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 Phalon
Joe was lured out of retirement by the opportunity to be a part of The Ridgeview Echo. During a decades-long career in publishing and journalism, he has covered government on many levels from local school boards to the United States Supreme Court.
Along the way, Joe has worked at American Lawyer Magazine, The National Law Journal and The Record among other publications, and as the Press Officer of Columbia Law School. His work has been recognized with several first place awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and the New Jersey Press Association.
Being part of the Ridgeview Echo brings Joe back to his roots and the kind of news coverage he loves: Telling the stories of people and local communities as well as keeping an eye on how their money is spent by their government officials.
Joe lives in Blairstown with his wife Rose, the founder of Quilting for a Cause, and their two wiener dogs. He is an artist in his spare time.
