Kala Kachmar

@NewsQuip

Lake Como residents on Tuesday voted, in effect, to disband their police department by rejecting a budget proposal that would have raised taxes by more than 22 percent and maintained a borough police force.

Instead, the town will enter into a contract with Belmar for police services that will save taxpayers nearly $1.5 million. The 10-officer department will be disbanded as soon as the contract is finalized, which could be within the next week, Mayor Brian Wilton said.

The proposed tax levy and budget needed voter approval because it went above the state's 2 percent tax cap. But residents voted it down, 379 to 137, not including 11 provisional ballots that haven't yet been counted. About 48 percent — or about 516 of the town's 1,055 registered voters — cast ballots on Tuesday.

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“I’m not surprised at the (results), given the state of the economy." Wilton said. "People are just not inclined to accept any tax increases, even a small one, let alone a 22 percent increase," Wilton said.

“Voting ‘yes’ would have been a temporary fix,” said B.J. Dahrouge, a Lake Como resident who voted against the budget increase. “(Costs) are going to keep going up — along with the cost of living. It’s not that we aren’t appreciative of the police department, but we won’t be able to sustain ourselves.”

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It would have cost about $2.4 million — and raised the tax levy to $3.3 million — to fund the police department. The contract with Belmar will cost about $914,000, said Louise Mekosh, the borough administrator.

Taxpayers with a home valued at $400,000 would have paid about $700 more in municipal taxes in 2016.

Instead, the levy will be about $2.9 million, or about $300,000 more than the 2015 levy. But by 2018 — after the town is done paying pension obligations — taxes are expected to go down significantly, Mekosh said.

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The 2018 tax levy is projected to be about $1 million less than this year’s, which means a significant break for taxpayers, she said.

“Everything will be stable at that point,” she said. “It’ll really cut down on the variables."

Resident Renee Gaskin said being able to afford a tax increase that high is unrealistic for many homeowners.

“I’m against this budget,” Gaskin said. “As a homeowner – and a single person paying my own bills and my own mortage – it’s a huge increase.”

Gaskin, a former renter in Belmar, said she has faith that the Belmar Police Department will do a good job.

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Wilton said the majority of the town’s revenue is already on the backs of taxpayers because the town has minimal income from building permit fees, construction fees, mercantile licenses and tourism fees.

“We’re not talking about a lot of money,” Wilton said. “Our business area is about a block long. You’re not going to float the town on those kinds of funds.”

Wilton said the police department would routinely go over its budget and the council had to take money from other places, including the surplus, to make up the difference.

“It’s been a rough year for the borough," Wilton said. "We had some hard decisions to make and we made them. We’re going to make sure we get this (contract) wrapped up and continue to do what’s best for the residents of Lake Como.”

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But not all residents are happy with the results of the referendum.

Debra Cook, who has lived in Lake Como her entire life, doesn't want to see the police department get disbanded. She said it's a tight-knit community and everyone watches out for one another.

"A lot of the (police) are from around here," Cook said. "A lot of them have roots here. Belmar (police) don't care. They don't know us."

Cook said for her, the tax increase would have been worth it.

Meanwhile, Neptune residents voted in four board members who didn't face opposition. Donna L. Puryear, Michelle A. Moss and Jason Jones will serve full terms, and William S. Wells will serve a one-year term. They also approved the school district's $36,756,362 million budget, 476-295.

In Asbury Park, incumbent Connie Breech and newcomers Dominic Latoracca and Barbara Lesinski were elected. Incumbent school board president Nicolle Harris was voted out.

Residents also approved spending $6,768,451 on the 2016-17 school budget, 502-272.

Kala Kachmar: 732-643-4061; kkachmar@gannettnj,com.

Budgets by the numbers:

2015 actual budget: $4.1 million

2016 proposed budget: $3.7 million

2017 projected budget: $3 million

2018 projected budget: $2.9 million