough Council adopted the 2010 municipal budget that totals $14.4 million. This year's municipal budget translates to a $281 increase on the average assessed home of $356,235 in the borough. That $281 increase includes county, Lakeland Regional High School and Ringwood’s kindergarten through grade eight school taxes, according to Borough Auditor Charles Ferraioli.
The 2010 municipal tax levy is $10,007,344, compared to the 2009 tax levy of $9,140,143. That's an $867,201 increase.
Meanwhile, the total $14.4 million budget is down 6 percent or $913,000 from the 2009 total budget of $15.3 million.
The borough has taken a roughly $1.8 million hit in this year's revenue in terms of grants, surplus, interest on investments and state aid. Shortfalls include a $675,000 surplus reduction in 2010, a $415,000 state aid decrease for 2010, and $55,000 less in interest on investments this year than in 2009. In addition, grants are down approximately $640,000, according to Borough Clerk/Manager Kelley Rohde.
The budget was introduced at the June 29 council meeting.
Budget cuts
In order to make up for the revenue shortfall, the borough had to shave $966,123 from the 2010-11 municipal budget, Rohde said at the Aug. 17 council meeting.
Among the cuts were $126,210 from the Department of Public Works (DPW), $54,785 from administration, $40,000 from legal, and $104,865 from engineering.
The DPW budget trim was "probably the largest line item," including street and road maintenance, snow and ice, vehicle and equipment maintenance, solid waste and recycling, public buildings and sewer, Rohde said.
For residents, all of the 2010 trimming efforts may not be enough.
"While you made some steps, it seemed analogous to every municipality not doing enough and not facing the reality," resident Ned Clausen said. "The public officials seemed to be disengaged from the public."
Resident Dennis Licalsi, a 30-year resident, called Ringwood taxes "ridiculous." He said he was "surprised" more people didn’t show up at the final budget meeting.
"The fact remains that taxes are too high. We’re getting less and less, and there’s more people still employed in this township making lots of money," he said.
The budget cut presentation was "interesting but a little misleading" because the borough compared the reduced numbers to the 2010 introduced municipal budget rather than to last year’s budget, said resident Robin Canetti.
"It’s kind of like apples and oranges," she said.
When another resident asked a similar question, Mayor Ted Taukus responded that the presented 2010 budget cuts were compared to the 2009 municipal budget, not the 2010 introduced budget.
Canetti also found it "interesting" that the borough hired a new fire inspector at a decreased salary, thus saving $5,952. In the past, Canetti argued that the borough should not have tapped Deputy Borough Manager Scott Heck as the DPW director "at the top" of the salary guide.
When Heck was hired as the new DPW director, his salary was $95,000 as DPW director and $10,000 plus benefits as deputy borough manager.
Canetti also said that the borough cut over $966,000 from this year’s budget, yet adopted a $1.1 million ordinance that would include bonding – the second taken out in three years, she said. Last July, the Borough Council adopted a $1.1 million allocation for various improvements throughout the municipality.
"I appreciate the cuts you have made, but I think you could have done better in areas if you tried to be a little less hypocritical," Canetti said.
E-mail: edmond@northjersey.com