Council adopted the Fiscal Year 2019 budget during a special meeting on Friday, Sept. 21.
Cherry Hill residents will not see any change in their municipal tax bill as Cherry Hill Township Council adopted a Fiscal Year 2019 budget with no tax increase. Council unanimously adopted the $70,964,097 budget during a special meeting on Friday, Sept. 21.
The township has not raised the municipal tax rate since Mayor Chuck Cahn first took office in 2012. Township officials used the words “fiscal responsibility” to describe the budget at the meeting, and Cahn re-iterated that during a short speech prior to the budget’s public hearing.
“Fiscal responsibility, transparency and accessibility remain a top priority,” he said. “Our residents, neighborhoods, quality of life and community are our top priorities.”
Cahn cited a number of reasons for the stability of the tax rate, including the redevelopment of properties within the municipality and the township’s increase in ratables. This year’s budget cited an increase in ratables of about $28.7 million.
The total tax levy increased slightly in the 2019 budget from about $44.2 million last year to $44.4 million this year. About $2.7 million of the local tax levy will go to the Cherry Hill Public Library.
A little more than $1 million has been budgeted for capital improvements. About $600,000 of that money has been budgeted for HVAC improvements at the library and another $85,600 will pay for an automatic license plate reader. That money will also be used for various road, park and public works improvements
The township is also anticipating an increase of miscellaneous revenues of a little less than $900,000 and plans to use $8.9 million in surplus in the 2019 budget.
There are no cuts in this year’s budget, and the number of township employees will remain the same as it was in 2018.
“We feel strongly that these municipal services are an integral part of the quality of life in this community, that they are essential to preserving our property values and protecting our neighborhoods,” Cahn said.
Council approved the budget by a vote of 6–0, with only Councilwoman Carole Roskoph absent. During the vote, the council members talked about the number of positive aspects within the budget.
“(The budget) really highlights our desire to not only maintain the standard of living for the folks in Cherry Hill, but to improve the standard of living,” Councilwoman Carolyn Jacobs said.
“If budgets are supposed to represent priorities, I think the combination of fiscal responsibility, public safety, reinvesting in infrastructure and constantly re-investing in quality of life issues for our neighborhoods, I think this budget accurately reflects all of it,” Council President David Fleisher said.
Even though Roskoph was absent from the meeting, township solicitor Robert Wright read a statement from her where she voiced her support for the budget.
“I want to thank Mayor Cahn, township staff and other members of council for diligently working together to remain fiscally responsible to the residents of Cherry Hill while simultaneously improving the quality of life in the town,” Roskoph’s statement read. “Clearly, the future of Cherry Hill is bright.”
There were no comments during the public hearing portion of the meeting. Residents can view the 2019 Fiscal Year municipal budget at www.cherryhill-nj.com/174/Finance. The next Cherry Hill Township Council meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 9, at 7:30 p.m. in room 208 of the Cherry Hill Township Municipal Building.
