Last night the Manalapan Township Committee introduced their 2012 budget, which cut spending by $651,082.03, or a 2.1 percent decrease since last year, but will still cause a minimal increase to taxpayers.

If this budget is passed by the Township Committee, Manalapan residents will see a $0.06 tax levy increase from last year, bringing the proposed tax rate to $0.339 per every $100 assessed value.

According to Manalapan Township Administrator Tara Lovrich, the average Manalapan home is assessed at $378,566 so if this budget is passed the average homeowner would see an increase of $2.21 per month, or $26.50 per year.

Committeman and Finance Liaison Ryan Green said that this budget is “fiscally sound, and more importantly, this budget maintains all of the municipal services that the residents deserve.”

The $30,678,125.36 proposed budget sees a budget reduction for the third year in a row. This budget will see a decrease in salary and wage appropriations, deferred charges, and reserve for uncollected taxes, but see an increase in statutory and other expenses, capital appropriations and debt service. The largest decrease is seen in salary and wages, which has been reduced by $569,265.50.

Green said that this is merely the beginning of the conversation. The final budget will be adopted on April 25, when an open public hearing on the budget will also occur. Green encourages residents to provide feedback to the Township Committee about the proposed budget, which will be reviewed by the finance committee who will be making recommendations.

A copy of the budget documents will soon be available online at the Manalapan Township Web site, all Township Committee members can be contacted by e-mail, and Green urges residents to speak about the proposed budget at the April 11 and April 25 Township Committee meetings.