Matawan Borough Approves $10.6 Million Municipal Budget for 2012

The approved a $10,634,285.24 municipal budget for 2012 at their May 15 meeting, which is a $363,568.74 increase from the 2011 municipal budget.

The tax levy, or the amount to be raised by taxes, increased from $7,451,655 to $7,747,618.57, a change of $295,963. 

The increase in the tax levy is smaller than the increase in the overall budget largely because of the retirement of some senior employees who were replaced by new hires at starting pay, a shared services agreement with Helmetta for animal control and an increase in fees and rent paid to the borough for cable TV and cell tower rights, explained Councilman Tom Fitzsimmons, who heads the finance committee for the borough.

The municipal tax rate will increase by 3.5 cents, from 67.4 cents per $100 of assessed home valuation in 2011 to 70.9 cents per $100 of assessed home valuation in 2012.

This means that the owner of an average home in Matawan, valued at about $330,000, can expect to pay an additional $115.50 a year in municipal taxes for a total of $2,339.70. This figure does not include , county, or state taxes.

The approved from the budget . According to Fitzsimmons, the original budget incorrectly included the library tax in the tax levy. The state, who reviews municipal budgets before they are approved, also told the borough that they must increase their reserve for uncollected taxes, Fitzsimmons said. The reserve was increased from $140,000 to $228,148.74.

Fitzsimmons said the largest increases came in the areas of the reserve for uncollected taxes, health benefits, and debt service.

Health benefits increased by $98,148.74 and debt service increased by $286,934.

Debt service increased so significantly because of the aggressive road program the borough began in 2011, explained Fitzsimmons. Eleven roads were incorporated in the project, and many of the roads required extensive reconstruction - including new water mains, new drainage systems, new sub-base and new curbing - versus just repaving the top layer.

"It was a pretty significant road program," said Fitzsimmons. "Roads are basically intended to last for 20 years. Optimally what you do is you get on a cycle where you do so many roads every 20 years and by the time you get to the twentieth year, you go back and do the roads from the beginning."

Fitzsimmons explained that financial restrictions prohibited the borough from making necessary repairs to roads and improvements to water mains, some of which are from the 1900s.

"There was a time where we couldn't make infrastructure improvements of any kind because of the budget situation, but we decided that we had to go back and start doing that again," he said.

The roads included in the 2011 road program were Wilson Avenue, Mill Road, Aberdeen Road, Clinton Street, Fawn Drive, Indian Trail, Highland Avenue, Matawan Avenue, Steamboat Alley, Rustic Court and Schenk Road. Several of the roads are still under construction.