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Rutherford administrator presents 2025 municipal budget; public hearing set for May 12
Summary
The borough administrator presented the calendar year 2025 municipal budget to the Mayor and Council on April 28, noting a municipal tax rate of 0.987 and a proposed increase in property taxes; a public hearing and possible adoption are scheduled for May 12.
Administrator delivered a public presentation of the Borough of Rutherford's calendar-year 2025 municipal budget at the April 28 Mayor and Council meeting and said a public hearing is scheduled for May 12, when the council may vote to adopt the budget.
The administrator said the municipal tax rate in the introduced budget is 0.987 — about $0.98 per $100 of assessed value — an increase of about 1.96% from the prior year. He said assessed values (ratables) were up about $6 million from last year, to roughly $2.75 billion. Using an example of a house assessed at $439,500, the administrator said the municipal portion of the bill would be about $4,339.49 this year, up $83.38 from the prior year.
The presentation noted the total municipal budget is $40,759,410, of which the amount to be raised by taxation is $27,143,658 (up from about $26,600,000 last year). The administrator said the budget uses about $100,000 more in surplus, local revenues are up roughly $330,000, and state aid is down about $144,000 — the latter in part because special COVID-related distributions from prior years are exhausted. He also said some one-time appropriations from 2024 — including a roughly $5,000,000 appropriation for Memorial Field — explain some year-over-year variances in grant and capital figures.
On revenue categories, the administrator cited increases in court revenue, parking meter revenue, parking lot permits and interest income. He said uniform construction code (UCC) fees are being conservatively estimated at $385,000 this year, down from an anticipated $476,000 the previous year because by law the borough may only anticipate amounts it realized. He also noted a decline in cable franchise fees amid increased streaming, and a rise in hotel-occupancy revenue.
The administrator said shared-services revenue with Carlstadt is lower this year but is matched on the appropriation side, and therefore is not damaging to the budget. He said the Finance Director/CFO will appear at the May 12 public hearing. No adoption vote was taken at the April 28 meeting.
