Budget deferment keeps rates stable in Ridgewood
Monday January 7, 2013, 1:00 PM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
The Ridgewood News
Ridgewood increased the amount of money that it owes the Board of Education, a legal accounting method that many New Jersey towns adopt in an attempt to keep their municipal tax rates stable.
Known in local government and budget lingo as the deferred school tax, the village’s financial obligation to the school district was upped to $43,075,160 by the end of 2012. The amount represents an approximate $861,000 spike over the 2011 total, an increase that the Village Council approved during a December meeting.
“In general, it’s a computation that takes into effect the growing school district budget. If the school district budget grows, then there’s more of the deferred tax that we can bring into our budget computations,” Village Manager Ken Gabbert said.
Each municipality is responsible for collecting taxes from its residents, including those who are charged by the county and school district. All taxes imposed for any calendar year must be collected in full by Dec. 31 of the same year.
New Jersey State Legislature states that, as a result of the different operating calendars, municipalities are not legally obligated to hand over all school taxes at the time they are collected. Because schools run on a fiscal calendar, which typically begins in July, state statute allows municipal governing bodies to use local school taxes that have been collected but not yet submitted to their respective board of education.
https://www.northjersey.com/news/185900172_Budget_deferment_keeps_rates_stable_in_Ridgewood.html