>Following intense questioning by two taxpayers, Village Council members unanimously approved an amended 2007 Municipal Budget at a Special Public meeting held on Wednesday evening. The resultant 2007 Municipal Tax Rate will be 4.66%.
Officials from the State of New Jersey’s Division of Local Government Services had rejected the Village’s original budget submission (a 3.80% Municipal Tax Rate increase) after it was discovered that non-cash surplus was being used to cover emergency appropriations approved by Council members during 2006. The use of non-cash surplus is not, nor was it every, permitted under current New Jersey Statute.
In response to taxpayer questions, Village Manager James M. Ten Hoeve admitted that mistakes had been made in preparing the original budget submission. However, Mr. Ten Hoeve did not identify who was responsible for making those mistakes. Village CFO Dorothy Stikna was present in the audience, but was not called upon with respect to explanations about the budget preparation process.
Councilman Patrick A. Mancuso and Councilwoman Kim Ringler-Shagin both praised Village department heads for their efforts at reducing budgeted 2007 expenses in comparison to 2006 spending levels. However, neither Mancuso nor Ringler-Shagin addressed issues related to the State budget examiner’s three page audit findings report.
>no wounder Pat is pushing the teanage drinking thing too distract voters from looking at the REAL ISSUES IN TH VILLAGE
>Like Ten Hoeve and Moritz??
>wasn’t there another problem with sloppy book keeping in the past few years?