Taxes Up $7.50 Per Month on Average Per Proposed 2013 Municipal Budget

Members of the Westfield Town Council and Town Administrator Jim Gildea introduced the proposed 2013 Municipal Budget at Tuesday evening's public meeting.

Prior to beginning the Power Point presentation which will be made available on the Town's website within the next several days, Mayor Andy Skibitsky said, "I think what you're going to see is a very good budget. We've been working very hard over the years in very difficult financial situations to make sure that we deliver the services that our residents deserve while at the same time keeping our taxes as low as possible."

Skibitsky said he believes the Council has made good decisions but it has not been without a lot of hard work and sometimes unpopular choices. He thanked past chairs of the finance committee as well as Councilman Sam Della Fera who currently holds that position. 

Both the mayor and councilman noted that salaries and wages, which account for 40 percent of expenditures, are below 2005 levels. Skibitsky said as many as 50 positions have been eliminated, which has helped keep the budget under control under challenging times. Over the past eight years, 35 full-time and 18 part-time positions have been eliminated while nine full-time positions were reduced to part-time. 

Both Skibitsky and Gildea pointed out that this reduction in staffing means additional work for those employees who remain and they thanked the Town's employees for their continued efforts to maintain services.

Della Fera said what he is most proud of in this budget is that it falls within the state-mandated two percent tax levy cap and it is also inclusive of all state-allowed exclusions.

"This budget actually does that and I'm very proud of that," he said. "No gimmicks, no sleight of hand. This property tax levy will increase only by less than two percent, inclusive of all state exclusions and we're very proud of that and I'd like to see that continue in the future."

The 2013 tax levy is $25,575,440, a half million dollars less than what the state would allow. If adopted, taxpayers will see an increase of $90 per year, or $7.50 per month on the average assessed home for 2013, which came in at $180,500.

State aid remained flat for the third consecutive year, something the finance committee was expecting.

Included in the presentation were some expenditures that Gildea said many residents might not be aware of, including:

• Clean-up from Hurricane Sandy: $263,000
• Street Lights: $350,000
• Crossing Guards: $338,000
• Leaf Collection: $235,000
• Curbside Recycling: $103,600
• Sanitary Wastewater Treatment (RVSA): $3,556,005

Gildea noted that even with residents paying a sewer fee for the second year, the revenues from that fee only account for half of that bill. He also pointed out that of a $15,000 tax bill, only $2,500 of that goes toward municipal services. The rest is divided among the county, school board and library.

Looking ahead, Gildea said the Town will continue to seek ways to increase revenues while decreasing expenditures in an effort to preserve services. He did add that while the budget is a plan, the two to three severe storms that have hit Westfield in the past two years, creating large expenditures, are incidents that one could not have anticipated. 

Public hearing regarding the public will continue throughout April. All are welcome to attend those meetings. Della Fera also suggested that anyone with questions about the budget contact him at budget@westfieldnj.gov