By Mariyah Wojcik
SOUTH AMBOY- The proposed South Amboy city budget was announced as $15,697,436 in general expenses. This is a decrease of $87,929.63 from the 2013 budget that took effect for the previous fiscal year.
The South Amboy City Council discusses the 2014 Budget. *Photo by Mariyah Wojcik
The 2014 South Amboy city budget was introduced by the council at the budget work session on April 30. During this session, the council, as well as the financial and business administration staff, discussed the proposed budget plan for the 2014 fiscal year, and several sections were explained to those participating in the work session who had questions.
While the overall general expenses for the city have decreased, the amount of revenue to be raised through taxes has increased $236,000 overall. The property tax rate, in this case, is $1,122 per $100,000 that a home is assessed.
According to the new tax rate, a home that is assessed at $266,000 will now require the homeowner to pay $87.78 more than the previous fiscal year.
In addition to the new property tax rate, the budget had other items of interest. The salaries of the council members and administrative staff, including the financial and revenue administrators, have remained at the same level as the previous fiscal year.
The mayor and council members are paid $43,092 per year, while the financial administration is paid $155,016 and the revenue administration makes $88,845. General administration has also remained constant, at $197,057 per year.
Funding for the South Amboy Police Department has decreased in the 2014 proposed budget, but this is not a cause for concern, according to Business Administrator Camille Tooker. The change in funding for the police department is $17,162.
“Several members have retired over the past year, and they were on the higher end of the salary range. These officers will have replacements that are introduced at the lower salary range, which explains the lower figure,” said Tooker.
The council plans to introduce this proposed budget at the Wednesday, May 7 meeting, and it will be open for public comment.
