News
Red Bank Property Tax To Increase 1.6 Cents Per $100
By John Burton
RED BANK - The borough council unanimously approved a municipal budget of more than $19 million at its regular meeting Tuesday. The budget reflects a 1.6 cent increase per $100 of assessed property value.
When the budget was initially introduced in March it called for a 3.3 cent property tax increase, which would have meant a 47.8 cent tax rate per $100.
At that time borough officials pledged to search for additional cost savings to bring the projected tax increase down.
The council ultimately found $339,017 in monies to offset some of the projected tax increase, which included a $170,000 surplus in the water utility fund, an overall $100,000 budget surplus, $9,000 in previously uncollected taxes, and a reduction of roughly $60,000 in tipping fees for the borough's collected trash hauled to the county landfill, according to Frank Mason, the borough's chief financial officer.
It is "very, very difficult trying to put these budgets together," said Mayor Pasquale Menna.
He predicted that next year's budget could be even more challenging and said the council, should be prepared to, "roll up our sleeves."
Officials had been warning since before the budget's introduction that it would be lean times for the borough, which last month received word from Trenton that it would not be granted any extraordinary aid for this year. Officials took that possibility into consideration when preparing this year's budget.
The borough amended the traditional salary raise formula for many of the borough employees and established a four-day work week for those working in the municipal complex.
Employees work ten hours a day for four days a week, which results in energy savings for the borough, officials said. This week, the borough extended the four-day work week until the end of the year.
The savings are projected to be about $15,000 for the abbreviated week, according to Councilman Michael DuPont. "The savings may not seem like a lot," DuPont said, in response to a public member's question about it. "But if you take incremental steps it could reduce our operating costs."
