At its regular meeting on Tuesday, April 9, the Burlington Township Council adopted its municipal budget for 2019 after a public hearing that saw no comments from residents.
The new budget comes at $24,205,649. This number represents an increase of $350,040 over the 2018 budget of $23,855,609, and comes with a slight tax increase.
According to Mayor Brian Carlin, the 2019 budget calls for a half-cent increase in the local purpose tax.
Carlin proudly pointed out that the new budget was only 1 percent higher than his administration’s first budget of $23,025,510 in 2011.
“This budget represents our best efforts to continue to provide a consistent level of services to our residents within the constraints of the economy and the 2 percent cap world. I thank the council for approving the budget, and as we go forward remain committed to exploring all options to provide cost-efficient municipal services to our residents,” said Carlin.
The net valuation of the township in 2019 is $2,330,009,673, an increase of $16,703,020 over its 2018 valuation.
Currently, the average assessed home value in Burlington Township is $234,324, which means the average home will pay $1,237.23 in local purpose tax under the new budget. According to Carlin, this is an increase of $11.55 for the year over what residents paid in 2018, or less than $1 per month.
Appropriations in the new budget include funding for additional full-time school resource officers at the Bernice Young and Fountain Woods elementary schools.
“Under a joint funding arrangement between the township and the board of education, there will now be a police officer assigned to every one of the four buildings in the district,” said Carlin.
According to Township Administrator Stephen Fazikas, the additional officers represent the realization of a long-held goal for the school district.
“We had, unfortunately, a few shootings in schools around the country and (for) the school board and the superintendent, Mary Ann Bell, that was a concern for them, the security and safety of the children at our schools,” said Fazikas.
According to Carlin, this year’s capital budget includes the reconstruction of roadways in the Bridle Club, Pinewald Meadows and Tiffany Hollow neighborhoods, as well as along Bustleton Road and Society Court.
“The administration has committed to using the additional revenues that are received as the result of tax abatements and PILOTs to fund more capital projects in our 2019 capital budget than we could have funded if we had used those revenues as part of the general fund and bonded the capital improvements,” said Carlin.
The capital budget also includes funding for a number of water and sewer improvements throughout the township, including sanitary sewer rehabilitation along roads in Lagorce Square and Northgate Apartments, on Pinewald Lane and along Little Oxmead Road, Jacksonville Road and Old York Road.
“I would like to acknowledge the efforts of our township engineer, Scott Hatfield, and his staff for their diligent approach in addressing our aging infrastructure,” said Carlin.
