EMERSON, N.J.—A unanimous Borough Council on May 6 adopted an amended $16,774,933 municipal budget with a $12,184,725 tax levy that will raise property taxes by about $125 for the average homeowner.
Town Chief Financial Officer Lauren Roehrer noted that changes to the budget since its introduction about a month ago reduced the tax rate and lowered the projected increase by roughly $18 per year. The originally introduced budget would have increased taxes by $143 on the average assessed home.
Mayor Danielle DiPaola credited the borough’s finance committee and staff for trimming the budget without compromising services.
“We did say it was a living, working document, and we shaved as much off it as we could,” DiPaola said. “I’m very proud of my staff and the finance committee because, together with the council, they worked to substantially mitigate ever-rising costs while continuing to deliver the outstanding services our taxpayers have come to enjoy.”
A brief Q&A session on the amended budget included input from borough auditor Gary Higgins and Roehrer. Higgins explained that as long as no individual line item increased or decreased by more than 10%, the budget did not need to be re-advertised before adoption.
In other business May 6, the council unanimously introduced two spending ordinances:
- A $379,440 capital ordinance for various public improvements and acquisitions.
- A $3,122,190 bond ordinance to fund equipment purchases and infrastructure upgrades.
The bond ordinance includes:
- $360,000 for a catch basin cleaning machine
- $440,000 for a borough-wide road resurfacing program
- $1,219,690 for the Vivian Avenue–Dorchester Road drainage project
- $1,000,000 for the Forest Avenue stormwater drainage project
- $102,500 to install ADA-accessible doors at the Senior Center
Full text of the ordinances is available on the borough website under Government > Ordinances > Ordinances for Consideration. Residents can click on the ordinance number to view each document.