SECAUCUS – For the second month in a row, inaction by the state Local Finance Board will delay passage of the 2010 municipal budget in Secaucus.
The Town Council had initially expected to pass its proposed $45.5 million budget last month. But the vote had to be delayed because the Local Finance Board had to approve the town’s plan to restructure $3.2 million worth of debt from the Secaucus Municipal Utilities Authority (SMUA). The board also must sign off on required bonding for tax appeals.
In an effort to keep the tax rate as flat as possible, the town wants to ensure that the SMUA, the local sewage authority, pays off its debt in even annual installments, rather than in installments that fluctuate from year to year, according to Secaucus Town Administrator David Drumeler. Similarly, the budget can’t absorb the immediate loss of income from large properties that have had their taxes cut due to an appeal by the owner. Bonding helps the town absorb the loss over time so taxes don’t have to be raised to offset the loss.
The seven-member Local Finance Board has now approved the bond issue, but has still yet to vote on the SMUA debt issue. The board’s scheduled meeting of Wednesday, Aug. 11 was cancelled. Another meeting, held Friday, Aug. 20, didn’t have enough board members present for a quorum.
A conference call is now scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 26, at which the board is supposed to consider the SMUA debt issue. But this conference call will take place two days after the council had planned to pass the 2010 budget.
Financial issues in at least 33 other municipalities, including Jersey City, could remain in limbo if the conference call is either rescheduled or fails to get a majority of Local Finance Board members to participate.
In June the council introduced a $45.5 million municipal budget for 2010 that included a 66-cent tax increase for every $1,000 of property owned. Since the town assesses the average Secaucus home at $165,000, the 66-cent increase means the average homeowner would pay about $108 more per year to support the municipal budget, which amounts to $27 per tax quarter. – E.
Assata Wright