Guttenberg proposes $16.4M budget
At the Guttenberg Council meeting Monday, Feb. 21, the town voted to introduce their $16.4 million budget, the first 12-month budget since the town began its transition to a calendar year fiscal schedule.
The last fiscal year budget for 2010 was $15.2 million. Mayor Gerald Drasheff said that the 2011 budget would equate to roughly a 5 percent increase in the tax levy, or the total amount to be collected from taxpapers.
Drasheff and the council choose to transition from a fiscal year to calendar budget because they believed the budget would be more straightforward and based on their actual bills, rather than guesswork.
However, the town will have to wait on the finalization of their recent revaluation, an assessment of all taxpaying properties, which is what property owners’ taxes are based on. The revaluation began last year after the town had an influx of property owners, some of whom may have been paying more than their fair share of taxes, and filing for tax appeals.
Drasheff said some other properties may have been paying taxes on only 40 percent of their true value, say $200,000, when the property was worth $500,000 in today’s market. Once the Hudson County Board of Taxation approves the updated value of all of Guttenberg’s taxable property, which could be around $800 million, this same home might be assessed at $350,000, said Drasheff. While the assessment is higher, the owner may actually pay less in taxes, he said.
“I think what’s it’s going to come down to is how everybody’s individual property is affected by the reval,” said Drasheff.
The budget will be up for a public hearing and possible final vote at the March 28 meeting.
Free meal at Grove Church
On March 9, the Grove Reformed Church of North Bergen, 1132 46th St. in North Bergen, will offer a free meal of soup and baked bread from 6 to 7 p.m., followed by a 7:30 p.m. worship service. The event is open to the public.
Transportation is available, as well as more information, by calling the church at (201) 863-7030.
‘Way of the Cross’ scheduled to appear at NB Church
The Franciscan Mystery Players are scheduled to present “The Way of The Cross,” a play that uses lighting, soundtrack and pantomime, on March 27 at 4 p.m. at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Chapel, 7615 Broadway in North Bergen.
Admission is free, but a donation for the performance is appreciated. For more information, call (201) 868-9319.
Free seminar on starting new businesses
The New Jersey State Bar Foundation is sponsoring a free seminar on starting a new business, scheduled for 7 to 9 p.m. on March 9.
The event will be held at the New Jersey Law Center, 1 Constitution Lane off of Ryder Lane, New Brunswick.
Barry Bendes, a partner in the New York City and Madison, N.J. officers of Edward, Angell, Palmer &Dodge, LLP, and David Greenbaum, a senior associate in the intellectual property department of EAPD, will discuss the steps of starting a new business.
For more information, call (732) 249-5000.