The $46 million Fiscal Year 2002 budget introduced by the West New York Board of Commissioners Wednesday night shows a decrease in spending and a $12 million increase in the amount of taxpaying properties in town.
This increase in the amount of taxpaying properties – otherwise known as the ratable base – means that more properties are paying into the tax levy, helping to reduce the tax rate paid by each resident. Along with the decrease in spending, the increase in ratables has allowed the town to keep the same tax rate for the seventh year in a row.
The budget, which covers spending from July of this year through June of next year, will go up for adoption and a final hearing on Dec. 27 at 7 p.m.
"This is a tight budget, but we have lived within the budget before," said Mayor Albio Sires.
"It has always been the mayor’s policy to make the budget as tight as possible," said Business Administrator Richard Turner.
Sires said that every department has tightened and controlled its budget.
Spending is down about $550,000 from last year’s budget. In 2001, the total budget was $46.5 million.
No tax increase
Although the town is taking in about $500,000 more in municipal taxes this year; the town did not have to raise the tax rate for property owners.
In the 2002 municipal budget, the town will take in $18,965,782 in municipal taxes, which is up about $500,000 from last year’s tax levy of $18,476,799.
However, with the increase in ratables and the decrease in total spending, the town was able to keep the same tax rate as last year.
"The increase does not translate into a tax increase because of the $12 million increase in our ratables," said Sires. "We set the tone in 1995 to lower taxes, and we are keeping with that tone in this budget."
The increase in ratables has spread throughout the town. According to Sires, there have been many new housing developments throughout the town that contributed to the ratables, as well as the P.C. Richard and Sons and Walgreen’s stores that opened last year.
The town’s tax rate has been divided into those homeowners that qualify for the Regional Efficiency Aid Program Credits and those that do not. The town’s residents began receiving this benefit after they regionalized their fire department. Landlords who live in their building and own a dwelling of up to four families, or an apartment building that is strictly residential, qualify for REAP credit. The landlord also had to have owned the building since October of the year before to qualify for the credit.
The municipal tax rate for homeowners who do not qualify for the REAP tax credit is $20.78 per $1,000 of property owned, and their overall tax rate – the rate for the combined municipal, school and county taxes – is $44.37 per $1,000 of the property. The municipal tax rate for those who qualify for the REAP tax credit is $16.85 per $1,000 of property owned, and their overall tax rate is $40.44 per $1,000.
A lot of progress
Since Sires and his administration took office in 1995, the municipal and overall tax rates have seen a large decrease.
In 1994, the tax levy was at $25.6 million. This year the levy is down to $18.9 million, which is more than $6 million less.
"That is an unprecedented decrease," said Sires, adding that the decrease has not affected the town’s services. "The services we provide now are the same if not better then they were six years ago," he said.
Sires added that the town now has more police officers, a better fleet of vehicles and more programs.
According to Sires, the municipal tax levy is down 17 percent for those who do not qualify for REAP benefits and 33 percent for those who do. The overall tax rate is also showing a decrease.
For those without REAP benefits, the rate is down 2.4 percent. It’s down 11 percent for those with the REAP tax credit.
The overall tax levy, which includes the amount of taxes that the city, schools and county have to collect, is $39.9 million for West New York. In 1994 it was $45.2 million.