By PETE WALTON
There will be no municipal tax increase in Avon this year, according to Borough Administrator Timothy Gallagher.
He said county officials have also indicated that they will not raise taxes in 2017.
Gallagher did not know the status of the Avon Board of Education’s budget. Commissioner Robert Mahon noted that the school district cannot raise its budget by more than 2 percent by law.
The new municipal budget is likely to be introduced on March 27 with a public hearing in late April.
The administrator said the borough did not have to use as much of its surplus as usual to balance the budget.
“We are in very good shape for the next two years,” he said. According to Gallagher, it has been at least six years since the last municipal tax increase.
Also at their meeting earlier this week, the Board of Commissioners introduced an ordinance setting salaries and wages for 2017. Gallagher said copies would be available at the municipal offices starting today (March 2).
National Water Main Cleaning Co. of Kearny was awarded the contract for the borough’s 2017 sewer lining and trenchless rehabilitation project. The company’s low bid of $47,415 was below the anticipated cost.
Borough Engineer Charles Rooney said bids for excavation work involving the sewer system will be received on March 13. Rooney said that splitting the sewer work into two parts has resulted in cost savings for the borough.
Mayor John B. Magrini reported that items from the time capsule found inside the cornerstone of the former Taylor Memorial Baptist Church were taken to the Monmouth County Library so that they could be properly preserved. The mayor said he wanted the items to be scanned and posted on the borough’s web site.
Magrini said the borough needed to decide at some point where its historic archives should be kept and who should take care of them.
Boat slips at the borough marina are still available. Information on leases can be obtained at the municipal building on Main Street. The slips can be rented by boat owners who live in and outside of the borough.
