Fair Haven to Workshop Budget

Tonight is Borough Council meeting night at 7 p.m. in Fair Haven, and among the items on the agenda is a workshop session of the municipal budget.

State aid, Gov. Chris Christie has announced, will remain level for all Monmouth County municipalities, meaning that all will get the same amount for fiscal year 2014 as they did for 2013. The governor called it "preserved funding."

“This preserved funding means no town in Monmouth County will see a decrease in formula municipal aid for the upcoming year," Christie said in a news release. "It also demonstrates that providing stable, predictable levels of municipal aid to support local governments and taxpayers is a core priority of my Administration."

The 2012 statewide average municipal portion of the property tax hike was just 1.4 percent, the lowest in 24 years, according to the release. However, the schools taxes are what comprise most of the tax bill, or more than 60 percent, usually.

For 2014, Fair Haven will be receiving $454,580 which, Mayor Ben Lucarelli said, is not very good news. As a matter of standard procedure, and for safeguarding during budget drafting, the borough also plans to establish a cap bank, which is authorization, if necessary to bank money to increase the spending cap from 2 to 3.5 percent.

Establishing a cap bank means that "a municipality may, when authorized by ordinance, appropriate the difference between the amount of its actual final appropriation and the 3.5% percentage rate as an exception to its final appropriations in either of the next two succeeding years ..." according to the ordinance.

In addition to the budget, tonight's meeting will include: the appointment of borough plumbing inspectors, approval of a sidewalk cafe permit for Tavolo Pronto in the warmer months, approval, via resolution, of an interlocal services agreement with Rumson to share a construction office and more.

Take a look at the attached agenda for more information about tonight's meeting.

Check back for a full story on the budget workshop.