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Towns tweak budgets
(by Joe Olivieri and Owen Proctor - August 13, 2008)
The Cedar Grove and Verona township councils are taking one more look at their 2008 budgets.
The municipalities discussed and decided on finances - and their impact on taxes - earlier in the year. But, as always, they have to wait for the state extraordinary aid announcement before finalization.
As previously reported, Cedar Grove is receiving $100,000 in extraordinary aid this year to help ease the tax burden. The state, however, turned down Verona’s aid request, forcing the municipality to cut more than originally planned.
Verona
The Verona Township Council on Monday discussed ways to cut $200,000, or four tax points, from its 2008 budget to address the state aid shortfall and increased fuel costs.
Township Manager Joseph Martin and Chief Financial Officer Dorothy Trimmer recommended the council use budget surplus funds, which it would replenish through cost-saving measures during the rest of the year.
Martin suggested potential cuts in the following categories: snow removal and Department of Public Works overtime; adjustments for uncollected taxes; interest premiums on the bond sale; and police salary and wages for an unfilled position.
The manager discouraged the latter because he expected the township would need to pay police overtime while Essex County updated the traffic signal at Bloomfield and Lakeside avenues.
Martin said that Verona lost $70,000 in Department of Homeland Security funds when they were pushed back from 2007 to 2008.
The township projects coming up short $35,000 to $40,000 for fuel costs. Two bankruptcies will cost Verona $60,000 in uncollected taxes, including a property tax dispute at Kip’s Castle which will end up costing approximately $30,000.
Martin said the township has previously used surplus in the budget and doing so, instead of making direct cuts, was safer to track financially.
Cedar Grove
Cedar Grove isn’t just accepting its state extraordinary aid and moving on.
Upon the governing body’s request, Cedar Grove Township Manager Thomas Tucci told the council Monday that he further reviewed the 2008 municipal budget to curtail a looming 25-point tax increase.
Three points will be shaved thanks to the state extraordinary aid, he said. The council also agreed to another round of cuts, totaling $32,380, or around one point, resulting in a less painful 21-point tax increase.
The slashes eliminate summer help for the roads and parks program, trim various snow removal expenses and reduce the township’s Emergency Management Fund, Tucci said.
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