Updated: Proposed Township Budget Includes Slight Tax Increase, But Reduction In Tax Rate

Township Manager Robert Vornlocker, right, said that efficiencies taken over the past five years have reduced utility bills by $627,000.

Update: The budget was adopted at the council’s April 10 meeting.

Original Story: The Township Council March 13 introduced a $61 million municipal budget for 2018 that carries with it a slight tax increase, but, thanks to an increase in property values, a slight decrease in the tax rate.

The total proposed budget – $60,855,068 – is up $1,548,656 , or 2.6 percent, from the 2017 total budget of $59,306,412. That total budget includes the township library budget of $3,368,425. and $31,509 in grants.

The proposed budget is powered by a total tax levy of $38,504,927, up $464,858 from the 2017 levy of $38,040069. The proposed levy includes a library tax levy of $3,368,425, up 9.4 percent from 2017’s $3,078,376.

Taking into account an increase of $296,227,587 in the assessed value of properties in the township, from $9,510,963,660 in 2017 to the current $9,807,191,247, even though the tax levy on just the municipal portion of the budget has increased, the tax rate per $100 of assessed valuation for the municipal portion decreased 1 cent, from 36.8 cents per $100 to 35.8 cents per $100.

Add in the library and open space taxes, and the total proposed municipal portion tax rate per $100 of assessed valuation is 44.2 cents per $100, down from 2017’s 45 cents per $100.

That translates to a tax increase of $5.37 for the owner of a home assessed at the township average of $325,073.

According to a memo from Township Manager Robert Vornlocker, the major components of the budget increase are:

• An additional $1.2 million in capital projects paid in cash rather than bonding, including $2.5 million in road resurfacing.
• A $290,049 increase in the library budget, the calculation for which is set by the state.
• A $119,415 increase in operating costs

A public hearing and final vote on the budget is set for 7 p.m. April 1o.

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