FH Budget Slated for Adoption May 29

There’s no municipal budget hike in Fair Haven this year. So, there were no complaints from residents on the $8 million 2012 spending plan with a $5.3 million tax levy at last night’s Borough Council meeting.

Seeing no objections, Mayor Benjamin Lucarelli closed the budget’s public hearing. The budget will, however, not be adopted until a separate public hearing on an amendment to it to make provisions for a shared Public Works service agreement between Fair Haven and Rumson is vetted by the public at a separate hearing at the May 29 Borough Council meeting, said Administrator Theresa Cassagrande.

Borough officials have boasted the budget as a consistently level one for the fifth year in a row.  “It’s basically been the same rate for years now, which is great,” Cassagrande said after the meeting. “No real change — level,” she said as she motioned with a level swipe of her hand.

Barring any complications, which Cassagrande said she did not foresee, except perhaps the state lagging in budget approvals, after the amendment passes public muster on May 29, the budget will be set for adoption the same night.

The state must approve all municipal budgets before they are adopted. Officials in neighboring towns have said that there has been a backlog at the state Department of Community Affairs’ Division of Local Government Services, the entity that approves municipal budgets.

The tax rate for Fair Haven’s 2012 budget will be set at 45.6 cents per $100 of assessed property value, representing a minute hike from last year that doesn’t show in the rounded figures.

The salary and wages line item increased by roughly $20,000 to account mostly for part-time employees moving to full-time status.

In addition, $5,000 was set allocated to set up the borough’s first Rumson-Fair Haven Municipal Alliance to Prevent Drug and Alcohol Abuse, according to Cassagrande and the budget.

Fair Haven will be the lead anchor entity in the alliance. The ordinance creating the alliance was introduced at last night’s meeting as well. Patch will have a follow-up story on the alliance formation.

While the stable municipal tax rate that comes with this budget being cheered by residents, it does not reflect the entire tax bill residents receive. The municipal portion represents about 20 percent of the entire bill. Schools taxes represent roughly 60 percent, with county and other assorted taxes, such as open space following those in smaller percentages.

A copy of the entire budget is available for viewing at the borough’s library in .