NO TAX HIKE FOR 2010

Transition Tab Continues Same Rate

(Reprinted from Amboy Beacon, Aug. 18, 2010) PERTH AMBOY — The municipal portion of the local property-tax bill will remain the same until the end of the year as a result of City Council action taken last week. Taking-up where the “old Council” left-off, the “new Council” voted unanimously to introduce a Transition Year 2010 Budget to bridge the gap between the Fiscal Year 2009-10 Budget and the Calendar Year 2011 Budget. The Resolution was moved by Councilman William Petrick, seconded by Councilman Kenneth Gonzalez and adopted 5-0. Councilman Joel Pabon Sr. voted for introducing the proposed six-month TY 2010 Budget, which covers the period from July 1 through Dec. 31, 2010, although “I still have some issues” with it. The Council’s action sends the spending plan to the state Department of Community Affairs (DCA) for its approval. A public hearing date of Wednesday, Sept. 22, at 7 p.m. at City Hall, High Street, was tentatively-set by the governing body.  A copy of the 66-page TY 2010 Budget Worksheet has been obtained by the Amboy Beacon. The Amount To Be Raised By Taxes is $27,607,153 over six months, exactly one-half of the Amount To Be Raised By Taxes over one year for FY 2009-10 ($55,214,306). However, the total TY 2010 Budget is $38,280,092, which is $737,483 less than half of the FY 2009-10, Budget ($39,017,575). Rather than simply halving line-item accounts, the TY 2010 Budget includes substantial increases for such things as the Reserve For Uncollected Taxes — from $998,726 for FY 2009-10 to $2,321,906 for TY 2010 — and the Reserve For Tax Appeals — from $185,000 for FY 2009-10 to $1,000,000 for TY 2010. Apparently, the city is anticipating future difficulty in tax-collections because of the sputtering national economy, even-though the Tax-Collection Rate for FY 2009-10 was a healthy 94.8-percent. Out of 101 appropriation line-items, 43 are increases, 43 are decreases and 15 are unchanged. General Liability Insurance for TY 2010 is $745,000 for six months, compared to $735,000 for a full year in FY 2009-10. Workers Compensation Insurance for TY 2010 is $1,749,895 for six months, compared to $2,365,000 for a full year in FY 2009-10. On the other hand, Urban Enterprise Zone (UEZ) — $484,624 in FY 2009-10 — is down to $15,000 in TY 2010, while Emergency Management — $102,300 for Salaries & Wages and $6,500 for Other Expenses, or a total of $108,800, in FY 2009-10 — is zeroed-out in TY 2010. In an attempt to head-off a projected financial crisis down-the-road, the previous Council voted unanimously on May 26 to enact an Ordinance authorizing reversion from a Fiscal Year (July 1-June 30) Budget to a Calendar Year (Jan. 1-Dec. 31) Budget. In reverting to Calendar Year budgeting from Fiscal Year budgeting, Perth Amboy followed the lead of neighboring South Amboy, which was the first municipality in the state to revert from Fiscal Year budgeting to Calendar Year budgeting in 2009 under a new state law giving municipalities which were mandated to change from Calendar Year budgeting to Fiscal Year budgeting — like Perth Amboy and South Amboy — the option of going-back to Fiscal Year budgeting. However, reversion had a negative impact upon South Amboy, whose officials had not anticipated a tax increase for the average city home, assessed at $266,000, of $571 or 38 percent.