Hardwick residents will see an average annual tax increase of $74 in the 2023 budget introduced April 5 township committee meeting.
The budget of $1.55 million represents a three-cent increase over the 2022 budget, Chief Financial Officer Christine Rolef said.
“We have a pretty tight budget this year,” Rolef said during her presentation.
The spending plan includes $165,000 for roads that are not maintained by the state as well as funding for one additional township employee.
The township’s capital improvement fund will be increased $20,000. Rolef said the amount is important because the township must have 5% available of the amount of proposed bond ordinances for capital improvements.
Another $15,000 will be set aside for a trust fund that will accumulate over the years to cover the costs of employees’ unused sick and vacation pay when they retire. Senior citizen funds will also get $5,000.
Rolef said the township has a 96.85% tax collection rate, which is considered a very good rate in New Jersey, and that she expects that to improve for 2023.
“You have an excellent tax collector,” Rolef said. The township received a total of $6,246 for 2023, she added.
A public hearing on the budget will be held at the May 3 township committee meeting.
Joe brings decades of journalism experience to the Ridge View Echo, covering everything from local school boards to the U.S. Supreme Court. A former National Law Journal editor and Columbia Law School press officer, he now enjoys telling community stories in Blairstown, where he lives with his wife, Rose, and their two dachshunds.
- Joe Phalon, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/joe-phalon-contributing-writer/
- Joe Phalon, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/joe-phalon-contributing-writer/
- Joe Phalon, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/joe-phalon-contributing-writer/
- Joe Phalon, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/joe-phalon-contributing-writer/
