Morris Township introduces 2015 budget with slight increase

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Video: Committee remarks, recorded by Lee Goldberg

By Kevin Coughlin

Morris Township residents will see a slight rise in their local taxes under the 2015 municipal spending plan introduced Wednesday by the Township committee.

morris township logoSomeone owning a home assessed at the Township average of $393,000 will pay an additional $60 this year, said Township Administrator Tim Quinn.

But the Morris School District’s tax bite should be painless — $10 or less for that same homeowner, the Administrator said.

Residents in neighboring Morristown will see a more significant rise in their bills for the regional school district. The average homeowner there will pay an additional $101 this year, under a complex formula that apportions school taxes between the two municipalities.

The Township’s municipal budget breaks down like this (numbers are rounded):

  • Total general revenues: $35.7 million, up by about $600,000 from last year.
  • Municipal amount to be raised by taxes: $22.5 million, up from about $22 million.
  • Debt service: Almost $4 million, up from about $3 million.
  • Capital improvements: $168,000, down $772,000.
  • Sewer budget: $10.4 million, up from $8.3 million.
  • Swimming pool budget: $996,000, up from $806,000.
  • Parking utility budget: $532,000, up from $300,000.

Staffing is unchanged: 172 full-time employees and 134 part-timers.

“It’s a balancing act,” said Mayor Dan Caffrey, describing the document as “a very, very fiscally responsible budget.”

Committeeman Peter Mancuso praised Quinn, Committeeman Bruce Sisler and Township Chief Financial Officer Francine DeAngelis for their budget preparation.

“The budget … has 35 or 40 moving parts in it. The fact that it came to fruition once again is a tribute” to Quinn and his team, said Mancuso.

Video: Matheu Nunn speaks after being sworn in as Committeeman. Recorded by Lee Goldberg

Challenges cited by Township officials include a property tax revaluation, ordered last year by the Morris County tax board.  The Township essentially has had to borrow $800,000 from itself to conduct the reval — its first one in more than a dozen years — and will repay this emergency appropriation at the rate of $160,000 over the next five years.

The Township and Morristown also are splitting the $500,000 cost of exterior improvements to the Morristown & Township Library over the next two years.  The Township’s Ginty Pool also is undergoing major renovations.

Employee health benefits in the Township, meanwhile, have risen by 9 percent (medical) and 12 percent (prescription). Even though workers are contributing more ($780,000, or 23 percent) towards these expenses, the Township still must absorb a $125,000 increase– 5.5 percent higher than in 2014.

State aid remains unchanged, at just under $3.3 million.

Mirroring a national trend, recycling revenue has plunged considerably. In past years, the Township realized $300,000 in recycling revenue. Only $50,000 is anticipated this year.

One line item that’s not going up is employee salaries.  Retirements have enabled some new hires at lower salaries, Quinn explained.

Given these and other hurdles, Quinn said he was satisfied with the package.

“It’s a pretty straightforward budget.  It’s fiscally responsible, to maintain a low tax rate,” said the former police chief.

A public hearing on the budget, and the committee’s anticipated vote to adopt it, are scheduled for May 20, 2015.

Lee Goldberg contributed to this report.

Video: Mayor Dan Caffrey remembers the late philanthropist  Joseph P. Goryeb. Recorded by Lee Goldberg

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