April 9, 2015 Last updated: Thursday, April 9, 2015, 4:02 PM
By Darius Amos
Staff Writer |
The Ridgewood News
Emphasizing an investment in personnel and the revitalization of village services, Ridgewood finance officials this week unveiled a “recommended” spending plan that would boost 2015 municipal taxes by 1.2 percent over last year.
For the typical Ridgewood household, this budget would increase tax bills by $46.72, based on the average assessed home value of $690,662.
The proposed $47.06 million budget was one of three spending scenarios presented by Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld during a special public meeting on Monday.
Each plan calls for a tax increase, a situation that the municipality avoided while crafting budgets during the previous two years.
Sonenfeld explained that keeping taxes flat while maintaining a high level of municipal services “is hard,” particularly during years when Ridgewood is obligated to pick up certain expenses, such as increases related to police and fire department contracts. This year was no exception, she said, noting that the police department budget will increase by more than $500,000 over last year’s actual amount spent.
“We took the message that the council gave us very seriously – with tax increases you would like to see service improvements and improvements in quality of life in the town. I think we all agree with that,” said Sonenfeld, who, along with treasurer Steve Sanzari, formulated the recommended budget using previously provided input from Ridgewood’s department leaders.
https://www.northjersey.com/news/recommended-plan-would-boost-tax-bills-by-46-1.1306062
that’s cheep