Plainfield proposes 8.7% tax hike, same as last year

This is a transcription of a story published in the Star Ledger, Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Plainfield proposes 8.7% hike in taxes, same as last year
Administrator calls budget plan 'very lean'

BY ALEXI FRIEDMAN
Star-Ledger Staff

The proposed Plainfield municipal budget includes an 8.7 percent tax increase identical to the one submitted last year, which was itself significantly reduced by the time it was passed.

Calling it a "very lean budget" and declaring that no city services had been increased, Plainfield Administrator Marc Dashield outlined the 2008 budget at Monday night's city council agenda session. It will be introduced at tonight's [Wednesday's] regular council meeting.

The proposed $69.9 million budget balances escalating employee pensions, health insurance and the reserve for uncollected taxes with the need to maintain core services such as police and fire protection and code enforcement, Dashield said.

The city will continue its push for economic development and road maintenance, along with a new focus on information technology, the administrator said.

"The city is really lacking the area of information technology," he said Monday. "We could be much more productive in terms of all our divisions if we invest some time and money." The city wants to infuse $125,000 in new funding for information technology services, to include personnel and other expenses.

The proposed budget means a Plainfield homeowner with property assessed at the city average of $113,000 would pay $327 more in taxes than last year. The actual fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30.

That total doesn't include Plainfield's request for $2.9 million in extraordinary aid from the state, the same amount as last year. Chief financial officer Peter Sepalya [sic] echoed Dashield when he listed some of the reasons for the request, which included the continued focus on fighting crime, rising health benefits and pension costs, and a late tax sale, which would lower the tax increase to 7.2 percent from the previous year.

It comes despite some significant cuts to last year's budget, which included reductions in overtime pay for the police and public works departments, and a reduction staffing for code enforcement. In April, the city laid off nine municipal employees -- including its city engineer -- and eliminated their positions as part of budget-tightening measures.

Councilman Rashid Burney, finance committee chairman, said the 2008 budget will be reviewed line by line in hopes of whittling the tax increase down to around 4 percent, a feat that was accomplished last year.

But during his PowerPoint presentation to council members Monday night, Dashield said the city's fixed costs already exceeded that increase. "You get to a point where you got to be realistic about providing services," Dashield said. "We can get you the 4 percent, but then what happens to services?"

While acknowledging that the budget is a balancing act, Councilman Cory Storch said the proposed 8.7 percent tax increase is "so far from a 4 percent that it's hard to sell."

Officials are hopeful that this year's budget can get passed will before last year's, which was adopted in February, more than seven months late.

The council will hold four public session to discuss the proposed 2008 budget. Those will take place October 2, 9, 16, and 23 from 7 to 9 p.m. in the city hall library at 15 Watchung Ave.

Alexi Friedman may be reached at afriedman@starledger.com or (973) 302-1505.

There is no online version of this story.

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