Politics & Government

Amended Municipal Budget Receives Final Approval

Additional essential services funding added to budget

Toms River’s municipal budget, a spending plan that sees a tax decrease for the average homeowner, received final approval Tuesday.

Though a budget hearing was held last week, an additional $6.266 million in Community Development Block Grants Essential Services funding was not originally included upon initial council approval. That funding was added to the budget and approved by council members Tuesday.

The Essential Services funding must be dedicated to police, Department of Public Works and landfill costs, according to officials.

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The $116 million budget, officials said, was designed to combat a potential spike in property taxes caused by Superstorm Sandy.

“I think it’s unprecedented the amount of aid we were able to get from the state and federal government,” said council President George Wittmann

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Property owners at the average assessed residential valuation for 2013 of $234,597 will pay $1,245 in municipal taxes under the 2013 budget. That is a decrease from the 2012 payment of $1,413 for the average assessed valuation of $354,998, according to township Business Administrator Paul Shives.

But, Shives noted, the reassessment will impact each property’s taxes differently, as the tax rate itself increased from 2012 to 2013.

“The assessments vary due to the reassessments. Not everybody will see that savings,” he said during last week’s public budget presentation.

Property owners can apply the 2012 tax rate of .3981 per $100 of assessed valuation to their assessment that year and compare that to the .5309 tax rate per $100 of assessed valuation to their 2013 assessment to find the difference, Shives said.

Without the FEMA and state emergency funding to offset Toms River’s dramatic ratable base drop, the average tax payment would have been $1,559, according to Shives.

Councilman Brian Kubiel thanked Shives Tuesday for “putting on the boxing gloves” while dealing with state officials to secure funding for Toms River.

Officials said that the 2013 budget presented challenges because of Sandy’s impact to Toms River. Sandy, coupled with a reassessment that began before the storm hit, meant a $4 billion decrease in Toms River’s ratable base from 2012—it now stands at $11.36 billion. Since 2009, the base has dropped more than $6.2 billion, according to officials.

“For 80 percent of the people in Toms River, the storm was over when their power went back on,” Shives said last week. “There was no question we could diminish the level of service.”

Since officials didn’t want to reduce essential township services to make up the difference, several funding sources were used.

The township secured a $5 million FEMA Community Disaster Loan, $15.5 million in state Community Disaster Block Grant funding, and is expecting FEMA reimbursements of more than $7 million for storm-related costs, according to Shives.

“The singular focus in our preparation of the 2013 budget has been the continuation of a high level of service to our residents in spite of the monumental challenges we face in the continuing recovery after Superstorm Sandy,” Mayor Thomas Kelaher said in a statement.

Wittmann said that, between the school district and township, Toms River received

The $39 million in funding Toms River received from federal and state sources gives the township “breathing room” as rebuilding from Sandy continues, Wittmann has said.

“This has put the road to fiscal responsibility and on a path so we can weather this storm,” said council Vice President Maria Maruca last week.


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