Manalapan committee adopts budget for 2010

MANALAPAN — By a vote of 4-1, the Manalapan Township Committee has adopted a municipal budget for 2010. The members of the governing body voted on the budget during their June 23 meeting.

Mayor Andrew Lucas, Deputy Mayor Susan Cohen, Committeeman Don Holland and Committeeman Ryan Green voted to adopt the budget.

Committeewoman Michelle Roth voted no on the motion to adopt the spending plan and said that as the budget is constructed, “it is managing for the moment. This budget does a disservice to our residents moving forward.”

Her view was not shared by the other committee members.

Manalapan’s municipal budget for 2010 amounts to $31.8 million. The 2009 municipal budget totaled $32.2 million.

The 2010 municipal tax levy (the amount collected in taxes from property owners to support the operation of the township) will be $18.8 million, according to information provided by the township.

The projected $18.8 million tax levy for 2010 is the same amount that was collected in taxes to support the 2009 budget.

Lucas and Green said they wanted to stress that point to residents; that the total amount of money to be collected in municipal taxes this year is the same as in 2009.

“This is a tough economy, the toughest we have seen in decades. It is not the time to be raising taxes on residents,” Lucas said.

As the result of a reassessment of township properties that was completed last fall, some property owners may pay more and some property owners may pay less in municipal taxes this year than in 2009, but the total amount of local property taxes to be collected from Manalapan property owners remained stable from 2009 to 2010.

Green said “the development of the budget was a difficult process. There are residents struggling as a result of these economic times and I believe we are doing the right thing by having no increase in the tax levy.”

He reiterated that the total amount of local property taxes that was collected to support the 2009 budget, $18.8 million, is the same total that will be collected to support the 2010 budget.

Taking a different view of the situation, Roth said, “How the Township Committee deals with the budget affects our whole way of life. Therefore, we must act responsibly. We have been paying and will continue to pay for spending mistakes of the past on every level of government … but what have we have learned? That one-shot budget fixes only put us deeper into the hole.

“Some of the elements of this (2010) budget are once-off fixes. So what happens next year? Times have changed dramatically as everyone knows. Our interest income, which a few years ago was in excess of $1 million, is now well under $100,000. Construction is not booming – far from it, and so the fees we collected associated with building have dried up. So, in the past, we could count on the interest income and construction fees to replenish our surplus (savings account). We can’t count on that any longer.

“What can we expect for next year? Salary and wages make up a huge part of our budget. Two of our unions stepped up to the plate when asked and gave back to the township so we could reduce expenses. AFCSME in particular went above and beyond and took deeper cuts so that three of their coworkers would not lose their jobs. Our other two unions did not give back anything at all.

“Proper budgets will look at a one-, three- and five-year time horizon. This budget does not. It is managing for the moment and will cause us to either severely reduce staffing or services in 2011 and beyond ... In my opinion, this budget is not responsible and does a disservice to our residents going forward,” Roth said.

Lucas responded to Roth and said he has already met with Manalapan’s chief financial officer to begin looking at the 2011 municipal budget.

Holland said of the budget process, “We asked (municipal employees) to make decisions that affect their lives and the people came through.”

In addition to local taxes, other revenues to support the 2010 budget will come from state aid ($3.9 million; down $1 million from 2009) and from Manalapan’s surplus (savings) account ($5.2 million; up $1 million from 2009).

The municipal tax rate for 2010 will be 33.2 cents per $100 of assessed valuation, according to the committee.

With a municipal tax rate of 33.2 cents in place, the owner of a home assessed at $100,000 will pay $332 in municipal taxes in 2010. The owner of a home assessed at the township average of $376,000 will pay $1,248 in municipal taxes in 2010.

The owner of a home assessed at $500,000 will pay $1,660 in municipal taxes in 2010. The owner of a home assessed at $700,000 will pay $2,324 in municipal taxes in 2010.

Municipal property taxes pay for all operations in town hall, including the police department, township administration, the planning and zoning offices, parks and recreation, public works and municipal professionals such as attorneys, engineers and planners.

In addition to municipal taxes, a Manalapan resident’s property tax bill also includes taxes paid to the Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District, to the Freehold Regional High School District, to Monmouth County, to the local fire district and several other assessments.

Lucas said officials asked for and were granted concessions from all township employees as the budget was being developed. As detailed by Lucas, the concessions include:

• Police employees represented by the PBA and Superior Officers Association – $1.75 million in concessions over the next 18 months, including the elimination of overtime; attrition of seven officers; and division commanders forgoing their takehome vehicles.

• Employees represented by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) – Nine unpaid furlough days, including all Fridays in July and August; 1.5 percent of salary to be paid toward healthcare; and a pay freeze for the year 2011.

• Non-union employees – 1.5 percent of salary to be paid toward healthcare; pay freeze for the entire year 2010; and the elimination of one position.

• Employees represented by the CommunicationsWorkers of America – 1.5 percent of salary to be paid toward healthcare.

During public comment on the budget, Gloria Close thanked the committee members for maintaining a flat total tax levy.

Lou Langlais thanked the AFSCME members for taking 10 unpaid furlough days this year. Langlais asked the committee to delay the purchase of new police cars based on his observation that when he drives by town hall he sees a lot of police cars in the parking lot while he believes that a full shift of police officers is on the road.

George Spodak, a former mayor, asked if the township will be able to regenerate surplus funds over the next year so that those funds will be able to be included in the 2011 budget.

Manalapan is using about $5.2 million from its surplus account in the 2010 budget. Officials said there is about $1.5 million remaining in surplus.

Spodak said he believes the cost of this year’s decisions will be felt in the 2011 budget.

Commenting on the way the municipal budget was crafted, the former mayor told Lucas, “You may believe that you got away with it this year, but you may pay for it next year.”

Lucas said Manalapan’s state aid was cut by $1 million in 2010 and told Spodak, “We have used other funds to plug the budget.”

Regarding the concessions that were made by municipal employees, Spodak said, “The township employees who can least afford it are getting hit and the employees who can best afford it are not getting hit at all.”

In other business, Roth and Holland voted no on a resolution to pay an intern in the mayor’s office $10 per hour this summer, up to a maximum of $2,000. Lucas, Green and Cohen voted yes on the resolution.

Roth said the payment to an intern is a slap to Manalapan employees who are taking unpaid furlough time this year.