Taxes in prelim budget up $73.69 for average home

GLEN RIDGE, NJ — The Glen Ridge Borough Council unveiled its tentative 2016 budget on Monday. According to Councilman Peter Hughes, taxes will increase by $73.69 for the average-assessed Glen Ridge home of $543,000. Local tax for municipal purposes will be $10.4 million. The library tax will add another $519,818 for a total tax amount of $11.1 million. The council is expected to vote May 9 on the budget.

Hughes said taxes cover 82 percent of the total budget necessary to support the borough. The balance comes from other sources.

Municipal employment accounts for $6.6 million in costs, he said. There are 57 full-time workers and 126 part-timers.

He said there are a number of factors which drive the budget. Services provided to the community; retirement systems; health care; state aid; and the 2 percent cap on spending.

Health care costs for borough employees will increase by $900,000, Hughes said. This is an increase of 5.8 percent over 2015.

State aid, however, he said, is not increasing. Glen Ridge will continue to receive $399,541 as it has since 2010.

“The state hasn’t been helping us,” he said. “This does not include other grants from the state.”

One source of those grants is the Transportation Trust Fund. Hughes said it is anticipated the fund will be broke this summer. He met with local state representatives about this issue.

The 2 percent cap, Hughes said, forces government to be especially careful about how it spends money. But even the cap has its exceptions — health, debt service, capital expenditures and emergencies.

Hughes said that 99.4 percent of Glen Ridge taxes are collected on time. He said there is very little uncollected tax in the borough.

Fire services, provided by Montclair, will cost Glen Ridge $625,000 in 2016.
Mentioned were also some capital projects which include the planting of 200 trees, and improvements to Douglas Road and Avon Place. Hughes said it was surprising to him how little the borough spends on parks and the library, two places where residents meet.

Hughes ended with his primary concern “We need to get the Transportation Trust Fund back on track,” he said. “If it needs a gasoline tax, OK. But that’s my person feeling, not the mayor’s or the council’s.”