Mayor Jaclyn Veasy and Evesham Township Council have unanimously adopted Evesham’s 2021 Municipal Budget with no new tax increases.
Members of council and township officials have worked diligently to keep municipal taxes flat in this year’s budget as part of an ongoing effort to support the township’s residents and businesses as they continuing dealing with the long-term financial impacts of COVID-19.
Although there are no new municipal tax increases, this year’s budget still maintains the same high level of essential services that Evesham Township’s residents and businesses have come to expect. The 2021 budget totals $40.54 million ($40.47 million without grants).
In addition to maintaining the same level of frontline personnel from the prior year, this year’s budget will actually allow Evesham Township to add two laborer positions to assist in the township’s sanitation and road operations, in addition to adding a position for park operations. These new positions were made possible due to a recent efficiency study, in which several township departments were streamlined.
“I’m incredibly proud council and township staff have worked so extensively to produce a 2021 Municipal Budget with no new tax increases, especially at a time when so many of our residents and businesses are still unsure of the long-term economic impact of COVID-19,” Mayor Jaclyn Veasy said. “As we also look to maintain and enhance frontline services, I want members of our community to know that we will continue to examine any and all ways we can provide better, more efficient services for our residents and businesses.”
Additionally, while the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 is expected to greatly aid Evesham’s efforts to continue providing a high level of service for residents, funds from the act have not been included in the 2021 budget due to final spending guidelines and restrictions having yet to be released.
As in years past, Evesham Township is also once again reminding members of the public that state law requires municipalities to collect taxes on behalf of all local taxing entries, such as school districts, fire districts, and counties, even though these entities set their own taxing rates.
In 2020, for every $100 Evesham Township collected from a resident, the municipality only retained $14.30 – less than 15 percent of the total tax bill paid by that resident.
The remaining $85.70 from every $100 collected from residents was distributed to other local entities.
This includes the Evesham Township School District ($40.03 from every $100), the Lenape Regional High School District ($24.78 from every $100), Burlington County ($14.30 from every $100), Evesham Fire District No. 1 ($5.58 from every $100) and the Open Space Tax ($1.01 from every $100).
For just under 15 percent of a resident’s total tax bill, Evesham Township is able to provide all municipal services for the year, including policing, trash collection, road repairs, recreation services, snow removal, leaf/brush collection, operations of the construction office, planning and zoning, the Clerk’s Office, senior services, township events and more.
