BY CHRISTINE VARNO
Staff Writer

OCEANPORT - The Borough Council adopted a $5.7 million municipal budget last week, which calls for $3.7 million to be raised by taxpayers.

At the April 20 council meeting, five out of the six council members voted in favor of the 2006 budget, which represents a 4.1 cent per $100 of assessed value property tax increase.

"This is a sound, solid budget," Councilman John Ibex said at the meeting. "[The budget] is a long, involved process with a lot of thought and effort. This is a budget that is affordable."

Homeowners living in a home assessed at $500,000 will be paying an additional $205 annually under the budget.

Ibex explained at the meeting that due to the completion of a revaluation in the borough, a current tax rate figure will not be available until June.

A large portion of the budget increase is attributed to funding a housing plan adopted by the council in November in order for the borough to comply with the state Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) requirements, according to Borough Clerk Kim Jungfer.

The budget includes approximately $190,000 to fund the housing plan as well as attorney fees including a "builders' remedy" lawsuit filed against the borough.

The other three areas in the budget with the largest increases include police salaries, which represent $120,000 of the budget; debt service in the amount of $99,000; and pension increases, which call for $70,000, according to the budget.

"This is a sound budget that we can operate under, but there are no frills in this budget," Jungfer said at the meeting.