After appeals from the public at a packed Lower Township Council meeting Monday, April 7, council unanimously agreed to take another look at this year’s spending plan, which includes a 2.7-cent increase in the tax rate.
Several residents told council that their expenses were getting tighter and tighter, while their incomes remained the same, and that continued increases in taxes could mean they could no longer afford to live in Lower Township.
Council members said they would return the budget to department heads to look for places to trim the $23.3 million budget, but at the same time said most of the spending in the budget was mandated by the state or by existing contracts. The budget could return to council at its May 5 meeting.
While putting off the budget vote, council could not put off an amendment to the budget, to include a $123,000 drop in state aid this year. When the budget was introduced March 6, the township expected to get the same amount of aid from the state as last year, but instead saw a decrease this year.
The most recent version of the budget included a tax rate of 35.1 cents per $100 assessed value. Under that tax rate, the owner of a house assessed at $200,000 would pay $702 a year in municipal taxes, in addition to county taxes, taxes to the local and regional school district, the fire district assessment and other property taxes.