Council budget questions lead to special hearing
Maclearie: Council kept promise to stabilize taxes
BY LINDA DeNICOLA
Staff Writer

TINTON FALLS - After closing the public hearing on the budget during last week's Borough Council meeting because members had so many questions, the council voted to hold a special budget hearing on April 23.

Councilman Michael Skudera said the next day that the budget is one of the most important items that council votes on and it should be as open as possible. In addition, the budget was not posted on the borough's Web site until the day of the public hearing, he said.

"Having this special meeting allows the council to properly discuss in public all matters of the budget," he said.

The Tinton Falls 2007 spending plan of $19.9 million was introduced March 12 at which time each of the five council members was given a copy to review.

"The process has always been that the night the budget is introduced, it is handed over to the council, Mayor Peter Maclearie explained. "This starts the ball moving and basically they get to start to work with it. They can look at it and make suggestions and modifications.

"Earlier, I had asked some members to be on the finance committee, which would have allowed them to see the budget as it was being developed. That was just a courtesy," he said, adding that Councilman Jim Allen and Councilwoman Kim Barrett sat on the finance committee.

"I'm willing to listen to suggestions, but I didn't receive any suggestions from the finance committee. We went as far as scheduling a Sunday afternoon to sit down with them during the process. It shouldn't have been foreign to them when it was introduced," he said.

Maclearie was decidedly nonplused that the council asked so many questions during the hearing.

"They could have asked those questions during the past few months of the process," he said, adding that they spent "way too much time discussing things like a potential library and the capital program that has always been a part of the budget.

"It's designed as a wish list/long-range plan. As you are looking at the future, you can see that there will be a need for capital expenditures. They could have picked up the phone and asked these questions before the meeting. They could send an e-mail," he continued, adding, "I don't disagree with public discussion, but if you do your homework, you can pick up the phone and ask questions."

Maclearie said that pensions are a major factor as to why the budget went up and that is out of the council's control. In addition, the budget goes up when there is an election. Tinton Falls has elections every other year.

"We didn't have one last year," Maclearie said, adding that the explanations for many of the questions asked are readily available.

They were asking questions about the budget cap, Maclearie said. "It's a regular process. We've passed the same resolution for years. They voted for it at the previous meeting. They voted for it last year."

Skudera defended the council's actions.

"It is better to have an open dialogue in the public eye about the budget than to ask questions and deliberate behind the scenes," he said. "Anytime council is faced with increasing taxes, even if by a small percentage, it should seriously consider all angles and openly debate this in public. I am in favor of having this extra meeting to address all questions and concerns publicly, and not one member of council objected to this when it came time for a vote."

The $19,920,819 spending plan calls for a 2.3 percent increase over last year's budget of $19,476,676, which equates to a $441,143 difference. According to Stephen Pfeffer, the borough's chief financial director, the tax levy would go up from $9,516,865 in 2006, to $9,900,138 in the new budget and the municipal tax rate would go up 2.4 percent, from 75.5 cents per $100 of assessed valuation to 77.3 cents.

The new budget would translate into about $18 more in taxes annually for each $100,000 of assessed value. For a home valued at $1 million, that amounts to $181 in added annual taxes.

Pfeffer explained that most of the houses in the borough are assessed at between $150,000 to $600,000. A home valued at $300,000 would pay an additional $54 in taxes annually.

Council President Brendan Tobin said after the budget was introduced that he was happy with the budget and in a prepared statement at the time the budget was introduced, Maclearie said he and the council have followed through on their goal of stabilizing taxes in future years.

"Our administration, with the support of the Borough Council, has been very busy making needed changes, handling countless issues, and implementing ways to cut costs without cutting services," he said.

He explained that last year, they implemented a fiscal plan with the aim of limiting future increases to the cost of living.

He added, the council will continue to look for cost savings through improved processes and shared services, as well as increased fees as a way to offset the costs of providing the corresponding services.

Tobin noted at the time the budget was introduced that in Tinton Falls' Faulkner Act form of government, the budget is compiled by the mayor and the administration and the council gets to see it when it is introduced.

"We as a council now have a chance to review the budget and make recommendations for any further cuts, but we've been in that mind set for nearly two years already, so we're on it with this budget, too," he said.

Maclearie said last week that he understood the council might want to make changes, but he didn't understand the need for all of the last minute questions.