Robbinsville Township Council formally introduced a municipal budget of $26.6 million on May 11. A public hearing and vote for adoption is scheduled for June 8.
One change proposed by the spending plan is a modification of the shared services agreement between the Township and Robbinsville School District.
In March of this year, Council President Debbie Blakely and Councilman Mike Cipriano met with school officials at the request of Superintendent Brian Betze to discuss the many financial challenges the district, as well at the Township, were facing this budget year, particularly with the school being denied millions in expected aid from the state.
Once Council received the budget from the Mayor, it listened to feedback from the School District, the community, and safety professionals in an effort to revise the funding formula of that shared services agreement.
Although the proposed municipal budget already featured a tax increase of 3.7 cents per every $100 of assessed value, upon weighing the concerns of the residents and the district, Council introduced a budget utilizing $152,000 more from the Township’s surplus to help with the School District’s shortfall.
“We are counting on the district to use those funds to restore a full-time teaching position at the elementary level, as well as restoring courtesy bussing for Town Center East,” Council vice president Mike Todd said.
The net result of the introduced budget, pending final adoption, would slightly increase the proposed municipal tax increase from 3.7 cents to 3.8 cents, or approximately $144 per year, per household.
“A lot of hard work, listening, determination, sacrifice, and compromise went into this decision, but Council feels this was the right thing to do considering the difficult fiscal times facing all of us right now,” Todd said.
The new proposed tax rate of 57.7 cents (from 57.6) is applied to every $100 of assessed value based on the current average assessed value of a home in Robbinsville, which is $379,400.
A penny in Robbinsville Township tax rate is worth $267,128.71. The overall 2023 introduced budget stands at $26,638,576.32.
