Budget public hearing scheduled for June 26
Howell spending plan checks in at $45M; includes 2 new cops
BY MARK ROSMAN
Staff Writer

HOWELL - The Township Council has introduced a $45 million municipal budget for 2007. A public hearing and possible vote on the adoption of the budget is scheduled for the council's June 26 meeting.

The budget was introduced on May 29.

According to information provided by municipal officials, a total of $18.4 million is expected to be raised in property taxes to support the budget. The remainder of the budget will be funded by other revenues.

The budget was introduced by a 3-2 vote. Deputy Mayor Robert Walsh and councilwomen Angela Dalton and Cynthia Schomaker voted to introduce the spending plan. Mayor Joseph DiBella and Councilman Michael Howell voted not to introduce the budget.

DiBella said he voted against the introduction of the budget due to the way it has been developed. He said he is philosophically opposed to several things in the spending plan, specifically the addition of four employees at a time when he said taxpayers are feeling a financial squeeze. The mayor said the employees to be added are two police officers and two Department of Public Works employees.

Howell has undergone a revaluation of all property in the past year and that will cause the municipal tax rate to drop from 53.2 cents per $100 of assessed valuation to 26.6 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. However, the drop in the tax rate does not mean residents will be paying less in property taxes.

In 2006, the owner of a home that was assessed at the township average of $150,000 paid about $798 in municipal taxes (.532 x 1,500). The average house assessment in Howell is now $350,000.

With a tax rate of 26.6 cents per $100 in place, the municipal tax bill on that house will be about $931 (.266 x 3,500), or an increase of $133 for a person whose home assessment went from $150,000 to $350,000.

The owner of a home assessed at $400,000 will pay about $1,064 in municipal taxes in 2007. The owner of a home assessed at $500,000 will pay about $1,330 in municipal taxes in 2007. The owner of a home assessed at $600,000 will pay about $1,596 in municipal taxes in 2007.

The municipal tax is one portion of a homeowner's overall property tax bill. The tax bill also includes K-8 school district taxes, Freehold Regional High School District taxes, Monmouth County taxes and several other assessments.

One other item to be considered by Howell taxpayers this year is the amount they will pay into the township's open space trust fund. At present, property owners are assessed at the rate of 2 cents per $100 of assessed valuation for the open space trust fund. That was the assessment voters agreed to in a referendum several years ago.

The township uses the money in the open space trust fund to purchase and preserve undeveloped tracts of land.

Under Howell's previous property valuation, the owner of a home that was assessed at $150,000 paid $30 per year into the open space trust fund.

If a resident whose $150,000 home has been reassessed at $350,000 and the open space assessment remains at 2 cents per $100, that person will now pay $70 into the open space fund - an unanticipated increase of $40 to the homeowner and a windfall in revenue for the township when multiplied by every property.

The question for township officials to consider is whether the open space assessment should be lowered from 2 cents to another figure in order to keep the actual amount that residents pay into the open space trust fund stable at the previous level.

When the topic of the open space assessment was mentioned by a reporter, DiBella said, "That is a fair question and something the council should examine. However, I am not certain if the open space assessment can be changed since the amount (2 cents per $100) is what voters agreed to in the public referendum."