

ROBBINSVILLE — Township officials hope the proposed 2013-14 municipal budget will be the first of many with a stable tax rate.



Mayor Dave Fried presented a $21.9 million budget to the council last night that calls for a 2-cent tax-rate decrease, to 52.2 cents per $100 of assessed value. A taxpayer with a home assessed at the average value of $381,000 can expect to pay $1,992 in municipal taxes this year, a reduction of $76.



"If we can keep the tax rate stable for everyone, that's the most important thing," Fried said.

The proposed budget includes a $650,000 payment from online retailer Amazon, the first in a 20-year tax incentive plan that enticed the company to open a 1 million-square-foot warehouse in town.



"This is one budget," Council President Ron Witt said. "But if we're smart and cost-conscious at the government level — and we don't have any big swings in costs — with the additional money coming in, we can achieve tax stabilization."

The budget is down nearly $400,000 from last year, which Fried attributed to a number of small cuts in different township departments.



Included in the budget is an $809,000 debt payoff on the Kushner property, an open space tract purchased by the township in 2007. Original plans called for a $300,000 payment, Fried said.



"The more we wean ourselves off of debt, the less interest we're paying, which would allow us to provide further tax relief or continue to provide services," Fried said.



Fried said the budget had enough surplus funds to provide further tax relief, but it would be a one-time payment, leading to a tax increase next year.

Resident Rich Cruser said the tax decrease was welcome, but paled in comparison to tax increases over the years.

“In the past few years, my taxes have gone up $550 and you’re giving me back $75,” Cruser said. “I don’t know what to do with that extra $75: get a big box of cereal or fill my truck up with gas.”

Councilwoman Sheree McGowan was quick to point out that municipal taxes only made up 22 percent of the 2012 tax bill, with the school district accounting for 55 percent and the county making up 23 percent of the taxes paid by residents.

“When they see a budget, everyone has the same thought, to cut expenses,” Witt said. “What do we cut? You get to a critical mass. You can’t cut out life services. You can’t cut trash collection.”

The council also heard from Barbara Paskewicz, the widow of 40-year-old William Paskewicz, who was killed in a Jan. 27 hit-and-run crash on Robbinsville-Allentown Road.

In tears, Paskewicz requested the council look into constructing sidewalks on the road, in honor of her husband.



"We need sidewalks on that road so this doesn't happen to anyone else," she said. "If we can get sidewalks put in there so he did some good in his life, maybe another life can be saved."

Contact Mike Davis at (609) 989-5708 or mdavis@njtimes.com.

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