Neptune Tax Rate to Increase 4.7 Cents
Page 2 of 2
He said the township should be planning more for next years budget, when the increase in pension costs will be $1 million.
Catley, who voted in favor of the budget, said he does not apologize for his efforts to move many projects forward that he believes will bring relief to taxpayers.
We have plenty of staff here, we have plenty of planners and so forth on board, that we dont have too much on our table, he said; in fact we should have more on our table, because the taxpayers in Neptune Township demand some relief.
So Im not going to apologize one bit for having a lot on our agenda and a lot on our plate, Catley said. Its our job and were doing it right.
Catley said that Manning and Bishop had the opportunity to cut $300,000 from the budget by switching health plans, which the two Democrats voted against. The committee did approve the health plan switch by a three to two margin.
The mayor also said that in order to save money for next years budget to help pay for increased pension costs, the township would have had to increase the tax rate this year.
Committeeman Francis Paladino, who voted in favor of the budget, said he felt sort of betrayed by the dissenting votes from Manning and Bishop.
At our workshop we came to the question of, What else can we do?, What else can we cut?, What project or what event shall we eliminate from this budget, Paladino said. Im here to tell you, no one came forward with anything.
He said Manning and Bishop should bring forward changes that would create a budget the two committeemen would vote in favor of.
The committees vote in regards to the budget was split along party lines, as Catley, Paladino, and Deputy Mayor Michael Golub, all of whom are Republicans, voted in favor of the budget.
In other news, the committee approved an ordinance to purchase the Ridge Avenue School property from the board of education for $2.4 million, with $2.28 million coming from bonds.
Read more about your town by picking up The Coaster at your local newsstand or subscribe today.
Published every Thursday.
Pages: 1 2
