U.F. officials propose $6.8 million budget

BY JANE MEGGITT
Staff Writer

The Upper Freehold Township Committee introduced its 2005 municipal budget on March 3.

The committee will hold a public hearing on the proposed $6.8 million spending plan at its regular April 7 meeting.

The proposed budget amounts to $658,000 more than last year’s budget. It relies on a tax levy of $1.3 million, which is $211,610 more than the 2004 budget levy, according to the Municipal Clerk’s Office.

The tax rate under the proposed budget amounts to approximately 23 cents, which is a 2-cent increase over last year.

According to Municipal Clerk Barbara Bascom, the township’s net valuation of ratables is $592.1 million this year, an increase of about $46.1 million from 2004.

Hope Fire Company’s allotment from the proposed budget would remain the same as last year, with the company receiving $90,000. A separate amount is allotted for salaries and wages for the township’s four paid firefighters. They will receive $109,000, up $7,000 from last year.

The Allentown First Aid Squad would receive $170 more from Upper Freehold this year, for a total of $55,610.

In the proposed budget, township planning expenses have more than doubled, from $31,000 last year to $70,000 this year.

Bascom said the planning expenditures include $20,000, for which the township could receive a grant. The grant, from the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions (ANJEC), would offset some of the increase, according to Bascom.

Other increases in the proposed budget include $8,000 more than last year for courtesy busing for students. This year, the program would receive $45,000. The township would also spend $12,000 to comply with new statewide storm-water regulations, which amounts to a $4,000 increase over what was spent on similar issues last year.

Municipal employee group insurance costs also increased this year by $30,000, to $270,000, but pension contributions remained the same, Bascom said. Social Security contributions have gone up by $10,000, to $120,000, she said.

The proposed budget also factors in a $94,450 increase in the capital improvement fund, which now totals $594,450.

Budgeting for public works and park equipment would decrease, from $228,000 last year to $204,700. Funding for office equipment and computers would also decrease, from $30,000 last year to $10,000 this year.

The budget’s increases include money for park improvements, which in 2005 would amount to $44,000, up from $10,000 in 2004.

Acquisition of firefighting equipment moneys would double, from $43,000 last year to $86,300 this year.

The biggest increase in the proposed capital budget would go to the reserve for emergency vehicles. That portion of the budget, which amounted to $20,000 last year, would increase to $200,000.

Bascom said the funding would help to minimize bonding and borrowing to meet those needs.

“The most significant increase in the fire line component of the budget has been to increase the fund for future purchase of emergency response apparatus within the next few years,” Bascom said. “Whether it is a rescue truck, pumper or aerial device will be determined through additional planning based on projected growth.”

The budget for improvements to roads and walkways remains the same at $150,000.