Englishtown Has One Of State's Lowest Tax Bills; Highest Rate Increases

Englishtown Borough's property tax bills remain the among lowest in the state. But the township had one of the highest increases in 2012.

Englishtown's 5.8 percent tax hike was the 25th highest out of 566 total tax bill hikes, according to a Star-Ledger analysis.

Councilman Greg Wojyn sat down with Englishtown Chief Financial Officer Laurie Finger and came up with a different tax rate increase for the Borough than the state did.

"Our actual tax rate increase went up 4.38 percent in Englishtown and that's all within the budgetary cap," Wojyn said.

In terms of increases, the taxes for the high school, fire district, and Monmouth County all went up approximately one penny each. Additionally, the Borough had $23,000 in tax appeals that they were obliged to pay, Wojyn explained.

The Councilman went on to say that contractual obligations for police salaries were also a part of the budget, as well as funding for new technology for the municipality.

Revenue surplus in Englishtown was down approximately $52,000 also at the time, however, now that Walgreens has come to the Borough ratables have increased, according to Wojyn. 

The Star-Ledger report noted that property taxes statewide rose 2.4 percent in 2011, the first year Christie’s 2 percent cap was in effect. But the trend of lower increases could be reversed because of Hurricane Sandy, according to the report.

In Manasquan, which suffered some of the worst damage from Sandy, local officials said the cost of rebuilding might drive up tax rates by at least 20 percent, the report said. To top it off, the tax base shrank as properties were washed away, according to the report. Towns are allowed to exceed the 2 percent limit on property tax collections for emergencies such as Sandy.

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