Challenges Remain in Balancing Twp. Budget, Despite No Drop in State Aid

A promise of no decrease in state aid to municipalities in 2012 has township officials breathing a sigh of relief, but it’s too early to say exactly what effect the state’s flat aid will have on tax rates, said Township Administrator David Breeden.

“I think Barnegat, like any other town in New Jersey, will struggle this year in attempting to maintain a steady tax rate” while not cutting back on services, he said.

“That’s the delicate balancing act that’s a challenge to everybody,” said Breeden. “Anybody can cut a budget, but the trick is stabilizing the tax rate while continuing to deliver an acceptable level of service to the community.”

The state’s contribution to Barnegat’s bottom line will remain steady from this year to the next, Breeden said. That means $1.66 million in aid will come to the township from the state in 2012. 

In a budget speech he made last week, Gov. Chris Christie said there was “no excuse” for the relief from the state “to be eaten up with higher local taxes, between receiving no further cut in municipal aid, and implementing a 2 percent cap on property taxes.”

Breeden said it was too early to start speculating on the town’s 2012 tax rate. But he did say that while no further cut in state aid is a relief, recent years have seen support slashed repeatedly.

“We have to live with the 2 percent cap this year, so everyone has to take things into consideration,” he said.  That includes negotiating new contracts with the police department, a process that’s going on now, he said.

Others in local government in the state have continued to express frustration with what they see as a lack of support from the state to help stay under the 2 percent property tax cap.

At a meeting of Ocean County mayors over the weekend, William G. Dressel Jr., executive director of the New Jersey League of Municipalities, said the state legislature was supposed to pass management reforms by the end of 2010 that aimed to make it easier for towns to live with the cap, but never did. At the same time, said others at the meeting, municipalities are being hit hard by reduced property values – an issue that has come to the forefront in Barnegat with last year’s revaluations.

Still, Breeden said, “it’s better to start on a level playing field than in the hole.”

The entire Committee is involved in the process of crafting the budget, Breeden said, and will likely be presenting its plan to the public in late spring.