Slight increase in ‘16 taxes: average home levy up $16

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — The Bloomfield Township Council approved its 2016 municipal budget on Monday, April 18. A property owner with an average-assessed home of $270,700 will see an increase of $16 for the year.

The total budget will be $78.7 million. The amount to be raised by property taxes is $58.6 million. The Bloomfield Public Library will receive $1.4 million, down about $13,000 from 2015. The 2016 Open Space tax will be $201,577.
Mayor Michael Venezia said the tax increase is the lowest in 16 years.

“It’s come down every year the last three years,” he said in a telephone interview. “I have to give Township Administrator Matt Watkins a lot of credit. He did this budget to the penny.” The mayor said additional funds will go toward roadway improvements. “The roads were neglected for years,” he said.

Three bridges will be under repair within the next few months. Venezia said they are the Berkeley Avenue bridge, the Hoover Avenue bridge, and the Montgomery Street bridge, which goes over the Garden State Parkway. The Hoover Avenue bridge passes over a narrow Third River at the southern boundary of Brookside Park.

The mayor said no cuts in municipal personnel are being made.
The approved Bloomfield Board of Education budget for 2016-2017 will increase taxes by an additional $82 for the average-assessed home. The total increase in taxes will be about $98 for the average home.

The council also consented to Township Attorney Michael Parlavecchio’s request that the first reading of a rent-control ordinance be postponed. Citing his position as a newcomer to the council, Parlavecchio said the amount of concern raised by landlords and tenants alike recommended a short postponement. He said that anyone with additional suggestions on rent control has until April 25 to contact him.