2019 Marlboro Twp. Budget Presented With Tax Decrease

MARLBORO, NJ — At last Thursday's meeting, March 7, the Marlboro Twp. Council voted to introduce the 2019 municipal budget, which — happily for Marlboro homeowners — included a small reduction in the amount to be raised by taxes this year.

The tax decrease is small: For the average household valued at an estimated $494,605, the total tax levy twill be approximately $1,867 for all municipal services such as police, parks, public works and road improvements. It was $1,869 in 2018.

“The challenge of managing the extreme weather conditions of the last several years continues to drive the Township’s cost of operations. Our budgets have had to absorb the increased costs of snow removal, in particular, which has increased more than 300 percent since 2007," said Marlboro Mayor Jon Hornik. “We also continue to grapple with state mandates including an 11% increase in our New Jersey Pension System contribution. Despite these pressures, we continue to deliver and expand the services our residents expect while remaining $1.95 million below the state levy cap and $1.24 million below the State spending cap.”

The budget as introduced includes $320,000 for the Township’s share of a school-security program initiated last year in response to the Parkland school shooting. Marlboro is sharing the costs of having armed police officers in the schools with Freehold Regional. (Read: Marlboro Adds Armed Police Officers To All Schools March 28, 2018)

“I regard it as a duty to do everything in my power to ensure that we do not experience an act of violence in our schools like that experienced in Parkland (Florida) and other communities throughout the country," said Hornik. "Keeping our kids and educators safe in school is not a choice – it is an obligation.”

The budget also funds the down payment on another $5 million road improvement program.

“The erratic and extreme weather of the past decade continues to take a toll on our infrastructure, and we hear from residents about road conditions more than any other issue," said Hornik. “With a AAA bond rating reaffirmed by Standard and Poors in 2018, we continue to invest in infrastructure at rates three times higher than in past years, and at the lowest cost of financing available.”

The Mayor also highlighted the budget’s inclusion of a $119,531 Recycling Tonnage Grant award from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, an award three times what the Township has received in the past.

Budget increases continue to be held in check through a reduction of full-time employees, more than 11% since 2007, consolidating departments and authorities, working with employees to trim benefit costs and entering into shared service and cooperative purchasing agreements with other local government agencies.

As introduced, the 2019 budget raises $27,187,413 in property taxes, down from the 2018 budget. The municipal portion of the property tax bill represents approximately 17 cents
of each dollar. The schools, Marlboro K-8 and the Freehold Regional Districts, receive approximately 69% and the County approximately 14%. The estimated municipal tax rate is 37.8 cents per $100 of assessed value.

A public hearing on the budget will be held at the regularly scheduled meeting of the Marlboro Township Council on Thursday, April 11, 2019 in the Town Council chambers, after
which a vote on adopting the budget may be held.