Middle Township Committee, after postponing its budget process while awaiting clarity on COVID-19 related federal aid, adopted a $22.87 million 2021 general operating budget on June 21st. The final budget cut the originally proposed 2-cent increase in the local purpose tax rate by 60%, to less than a penny. The 2021 tax rate of .492 translates into a $14 per quarter increase for a property accessed at $300,000. The 0.80 of a cent increase in the levy follows two years of zero levy increases in 2019 and 2020.
“Our goal is always to spend the taxpayer’s money wisely and reluctantly,” Mayor Tim Donohue said, “After two years without a tax rate increase, we face a modest bump, driven by the unprecedented circumstances of the past year.”
The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan relief bill contains $360 billion in state and local relief. As part of New Jersey’s share of the relief funds, $1.741 billion is divided among the state’s 565 cities and municipalities.
The Township will receive approximately $1.84 million dollars in federal COVID relief. Fifty percent of those funds, $921,000 will be allocated to the 2021 budget to fill a hole created by lost revenues in 2020 and to reduce the amount of municipal surplus used to fund 2021 operations by $480,000. Revenue shortfalls, in 2020, amounted to over $500,000. This had the effect of driving down the total dollar figure that could be used as anticipated revenues in the 2021 budget. The principal areas of revenue loss were the hotel/motel occupancy tax, the municipal court, and construction fees.
“This budget (and the prudent use of these federal relief funds) puts us in strong position to handle the still daunting challenges before us,” Deputy Mayor Ike Gandy said, “By waiting on these federal funds and allocating them wisely, we were are able to address the one-time revenue shortfalls and restore our surplus to historic norms.”
Township Committee also took steps to address the labor shortage plaguing municipalities throughout South Jersey. Middle will raise its minimum hourly wage for part time workers to $15 an hour and increase its base starting salary from $24,990. to $27,500.
A new law requiring community service payments from hospitals provides needed and reoccurring revenue. The 2021 budget notes a $265,000 payment from Cape Regional Medical Center, the first time that line item has been part of Middle Township’s revenue budget. Going forward, these payments will be made annually by CRMC.
“On behalf of Township Committee, I want to thank our budget team for their hard work in navigating these uncharted budgetary waters,” Committeeman Jim Norris said. “It took patience, creativity and innovative approaches to address all these budgetary concerns and produce a final budget that successfully addresses the negative impacts of the past year, while minimizing the monetary impact on our taxpayers.”
