Posted: Thursday, 04 March 2010 5:47AM
County Freeholders Approve 2010 Budget With 1.8 Cent Tax Increase
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It wasn’t an easy message to get across to Ocean County residents; there will be a tax increase this year.
After much debate during Wednesday’s public hearing, the Board of Chosen Freeholders voted unanimously to adopt the $348 million dollar spending plan with a 1.8 cent tax increase or roughly $25 dollars more a year for the average homeowner.
Residents weren’t shy about voicing their objections. One woman reminded the board of the large population of seniors, “How can you even think about raising taxes on the senior citizens, many of whom reside here, when they are on a fixed income and they didn’t even get a raise in their social security?”
“We are dying. We need our government to begin working for us,” added another woman from Barnegat.
Freeholder John Bartlett, liaison to the county’s department of finance, says they had to adjust the property tax rate slightly in order to maintain programs and services, “We have to plow streets, we have to keep our jails operational, meals on wheels, etc.”
The $348 million dollar spending plan is $10 million less than last year, but comes with a $16 million dollar decline in revenue and $8 million the county must pay to the state for pension and health care costs.
But not all of the dozen or so who spoke during the public hearing were against the budget, “I remember Governor Corzine wanted to raise tolls by 800 percent, and we’re talking about $25 per person, its not a big deal” noted Gary Black of Jackson.
Bartlett says Ocean County College, the vocational school, and the Boards of Social and Senior Services were the only departments spared from the budget ax, “Every other department in Ocean County had a significant cut of between 5 and 20 percent and the budget reduces the number of people working for the county by 65 through attrition.”
The Board says they will be monitoring the budget everyday, “It’s not a blueprint for spending, it’s an authorization to spend, and just because its there doesn’t mean it gets the green light” added Bartlett.
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