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April 1, 2009

Hanover restores $30K to library budget, hours still cut

BY JAKE REMALY • DAILY RECORD • April 1, 2009

HANOVER — Whippanong Library patrons got some welcome news at the township committee’s final budget workshop meeting on Saturday, which saw the completion of the township’s 2009 budget in a “tough budget year.”

Although the township committee is giving the library $35,000 less than it did in 2008, it ended up being $30,000 more than the library initially thought it was getting. As a result of the cuts, however, the library will close on Sundays and earlier on Fridays.

The additional funds could mean the restoration of some story times by a popular professional storyteller, library Director Sulekha Das said Tuesday.

The township committee originally considered cutting $65,000 from the library budget, “but after considerable protest from library users, $30,000 was restored,” Mayor Leonardo Fariello said in a statement this week outlining parts of the budget, which is almost ready to be formally introduced.

“This has been a tough budget year for Hanover Township,” he said.

The $355,000 budgeted for the library in 2009 is one part of the township’s $21,792,806 budget.

That total budget is about $400,000 less than the 2008 budget, but the municipal portion of the tax bill will still increase by $107 for homeowners with property assessed at the township average of $240,000.

The municipal portion of the tax bill for the average homeowner would be $1,591.

The property tax rate increase is the result of commercial property values in the township plummeting by $26 million, mostly due to property reassessments at the corporate campuses of Alcatel-Lucent and Bear Stearns, which recently was acquired by J.P. Morgan Chase, Fariello said.

State aid also was cut by nearly $100,000.

As a result, Hanover anticipates a loss of $1 million in commercial tax revenue and $100,000 in state aid.

“So even though the budget is lower than last year, a greater percent of the budget will have to be funded by property taxes,” Fariello said.

The Township Committee cut the open space and recreation tax by 1 cent per $100 of assessed value, meaning the open space and recreation tax will decrease by $24 for the average homeowner. Taking the open space decrease into account, the overall the municipal tax will increase $83 for the average home in Hanover.

The Fourth of July Fireworks and Hanover Township Day were suspended for 2009, but the fireworks will be funded by a generous donation from a resident, Fariello said. Several road improvement projects also were suspended for 2009.

Posted by tumulty at April 1, 2009 9:43 PM

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