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Upper Budget Includes 2.8-Cent Increase in ’23

Upper Township Committee met Feb. 13 for a budget workshop. Mayor Jay Newman and Committeeman Curtis Corson each said the budget was prepared earlier than each could remember.   
Christopher South

Upper Township Committee met Feb. 13 for a budget workshop. Mayor Jay Newman and Committeeman Curtis Corson each said the budget was prepared earlier than each could remember.   

By Christopher South

PETERSBURG – The taxpayers of Upper Township are looking at a 2.8-cent tax rate increase for 2023 after costs will rise by $550,000. 

At the Feb. 13 budget workshop, Township Administrator Gary DeMarzo cited increased costs as the driving force for the rise in the budget, while saying he would pit Upper Township’s budget against any in the county – or state – for its conservative nature.  

He said that when he was hired as administrator, he was told that the tone of Upper Township government was to take a conservative approach to spending. 

DeMarzo said the $550,000 breaks down into two categories: $250,000 in debt service and $300,000 in health care costs and employee obligations. DeMarzo said everyone is shouldering the 23% increase in health care costs announced by the state this year. He said employee obligations include contractual raises, pensions, and other benefits. 

“Seventy percent of an operational budget is employee-based,” DeMarzo said. 

He said every $100,000 in employee wages at the end of the day ends up costing the township $225,000.  

He said there were 60 employees in 2022, and the township will operate with 52 employees in 2023. The reduction, he said, was accomplished through attrition rather than layoffs.  

He said the contributions made by the workforce have been crucial to the township’s ability to function with fewer employees. He said employees are being crosstrained to provide various functions, and new hires are being asked to do more. 

Debt service refers to the money bonded for capital projects. DeMarzo said if the township did not pay down the debt this year, it would just carry over into next year’s budget. 

The municipal tax rate in 2022 was 25.2 cents per $100 of assessed value. With the 2.8-cent increase, the local tax rate will be 28 cents. DeMarzo said the property tax increase on a $300,000 home would amount to an additional $84 per year, or $7 per month.  

DeMarzo presented a slide that showed that township taxes amount to about 13% of the total taxes people pay. He said 71% of a taxpayer’s payments go to the school district. 

“For every $1,000 in taxes paid, Upper Township gets $120,” DeMarzo said. 

The preliminary 2023 budget amount is roughly $14 million. The final amount is subject to change before, and after, the budget is introduced. 

Mayor Jay Newman said the township began working in October to present a budget that is under the state-mandated spending and levy caps. 

It’s a pretty small budget that … it’s just pretty small,” Newman said. “I think everyone will be satisfied.” 

Committeeman Curtis Corson addressed the possibility of getting to a zero tax rate increase. 

“Getting to zero would mean cuts in capital projects and services,” Corson said. 

He said the township has roads that are 25 to 30 years old and need to be resurfaced. He said Township Hall has to replace a printer that Municipal Engineer Paul Dietrich said was purchased in 2000.  

The remaining Upper Township Committee members expressed satisfaction with the budget. Committeeman Victor Nappen said he felt everyone on the committee had the opportunity to speak one-on-one with the professionals regarding the budget.  

Committeeman Mark Pancoast said the township is going to operate with eight fewer employees and could not reduce the workforce any further. 

“Our employee base is phenomenal,” Pancoast said. 

DeMarzo said Public Works employees are doing a lot of work in-house that would otherwise require hiring a contractor to perform. He said township employees welded a lawnmower, saving the township $3,000 to $4,000. 

Deputy Mayor Kimberly Hayes said it was important to consider the needed improvements at municipal facilities. 

The township is bonding about $3.5 million for capital improvements in 2023. Of that amount, $937,500 is for recreation facilities, $57,000 for public safety, $930,000 for beach replenishment, and $1.57 million for “quality of life,” under which road improvements are included.    

Newman said there was no reason to go line by line over the budget, which will be available online after it is introduced Feb. 27 at 4:30 p.m. The 2023 budget is scheduled to be adopted at the March 27 meeting.  

Thoughts? Questions? Contact the author, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com or 609-886-8600, ext. 128. 

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