Wildwood Crest Budget

Wildwood Crest introduces budget with slight increase
By TRUDI GILFILLIANStaff Writer, (609) 463-6716
Published: Thursday, February 9, 2006
Updated: Thursday, February 9, 2006

— The borough's 2006 spending plan includes a tax increase of 1.76 cents per $100 of assessed property valuation.

The estimated increase means the local-purpose tax would rise to 59.86 cents, which translates into an annual local tax increase of $17.60 on a $100,000 property. The tax rate could change before the final budget is approved later this year.

The total budget also increases from $14.69 million in 2005 to $16.29 million in 2006, but Chief Financial Officer Stephen Ritchie said about half of that $1.59 million increase can be attributed to grant money included in the budget plan.

Ritchie said the remainder stems from increases in negotiated salaries, health-insurance costs and debt service payments.

Those additional costs are supported by an increase of $548,082 in the amount to be raised by taxes, or tax levy, from $7.6 million last year to $8.1 million in 2006. In addition, $1.4 million in surplus is being used to fund the budget.

Ritchie said the borough also has to include an additional $90,000 to pay for its contribution to the state pension system. The borough's total pension payment for the year comes to $182,000.

Ritchie said the state eliminated local contributions to the plan several years ago, what he called an “ill-conceived idea,” but now it has to make up for those years of not paying into the pension system.

Interest rates are also up on the borough's debt, he said.

Ritchie noted that the local-purpose tax did go down for several years and the estimated rate of 59.86 cents is in line with the local tax rate in 2003.

A public hearing on the budget is scheduled for 7 p.m. March 22 at Borough Hall.