Committee gives final nod to municipal budget
Some property owners likely to see increase when tax bill arrives
BY KATHY BARATTA
Staff Writer

MANALAPAN - The 2007 municipal budget was adopted June 27 but not before an hour's worth of wrangling between a majority of the Township Committee and one committeeman.

In the end, Republican Mayor Andrew Lucas, Democratic Deputy Mayor Michelle Roth and Democratic Committeeman Richard Klauber voted to adopt the $29.5 million spending plan.

Independent Committeeman Anthony Gennaro voted against adopting the budget because he wanted to see the projected tax increase reduced.

Republican Committeewoman Susan Cohen was absent from the meeting.

The 2007 municipal budget totals $29.5 million and will be supported through the collection of $15.2 million in local property taxes.

The 2006 municipal budget totaled $28.8 million and was supported through the collection of $11.9 million in local property taxes.

Because of a revaluation of all property in Manalapan, the municipal tax rate has dropped from 47.4 cents to 24.9 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. However, the drop in the tax rate does not mean a property owner will pay less in municipal taxes this year.

Some property owners will pay more in taxes and some property owners will pay less, depending upon how their home's assessment has changed as a result of the revaluation.

According to township figures, in 2006 the average home in Manalapan was assessed at $178,500 and paid $846 in municipal taxes (1,785 x .474).

Following the revaluation, the average home in Manalapan is now assessed at $429,603. In one example, a person whose home went from an assessment of $178,500 in 2006 to $429,603 in 2007 will now pay $1,069 in municipal taxes (4,296 x .249), or an increase of $223.

A sometimes acrimonious exchange among Gennaro, Lucas, Roth and Klauber continued for more than an hour before the vote on the budget's adoption was taken.

At one point Klauber accused Gennaro of not involving himself in the budget preparation and then voting against the budget without submitting any suggestions for additional cuts or sources of revenue.

"You wait until tonight to talk about pushing numbers. You want to pass the buck," Klauber told Gennaro.

Klauber, who was not on the committee in 2006, said committee members were told last year at budget time that a tax increase was needed, "but you didn't want to hear it." Instead, the committee adopted a budget with a slight decrease in the tax rate.

Klauber told Gennaro that if the committee members followed his (Gennaro's) suggestion and delivered a smaller tax increase (in the overall local tax levy) in 2007 than what was being proposed, "we're screwed next year."

Klauber went round for round with Gennaro, who insisted that this year's budget was being crafted to pay "next year's bill."

Gennaro went several rounds back and forth in an attempt to explain why he had not made any substantive cut recommendations when he was the only committee member who indicated that the budget could be reduced further, but made no suggestions on how to do so when asked repeatedly to explain his plan.

"I don't want to pay next year's bills this year," Gennaro said.

Klauber responded, saying, "We're paying last year's bills this year." He said that as a result of an "artificially maintained" budget in 2006, Manalapan came in to 2007 "$2 million in the hole." He said if the committee agreed to a lower tax increase this year, "next year we're in the hole again."

Klauber said if the committee members followed Gennaro's suggestion, the 2008 budget would have to result in cutting items such as the recreation department, the senior center and municipal garbage pickup.

"Numbers don't lie. You can make them lie - that's what they did last year. If we do this now we can keep the things that make Manalapan, Manalapan," Klauber said.

At one point when the committee members were talking about what the number for projected revenues should be this year, finance officer Patricia Addario said she had not been asked for a projection last year, adding that even with the numbers staying the same, "we will not fully regenerate what we lost last year."

Lucas repeatedly observed that he had asked for the budget to be tabled on June 13 in order to give Gennaro a chance to explain where else he believed officials should make cuts in the spending plan.

Roth, who voted against the 2006 budget, said, "It is always my goal to streamline costs where possible. We've had two years of bad budgets pass."

Noting that as many cuts had been made that were possible without affecting township services, Lucas said of Gennaro's indication that he was going to vote against adopting the budget, "We can continue borrowing for the future and vote down the budget but what a headline to see, 'Manalapan can't stay solvent.' "

Lucas, who voted for the 2006 budget, said, "Let's take responsibility for past destructive practices. Our job as elected officials is to make it easier for future elected officials. It is obvious not all Township Committee members understand the budget and I am going to suggest we make a budget class at Rutgers (University) mandatory."

Municipal taxes are one part of the overall property tax bill, which also includes Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District taxes, Freehold Regional High School District taxes, Monmouth County taxes and several other assessments.