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Budget approved by town board cuts taxes 6 percent

By David Gordon

GREENVILLE — The Greenville Town Board has approved a budget for 2009 that reduces taxes by about 6 percent.

Following a public hearing that no one attended, the board voted for a budget that includes $891,896 in the general fund, $913,509 in the highway fund and $167,364 for the public library. The total budget of $1,972,859 is about 4.1 percent higher than the 2008 budget of $1,894,849. The amount to be raised by taxes, $1,286,320, is 1.1 percent lower than the 2008 tax levy of $1,300,739.

The projected tax rate of $5.20 per $1,000 of assessed value is 6.4 percent lower than the current year’s rate of $5.53 per $1,000. That rate includes the general fund, the highway fund and the library fund. The general fund pays for all town services except highways and libraries. Residents of special taxing districts, such as water, sewer, lighting and firefighting, pay taxes to the districts.

During the public hearing, the Town Board approved a salary increase for dog control officer Melissa Rosa from $3,300 to $4,000. Town clerk Ronnie Campbell said Rosa has been working for the town for a full year and has done a good job. “She just completed her schooling, and she’s starting an enumeration,” Campbell said.

The board also approved $400 for painting parking spaces in Freehold. Councilman Wayne Nelsen said the beautification committee has been paying for this work for the past two years, and the town should take this cost over. Greene County pays for striping the road, but not for marking out parking spaces. Lewis said the beautification committee should continue paying for the parking space painting and the town would reimburse the committee. This, he said, would eliminate the need for paperwork and competitive bidding should the town pay for the striping directly.

Lewis attributed the reduction in taxes to a careful job by all department heads in trimming expenses to the bone, to an increase in the work done by town highway and maintenance workers and to a reduction in the cost of health insurance through a change in carrier.

Lewis noted that much of the work on an extension of the sewer plant will be done by town employees rather than outside contractors.

The budget calls for expenditures of $106,000 for 2009 for health insurance. The 2008 budget was $115,000, but Campbell said the premium was anticipated to increase to $130,000 under the former carrier. The change in carrier represents a saving of about $26,000, Lewis said. The benefits to employees are as good as, or better than, the current health plan.

The budget includes more unexpended fund balance rolled over against taxes than last year, which helped reduce the amount to be raised by taxes. In 2008, the budget called for $205,000 in unspent balance to be used to offset taxes in the general fund, compared with $235,000 for 2009. In the highway fund, $50,000 will be rolled over against taxes in 2009, compared with $25,000 this year. The unexpended balance in the library fund remains at $16,000, the same as 2008.

Some of the unexpended funds from the previous year are held to cover emergencies, Lewis said, and some are returned to taxpayers through reduced taxes in the following year. “We thought it was a good time to use a little bit of the unexpended, of the reserves, to offset taxes, to keep the rate down,” he said. “We need some relief. We want to protect that balance as best we can, but this is also an appropriate time to use some, to keep taxes down.”

Taxes in the water district are zero, as the usage fees more than cover expenses. Sewer district residents will pay $1.34 per $1,000 in taxes. Fire districts include Greenville, $2.51 per $1,000, and Freehold, 91 cents. Lighting districts include Greenville 1, 1.9 cents per $1,000; Greenville 2, 0.9 cents, and Freehold lighting, 1.8 cents.

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