By MELISSA DIPENTO
Mt. Laurel Township Manager Jennifer Blumenthal presented a plan to show members of council and residents what services would be cut should council stay under the mandated 2 percent tax cap at last night’s special budget meeting.
Blumenthal said the township is facing about a $3.3 million budget deficit. The township is considering using the referendum, which would allow the question to be put out to voters on whether or not they would allow the township to exceed the 2 percent cap.
To raise the $3.3 million solely through the taxpayers, taxes would be raised by about 16 percent per homeowner, Blumenthal said. Township Auditor Robert Marrone said a 16 percent increase would cost residents with an assessed home value of approximately $180,000 an additional $226 in taxes this year.
Blumenthal outlined a detailed plan of personnel and services that would be cut, should the referendum be applied and voted down.
The plan included eliminating some police services, including proactive policing and non-violent crime investigations.
The proposal also called for the Senior/Community center to be closed, eliminating crossing guards, closing recreational fields at dusk, contracting EMS and transferring the library to the county system, among other options.
The total cost savings for all the proposed reductions and eliminations are not yet known. Blumenthal said she will be submitting a layoff plan later this week. Blumenthal said she expects to know monetary totals for how much savings later this week.
Gov. Christie also gave his budget address yesterday and reported that all municipalities would receive the same amount of state aid as last year.
Be sure to check back here for budget updates and also in next week’s paper, which will show the proposed cuts should the township stay within the 2 percent cap or the referendum fails.
