Property Tax Increase Now Down To About 5.8 Percent; Council On Verge Of Finally Passing Budget

Good news for Montclair taxpayers. Instead of a 6 percent property tax increase, the rise is likely to be closer to 5.8 percent In addition, cuts to the Montclair Arts Council, the Montclair Community Pre-K, and the Montclair Public Library are not going to be as drastic as previously anticipated.

The Montclair Township Council held a public hearing Tuesday night on amendments to the 2010 budget that would reduce the overall amount taxpayers have to pay by $606,000.

Also, the Township's amendments restored funding totaling $11,000 to the Montclair Arts Council, $51,000 to the Montclair Community Pre-K, and $250,000 to the Montclair Public Library.

For example, originally the council planned to slice $700,000 from the Montclair Public Library's budget, a proposed cut that now stands at only $450,000.

The originally proposed cut of $20,000 for the Montclair Arts Council perhaps would have prevented it from making payroll for the rest of the year.

And the originally proposed cut of $90,000 to the Pre-K program would have come out of scholarships for needy children.

Only a handful of members of the public spoke at Tuesday night's hearing, mostly asking questions related to procedure.

Township Manager Marc Dashield responded that, as soon as the Township hears from the state about how much transitional aid Montclair will be receiving, the final budget can quickly be adopted.

"We are sort of in a holding pattern right now," he said.

The road to the adoption of a budget has been a long one with lots of twists and turns, but the Montclair Township Council is finally on the verge of passing a 2010 budget. Last week, the council approved its resolution to amend the budget, which now stands at $70,687,549.

Mayor Jerry Fried has said that this year's property tax increase — now about 5.8 percent when the school, municipal, and county increases are combined — is "a number that no one on the governing body is happy with." The municipal portion, about a quarter of the total tax, will have an increase over the previous year of around 9 percent. Of this number, only about 2 percent represents an increase in spending — mostly increases in pensions and health benefits with some contractual salary increases. He said that the rest of the increase is due to decreases in revenue sources.

For a detailed look at the 2010 budget, go here.

Going forward, there is likely to be continued discussion about whether the Bellevue branch library — now open only on Mondays — will have to be closed.

Fried has encouraged residents to attend the Montclair Public Library Board's next meeting at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, September 28 in the main library's auditorium.

For more on Montclair's financial bind, see this FAQ put together by Montclair Patch over the summer.