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Bellmawr CFO outlines 2025 budget and warns of sewer-bill increase
Summary
CFO Maria Fasola presented the borough's 2025 municipal budget, citing appropriation-cap limits and a phased shift from volunteer to paid fire services; councilors said a sewer-rate increase is necessary and that a detailed letter to residents will be mailed next week.
Maria Fasola, the borough chief financial officer, presented Bellmawr’s proposed 2025 municipal budget, outlining a five-year history of revenues and expenditures and explaining how the 1977 appropriation-cap law restricts annual increases unless a cost-of-living adjustment ordinance is adopted.
Fasola told the council the average home assessed at $169,236 will pay $2,071.45 in municipal tax this year, an increase of $17.70 from 2024. She said the finance committee worked to limit tax increases "as low as possible without affecting health and public safety of the residents" and noted the borough’s credit rating and reserve levels. Fasola also described a phased transition from a volunteer to a paid fire company to address a long-term decline in volunteers and rising emergency call volume.
Why it matters: The budget sets local tax bills and funds public-safety services. Councilors said the borough faces rising costs for wages, insurance, pension billing, trash disposal and water/sewer infrastructure that are driving the need for rate adjustments.
Council members used the presentation to press for detail on the sewer increase and for clarity on what the letter to residents will include. Councilman D'Angelo described the components behind the sewer rate change: replacing miles of aging mains, repairing or replacing pumps, updating generators and other pumping-station work. "It breaks it down," D'Angelo said of the forthcoming letter, adding that it will enumerate miles of pipe to be replaced and the condition of pipes in service.
Council members also flagged broader cost pressures, including higher construction costs and bidding uncertainty that reduce competition for public contracts. The council thanked Fasola and the finance committee for frequent meetings and detailed work on the draft budget. Fasola said the borough’s annual financial statement and the 2024 audit will be posted to the borough website when available and provided a borough finance email for follow-up questions.
Next steps: The council conducted question-and-answer time after the presentation and then moved on to other agenda business. Officials said residents should receive a mailed letter next week explaining the sewer-rate change in detail and that the council will provide additional budget follow-ups at the August meeting.
