There is an estimated tax increase of 3.7 cents or $122.10 a year for homes with an average assessment of $330,013 to close holes in the budget, according to Medford Township manager Chris Schultz discussed the 2013 budget at the Feb. 19 township council meeting.
The budget is projected to be $20,971,844, a 4.4 percent decrease with no referendum needed, according to Schultz.
Last year, the township budget was $21,937,212, a total decrease of $965,368.
Despite the tax increase, there are positives for residents to consider, Schultz said.
According to the presentation, there will be no school deferral for a second year, a tactic that was used before 2012. There will be no maximization of revenues and expense reduction and stabilization. Additionally, there will be no utilization of the township’s surplus, increasing the currently maintained surplus.
Schultz added previous councils would utilize the entirety of the surplus to curb tax increases, a process the current council would not be continuing.
State aid will remain the same as last year. According to Schultz, the state said to expect the same amount of aid from 2012, totaling $1,991,135 for the township.
According to the presentation, the budget maintains the 2012 level of service with some modifications attributed to the outsourcing of sanitation, changes to the state health benefit plan, which could save the township up to $600,000, the application of relevant laws relating to health-care contributions, staff transitions, refinancing of eligible debt and the departmental budget management.
The township will continue brush and leaf collection.
According to Schultz, the township is looking to expand to two more pickups for the collections due to the deficiencies in the process.
“I want to compliment the department heads. They’re watching their dollars now. We’re all trying to watch what we do and how we do it,” Schultz said.
The budget is now in the hands of the council. The target date for introduction was March 15 and adoption is slated for April 26.
Pinelands Branch Library
The township received an email on Feb. 13 from Freeholder Leah Arter containing a letter and a new contract for the library.
The letter cited the “unacceptable offer” made by the township regarding upgrades to the Pinelands Branch Library building.
The agreement is slated to reimburse the township up to $30,000 for upgrades to the facility. The second part of the letter discussed refurbishment of the building, details the council has yet to discuss.
“I don’t know that I agree with the statement entirely because [the letter] says the same as what our agreement said,” Mayor Frank Czekay said. “Our agreement stated that we could seek reimbursement ourselves or they could pay the contractors directly. From my standpoint, I’m in agreement, other than one point. In their agreement they involved a third party: the Medford Library Association. My issue is that I have done my own research on this society and I have found no evidence of this association.”
According to Czekay, there is no record of the nonprofit Friends of the Medford Library Association. Through research, he did not find tax returns to the IRS for at least the last two years, or registrations. The state requires registration for all nonprofit organizations.
“I’m struggling with signing an agreement that is not compliant for an inactive organization,” Czekay said.
Czekay has sent two emails to confirm the organization’s status with no response.
“My issue is I have to wait for confirmation on the viability of the association. As soon as they confirm, I have no problem signing the agreement, that’s the only issue I have,” Czekay said.
“It’s a tiresome argument,” council member Chris Buoni said. “This notion has been pushed forward that it’s Medford town council’s problem. It’s part of the BCLS, it is Burlington County’s issue. At this point, I’m OK with the terms, but I’m not ready to sign an agreement for an association that doesn’t exist.”
Czekay’s main concern is the possible legal repercussions of exchanging money with a nonexistent nonprofit.
“If they’re not compliant, they have voided their [tax] exempt status. If they take a donation, it’s illegal and they do not have the authority to cash it and use [the money],” he said. “If the donor has taken the donation it’s also illegal. I’m worried the organization has taken in money illegally. It creates problems for people who may have donated and those who have taken those donations.”
The council reiterated that despite the issues, the branch will not close and are focused on coming to an agreement for 2013 and then begin to plan for refurbishment.
Next meeting
The next township council meeting will be held March 5 at 7:30 p.m. at the Public Safety Building, located at 91 Union Street.
