Land sale, ratables helps Millville avoid tax hike

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Land sale, ratables helps Millville avoid tax hike

By EDWARD VAN EMBDEN Staff Writer, 856-649-2072

Published: Tuesday, September 30, 2008

MILLVILLE - Before voting on last year's budget, Director of Revenue and Finance Joe Derella informed his fellow commissioners that a decrease in state aid to the municipality nearly caused the tax rate to climb, but cost-cutting measures had squashed that possibility.

This year, as Millville introduced its fiscal year 2009 budget, Derella talked again about state aid, about how this time there was none available from the Department of Community Affairs, and how the budget was affected.

With department cuts, an increase in ratables and the sale of hundreds of acres to New Jersey Motorsports Park, Derella said the city's budget remained stable and, over the course of the fiscal year, presented no rate increase.

Residents, Derella said, will pay the rate of $1.13 per $100 of assessed property value on their first and second quarter property tax bills, a slight decrease from the $1.132 rate they paid on their third and fourth quarter taxes to cover the $29.475 million budget.

The budget will be voted on 5 p.m. Nov. 3 in the city's commission chambers after a public hearing.

Last year's budget was introduced at $1.18 but was adopted at $1.10 per $100 of assessed value, meaning residents paid two different rates at different points throughout the year. The goal this time around, Derella said, was to eliminate spiking and find a tax rate that could hold up throughout the fiscal year.

Derella said residents will find that they're paying less to the municipality this year compared to last. Owners of homes assessed at $145,000 will see a $70 reduction in the cost of their municipal tax bill.

This reduction, he said, will offset tax hikes from the county and the school board. Owners of the same home, he said, will pay $82 more to the county and $35 more to the school district, two areas beyond Millville's control.

Despite getting its Police Department to full strength, the city was able to save money in public safety by using Urban Enterprise Zone funding to pay the majority of the salaries for a couple of its officers. The city also cut seven jobs through retirement and consolidation to help offset the rising costs of pensions, fuel and insurance for its employees.

E-mail Edward Van Embden:

EVanEmbden@pressofac.com