Galloway sets 3.3 cent tax increase Galloway homeowners facing first municipal tax increase in close to a decade

GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP - After eight consecutive years of municipal tax decreases, the Township Council revealed Tuesday that homeowners will face a 3.3-cent increase in the municipal tax rate this year.

Township Manager Chris Johansen and auditor Leon Costello presented the budget to the seven-member, all-Republican council.

"This is one of the most difficult budgets that we have faced," Mayor Anthony Coppola Jr. said, adding the early part of his 13-year council tenure included talk of a state takeover and bankruptcy.

The increase in the tax rate is mostly due to unexpected, steep increases in three areas: health insurance costs, at $417,500; utilities, driven by higher gasoline costs, at $334,000; and payments into the employee pension system, at $323,001, Johansen said.

Other expenditures include local government insurance, at $145,523; police operating expenses, including vehicle maintenance and repair, at $173,965; and public works operating expenses, at $121,550, Johansen said.

The township tax levy will increase from $16.79 million in 2022 to $17.77 million this year, but the levy is still proposed to be less than the tax levy in 2014, which was $18.54 million, Johansen said.

The municipal tax rate by itself, excluding school, county and other taxes, is proposed to be 0.646 cents per $100 of assessed property value, which is still a decrease from the 2014 municipal tax rate of 0.684 cents, Johansen said.

"No one wanted a zero (tax rate increase) more than I did," Johansen said.

The numbers are awful everywhere as far as what municipalities are facing, Costello said.

"No one saw a 22% increase in health insurance," Costello said. "All the insurance went up for the first time in a long time."

Ratables increased by $8 million, which was new for the township, Costello said.

"More things (new businesses and development) are coming online that will benefit you down the road," Costello said. "Three-point-three cents will be on the lower end of where everyone will be."

In June, the township hired an insurance consultant who met with each employee, Johansen said. Some employees switched to their spouses' family health insurance plan or picked less expensive health insurance coverage, he said. Health insurance costs would have increased more for the municipality without these changes, he said.

In New Jersey, the most an employee can contribute to their health insurance costs is 33%, Coppola said. The township knew its contractual obligations when it came to its employees and salaries, but he was not anticipating such an increase in pension costs and health insurance, he said.

The township deserves more state aid, Coppola said.

"Trenton needs to wake up," he said.

The budget has been a work in progress for six months, Coppola said. The township used its COVID-19 relief money for one-time capital expenses and not for revenue as some other municipalities did, he said.

"I think this budget is well done," Coppola said. "We left ourselves in a really strong position for next year."

A public hearing and final vote on the budget are scheduled for April 25.

In other township news, council:

Authorized a bond ordinance for capital improvements for $2.5 million. The road program will cost $1 million. Public works expenses will also cost $1 million, including the purchase of a new firetruck for the Germania Volunteer Fire Company and a communication console for dispatch. The township has $700,000 more to pay in long-term debt and will be free of such payments by the end of this year, Coppola said.

Authorized participation in a program by the state Division of Local Government Services to conduct a budget examination for the 2023 fiscal year. The program permits municipalities in sound fiscal condition to assume the responsibility of conducting the annual budget examination.

Authorized a letter of support for an application by Grasshopper Farms NJ LLC for a Class 1 indoor cannabis cultivator license and a Class 2 indoor cannabis manufacturer license. A township farmer, Duane Demaree, who will co-run Grasshopper Farms NJ, and Will Bowen, the CEO of Grasshopper Farms in Michigan, both thanked the council for the letter of support during the meeting's public comment portion.

Authorized a redevelopment agreement with Galloway Family Apartments LLC for certain properties on Wrangleboro Road.

Authorized using R.W. Brown Landscaping Co. for general maintenance and field restoration of the township's recreation fields.

Authorized the acceptance of an open space grant for $1,500.

Starting next week, Jimmie Leeds Road will be paved by Atlantic County from Seaview to Pitney roads, Coppola said.

Contact Vincent Jackson:[email protected]@ACPressJackson