Evesham Township municipal taxpayers will have a little extra money in their pockets next year.
That was the takeaway from the May 5 meeting of the Evesham Township Council during which council introduced the 2015 municipal budget with a $14.73 reduction in municipal taxes for homeowners with homes valued at the average assessment of $270,500.
According to Evesham Township Manager Tom Czerniecki, the budget, which totals $34.7 million, equates to about $739 spent by the township per resident, a figure lower than both the county and state averages.
“What you’ll find there is that it equates to about $739 per customer in the township,” Czerniecki said. “The average in the county is $910. Statewide, the per capita budget in municipalities is $1,452, so we are extremely competitive at $739 per customer.”
Czerniecki said budgets are built on surplus, and with the township having more than $6 million in surplus, Czerniecki said a big component was the money that was not spent on a previous budget.
With that, Czerniecki praised township staff for how they handled department funds from year to year.
“Our staff doesn’t spend all the money that’s allocated to them,” Czerniecki said. “They just spend what is needed to provide that basic service, and they also retain enough flexibility to respond when conditions change, so our surplus is built on the backs of our managers being great managers.”
Mayor Randy Brown said this was the eighth budget since he became mayor, and the fourth tax decrease of those eight budgets, every one of which Brown described as difficult to achieve.
“This council is proud of another property tax decrease, as you know how rare it is in the state of New Jersey that you can actually stay within the cap,” Brown said.
Brown then praised the current council and members of previous councils he’s worked with, both Democrat and Republican, for always acting to keep taxes flat or lowering taxes when possible.
“No matter what party people sat up here with, taxes were the №1 driver,” Brown said. “You have four tax decreases in eight years, and in the economy in which these councils have sat through, it’s a testament to no matter who was sitting up here, you had the same vision and that was what’s best for the town.”
Along with elected officials, Brown also noted the efforts of Czerniecki and former township manager Bill Cromie, who he said were able to keep a consistent quality in the level of township services without tax increases.
“They’ve done one heck of a job keeping services where they are and keeping property taxes low and stable, increasing ratables, keeping a community safe and secure — wonderfully keeping up with basic services,” Brown said.
Brown also compared Evesham’s basic services and stable taxes to other towns, which he said have seen “horror stories” as far as basic services, are concerned.
“You got to evolve and you’ve got to have progress, and you’ve got to have a vision, and that’s what we’re seeing and that’s what we’re doing and that’s why were able to drive budgets like this,” Brown said.
