Politics & Government

Council's Final Municipal Budget Approval Expected Tuesday

Amendment must be approved for township to receive all funding

Toms River council members are expected to give their final approval to the township's 2013 municipal budget Tuesday evening. 

Though the council held a public hearing and voted to approve the $116 million spending plan last week, another hearing and vote are required to approve additional funding, according to officials. That will take place during the council's 6 p.m. meeting Tuesday in town hall. 

The budget was designed to combat a potential spike in property taxes caused by the Superstorm Sandy. 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 last week, 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 before the council vote last week.

Find out what's happening in Toms Riverwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

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 has 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.

Find out what's happening in Toms Riverwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The complete draft agenda for the meeting is available here through the township's website


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