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COMMON GROUND - 5/28/2008
(by Anita Yarossi - OpEd Columnist - May 28, 2008)
Temporary budget redux
When I went to the last Ringwood council meeting, I was hoping to hear that the 2008 municipal budget had been adopted. In fact it was on the original proposed agenda for adoption that night under old business. It was dropped from the agenda because the council has still not received confirmation and a check from the North Jersey Water District Supply Commission for a parcel of land in Stonetown that they are counting on to lower the tax levy by about $150,000. They are also in a waiting mode to see if the Aid to Municipalities will improve which would also help to lower the tax levy. It is possible that this decision may not come from the Governor’s office until July.
They did resolve to approve the preparation and mailing of Estimated Tax bills for the second half of this year. Estimated tax bills are often confusing to residents as they are subject to change when the budget is finally adopted. They approved an appropriation of $500 to join in with other municipalities in challenging the 2008 Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) regulation which increased the number of units Ringwood and similar communities must provide affordable housing for people at less than current market prices, based on their income levels. Some of this money may also go to making necessary repairs and improvements to homes for residents with lower incomes.
They also approved the purchase of one 2008 Police Car as well as the purchase of a Police Mobile Data Computer System. The temporary capital budget was amended to include the possible funding for repairs to a wall, which recently collapsed on Lakeview Avenue.
I questioned the council as to when they thought the 2008 budget might be adopted. Mr. Taukus asked when last year’s budget was adopted and they seemed to think it was in October 2007. Mr. Taukus then indicated that this year’s budget would be adopted before October 2008. However, last year the adoption of the budget was awaiting the decision from the state on Extraordinary State Aid, which the borough had applied for in the amount of $750,000. When the Extraordinary State Aid was approved it came in at $300,000 – less than half of what had been anticipated. The budget hearings went on and on because three of the Democrats on the council wanted to make some significant cuts early on in the discussions when they would have been effective and the Republicans and Mayor Atlas refused to cut anything accept the funding for the Highlands Festival. The current 2008 budget appropriations are not being contested at the current council dais in front of the public. The temporary budget spending continues to be approved, without question.
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