After Sandy Losses, Residents Ask School District for Diligence with Upcoming Budget

Toms River's ratable base estimated to have taken a 20 percent hit because of storm

On the heals of Hurricane Sandy and a drop in Toms River's ratables base, residents asked that school administrators carefully plan their 2013-14 budget.  Toms River officials have said that the township's ratable base has suffered a drop of an estimated 20 percent because of the devastation left in Sandy's wake. That loss will mean less revenue to collect for municipal, county and school funding. Some residents at the Board of Education meeting this week expressed concern that school officials  "I would not want to be in your shoes. I see Sandy's gift for 2013 is a tax hike," said resident Dennis Galante, who spoke during the meeting's public comment portion.  "How are you going to balance between the teachers, administration, staff, …

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Town to Decide Increased Tax Rate May 1

Toms River budget hearing is 6 p.m. May 1 in town hall

The Toms River Council will hold a public hearing on its proposed budget and tax increase at 6 p.m. May 1 at Town Hall, 33 Washington St. The 2012 budget employs a .3749 tax rate, a 1.4-cent rise over the 2011 rate of .3613. A spate of successful tax appeals and a township-wide loss of assessed valuation contributed to a proposed $100,681,043.31 spending plan that is 1.65 percent larger than the 2011 budget, Administrator Paul Shives said. The 2012 budget will be funded in part by a $65,017,507 tax levy that is $3,537,600 greater than the $61,479,907 2011 levy. Residents at the township average assessement of $355,056 would pay $19.72 more a quarter, or $78.86 a year. Reduced Base, Fixed Costs Shives said the administration largely kept …

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Direct from the Source

Councilman: Tax Appeals Affecting Toms River Budget

Column from Councilman George Wittmann

Column as submitted by Councilman George Wittmann: The Township introduced the 2012 calendar year budget at the March 27th Township Council meeting. The total budget increased by $1,634,711, or an annual increase of approximately 1.65% from 2011. The budget will result in a tax increase of approximately $2.85 cents per hundred dollars of assessed value which means that the average home assessed at $300,000 would see a municipal tax increase of approximately $86 per year. The reason why the taxes have increased at a higher rate than the overall spending is because the township has been hit with tax appeals that have decreased our assessed value by 780 million dollars in the past 2 years. The impact of this change is that 1.4 cents of the …

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School Budget and Election

Toms River BOE Approves 2012-13 Budget Amid Controversy

Budget approved, with some residents and three board members in opposition to vote

The Toms River Regional School District’s Board of Education approved its $204.362 million budget for the 2012-13 school year at a public hearing Wednesday night in the auditorium of Toms River High School North — but not without open and vocal dissension from both board members and residents. It is also the first year the budget did not go to the voters at the polls, due to recently-passed statewide legislation. Superintendent of Schools & Business Administrator Hold Presentation The night began with a slideshow presentation, co-headed by Superintendent of Schools Frank Roselli and Business Administrator William Doering. In that presentation, both board members outlined the highlights of the budget. These included: Doering explained that …

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holden2112

5:20 pm on Sunday, April 1, 2012

Really Jeff? Where do you get your information? If you have seen a profit and loss statement for 1144 please share it with us? I cant find any info which leads me to believe it is losing money...why else hide would they hide the numbers?   more ›

Town Council Unanimously Approves Budget for Downtown Toms River

Governing body approves $358,500 budget for Business Improvement District

At their regular session meeting on Tuesday evening, members of the Toms River Township Council officially approved the 2012 budget for the “Downtown Toms River” Business Improvement District (BID), following a brief presentation by the organization’s director. Jody Alessandrine, first-year Executive Director of the Downtown Toms River BID, outlined spending and revenues for 2012, noting to the township council that the budget called for $358,500 in total revenue. Business taxes total $235,000, with $121,000 in revenue being generated from special events (vendor and attendee fees), and $2,500 from grants. An equal amount of expenditures, $358,500, are also called for in the BID’s 2012 budget. Regarding individual committee expenses, $15,…

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Direct from the Source

Council President: Toms River Finding Efficiencies, Cutting Costs

"Mo" Hill outlines recent savings

Column as submitted by Toms River Council President Maurice Hill: As the Toms River Township Administration starts to draft the 2012 budget the Mayor and Council continue to look for efficiencies and cost savings in our local government to save taxpayer dollars. Recently the Township consolidated over 15 separate medical insurance plans to 3 medical plans resulting in a savings of over $1,000,000 annually.  The institution of single stream recycling with robo trucks has reduced manpower costs, cut down on injuries to personnel and disability claims.  In addition the Township now receives over $350,000 a year in revenue from the County for our recycling. The bi weekly pick up schedule has greatly reduced overtime costs resulting in …

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Local Family Planning Center Feeling Effects of State Budget Cuts

Family Planning Center of Ocean County sees 600-700 Toms River women per year

"Shared sacrifice." That is the rallying cry of budget-cutting politicians throughout New Jersey during these tough economic times. But as many in the Ocean County community are finding out, "shared sacrifice" is not always the reality of state budget cuts. Kathy Fisher has worked at the Family Planning Center of Ocean County for 36 years in various positions. She is now the acting-president and CEO. The last couple years, she says, "have been the absolute toughest" of her career. That is because the 2011 New Jersey budget completely eliminated state funding for family planning centers. A budget line that allocated $7.4 million dollars for basic reproductive healthcare services was "zeroed out" by Gov. Chris Christie in July 2010, and …

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April 24: That Was The Week That Was

A twenty-somethings guide to the headlines

If you've driven around town this week, you've surely noticed the flurry of school board campaign signs. As the candidates were busy trying to get last-minute votes, Patch began to take an in depth look. LOCAL: The Toms River School Board election will take place this Wednesday, April 27. Patch has profiled the seven candidates who are running for seats. The variety of candidates include: teachers in other school districts and local police officers. In addition to the school board elections, voters will have a chance to voice their opinion on the Toms River Regional School District's proposed $200.49 million budget for next year. The budget calls for a 3.6% increase in the tax levy. School officials call the budget a "maintenance budget", …

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Gas Guzzler

Interlocal Gasoline Purchase Saving School Busing Costs

Plus: Where's the cheapest gas in Toms River, and cost of round trip to Ortley Beach.

In recent months, sharply rising gasoline prices have forced Toms River residents to dig increasingly deeper into their pockets to fuel up their vehicles. In our already fragile economic “recovery,” these spiraling gas prices are putting increased strain on residents’ already tight budgets. However, one of the few bright spots to this unpleasant scenario for students and their parents is that the spike in pump prices hasn’t had a significant impact on the District’s school bus service – at least not yet. Toms River Regional's fleet of 167 buses purchases fuel through an interlocal agreement with the Township, explained William Doering, business administrator at Toms River Regional Schools. In effect, the schools “piggyback” onto discounted…

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