Budget time at Robbinsville Township is unlike any time of the year.
For our finance department, led by Chief Financial Officer Debbie Bauer, and Business Administrator Joy Tozzi it is virtually a year-round endeavor. Meeting with department heads, reviewing past revenue sources and expenditures to see what works and what does not are key parts in a very efficient machine.
On March 9, I presented my 2017 municipal budget to Township Council, a budget that features a quarter penny cut of the municipal tax rate to 52.4 cents for every $100 of assessed value. This year, the average township home has been assessed at $372,000.
The decrease, if approved following a public hearing and vote, would mark the second consecutive cut of the municipal rate and signal a fourth straight year with a flat or reduced rate. Since 2012, we will have managed to shave 1.8 cents from the municipal rate (54.2 cents).
Without our residents supporting the Open Space Tax Referendum on Nov. 8, 2016, we would not be in a position to provide this cut. The big picture view of voters in deciding by an overwhelming margin to increase the Open Space Tax levy by 1.5 cents per every $100 of assessed value to help purchase and preserve the Edinburg Village and Miry Run parcels certainly helped get the $23.6 million budget closer to the finish line.
We took a series of steps more than 10 years ago to put us on the solid financial footing we are now. Not all of them were very popular at the time. Some people thought we were crazy doing some of the things we did, but we had to break some eggs to make an omelet. We had to institute change, and change is always scary, especially in government. When you try things no one has ever tried before people are always going to wonder how it’s all going to work out. What we did know for sure was multiple layers of government did not make sense.
Consolidating the fire district, eliminating lifetime health benefits and laying the groundwork for attracting desirable ratables was a long-term strategy that will continue to pay major dividends well into the future. We are very proud of the services we continue to offer, services that do not get less expensive over time.
We also have stopped a tremendous amount of housing, and we will continue to slow the housing growth to keep from further overburdening the school district. The concept 12 or so years ago was to start thinking differently, and some of the things we’ve done have definitely been outside the box. Change and results take time, but what we’ve done has worked.
This budget was a challenge, but it’s another good, responsible budget, and I feel really good about where we are as a township.
Dave Fried is the three-term mayor of Robbinsville Township.
