Politics & Government

State Aid to Barnegat to Stay Flat

Governor says municipal aid will remain level in the coming fiscal year

State aid to Barnegat will remain flat in fiscal year 2013, the Department of Community Affairs announced yesterday, and Mayor Al Cirulli said the level aid should help the township deliver a little property tax relief.

The Christie administration's budget plan gives Barnegat a $1,048,932 slice of the total state municipal aid pie, which adds up to nearly $1.5 billion for the coming fiscal year. 

Cirulli said the township crafts its budget to be totally independent of aid from above, and officials never count on using it to fill budget holes. "We have to assume that we're not going to get any state aid," he said. "We try to budget like we'd be on our own, and that's what I'm pushing this year. Whatever aid comes in is a bonus, and if we can give it back to taxpayers, that's the goal."

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The township will be in a good position to offer at least a little relief in the next budget cycle, Cirulli said. Level aid coupled with cost-saving shared services agreements will hopefully allow the committee to shave a penny or two off the municipal tax rate, he said.

Cirulli said longer-term savings efforts, including those spelled out in Christie's tax-reduction tool kit for local governments, will start to pay off soon. Pension and benefit reforms on the state level are making it easier for the township to stay under the 2 percent property tax cap, he said, and contract negotiations will yield better deals for the taxpayers.

Find out what's happening in Barnegat-Manahawkinwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The Christie administration is also saying efforts to slash spending are working. In a news release about municipal aid issued this week, the DCA said a recent study has shown that in 2011, the state saw the lowest property tax growth in 20 years.

Cirulli also said the committee is making headway in resolving the problem they say is to blame for many residents' tax woes: uneven property tax assessments.

"The rules of government have changed in the state, and we’re making the advances," Cirulli said. "It just doesn't happen overnight." Still, he said, "we're looking at a good year."


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