Marlboro’s Proposed Budget Reduces Property Taxes

Marlboro Township Township’s governing body introduced their 2019 Municipal Budget with a plan to reduce property taxes, Mayor Jonathan Hornik announced.  Scheduled for passaged at the April 11 Council meeting, the budget as proposed will lower the municipal portion Marlboro property taxpayers annual bill. For average household valued at an estimated $494,605, the cost for all municipal services such as police, parks, public works, and road improvements will be $1,867.

“The challenge of managing the extreme weather conditions of the last several years continues to drive the Township’s cost of operations. Our budgets have had to absorb the increased costs of snow removal, in particular, which has increased more than 300% since 2007,” said Mayor Jonathan Hornik. “We also continue to grapple with State mandates including an 11% increase in our New Jersey Pension System contribution. Despite these pressures, we continue to deliver and expand the services our residents expect while remaining $1.95 million below the State levy cap and $1.24 million below the State spending cap.”

Hornik noted that the 2019 budget includes the Township’s share of the school security program, $320,000.   “I regard it as a duty to do everything in my power to ensure that we do not experience an act of violence in our schools like that experienced in Parkland (Florida) and other communities throughout the country. Keeping our kids and educators safe in school is not a choice – it is an obligation.”

The budget also funds the down payment on another $5 million road improvement program. “The erratic and extreme weather of the past decade continues to take a toll on our infrastructure, and we hear from residents about road conditions more than any other issue”, stated the Mayor. “With a AAA bond rating reaffirmed by Standard and Poors in 2018, we continue to invest in infrastructure at rates 3 times higher than in past years, and at the lowest cost of financing available.”

Marlboro has reduced its full time workforce by 11% since 2007 when Hornik was first elected.  The Mayor said that budget increases are held in check by the consolidation of departments and authorities, working with employees to control the costs of benefits and the implementation of shared services and cooperative purchasing agreements with other local government entities.