Robbinsville mayor proposes 3rd consecutive tax reduction
ROBBINSVILLE » Mayor Dave Fried was geared to present his $24.7 million 2018 municipal budget to Robbinsville Township Council on Thursday, which includes a 0.25-cent tax cut.
The proposed tax rate has been reduced to 52.1 cents per $100 of assessed value — a decrease of 2.1 cents since 2012 (54.2) — and marks the third consecutive year of tax cuts proposed by the mayor and administration. The average assessed home value in Robbinsville is $375,000.
The 2018 budget includes added funding for school security in the form of two additional officers to patrol Sharon School and Pond Road Middle School, along with a plan to purchase the Mercer Mobile Home Park. If adopted by council this spring, the 2018 budget would mark the fifth straight year of either flat or reduced municipal taxes, which account for 20 percent of residents’ overall tax burden.
“Over the past 15 years we have not found another town in the state of New Jersey who has been able to say they have cut taxes three years in a row,” Mayor Fried said. “The ability to not only provide the level of services we do in Robbinsville, but to seemingly add to them every year within the confines of a 2-percent cap is quite an accomplishment by our entire team. Starting with Business Administrator Joy Tozzi, Chief Financial Officer Debbie Bauer and then all of our department heads, the ability to craft a budget of this scope and still cut taxes yet again is, needless to say, very difficult to do in today’s fiscal climate.”
Mayor Fried was scheduled to present the budget to Township Council and its president, Ron Witt, at the Thursday night council meeting.
“Budget time is stressful for many municipalities across the state,” Witt said. “But thanks to shrewd and efficient management by Mayor Fried, administration and Township Council, this budget has yielded another proposed reduction in the municipal component of the township tax levy. A tax reduction of any kind is impressive, but to reduce taxes three years in a row, while continuing to provide residents with such a high level of services, is simply outstanding.”
Remarkably, the Robbinsville Township municipal budget has increased $2.8 million since 2015, due in large part to pension, health insurance and other inflation-driven costs. Yet the township’s aggressive pursuit of ratables and other revenue sources have paved the way for another proposed tax cut.
“People often ask us: ‘what do these ratables you’re always talking about accomplish?’” Fried said. “This proposed tax rate is the answer in real dollars. It’s a really good budget that once again addresses our current needs, but with an eye to the future.”
A penny in the Robbinsville tax rate is worth $255,663.49. One-fourth of that —0.25 cents — is $63,915.88.