SPOTSWOOD – Borough taxpayers are expected to see an increase in the municipal portion of their 2025 tax bill under the proposed budget.
Under the proposed plan introduced May 28, a home assessed at the borough average of $259,164 can expect to see a $249.40 annual increase.
It does not include the county, school or library taxes, said Mayor Rich O'Brien, who took office in January
A public hearing and final vote is scheduled for the July 14 borough council meeting.
The proposed total municipal budget is $14,705,790, an increase of $1,111,795 over last year's budget, O'Brien said.
The proposed budget has an estimated 1.113% tax rate per $100 of assessed value.
The local tax rate was flat for three years in a row, but health insurance costs, salaries, legal expenses and the costs of goods and services skyrocketed, O'Brien said.
Under the former Mayor Jackie Palmer’s administration, non-recurring revenues were used to hold taxes flat and now that money is gone, O'Brien said.
There's been an incredible turnover in the borough’s business and financial staff, which caused a loss of tight control over finances, O'Brien said, adding the borough has had five different business administrators and eight different chief financial officers in the four years under Palmer.
In addition, too much time and money were spent on lawsuits, he said.
Bills went unpaid for months and the borough did not have an auditor examining operations in 2024, the mayor added. Insufficient funding of capital projects resulted in the borrowing of funds from the operating budget, he said.
"Our focus in 2025 is to "Rebuild Our House," O'Brien said.
The plan includes stabilizing workforce and reducing employee turnover, resolving open litigation and completing an economic development strategic plan among items.
"I put a line in the budget for $35,000 for economic development," he said. "If the budget passes, I would like to go out and get some help from consultants in order to come up an economic development strategic plan. We have commercial spaces throughout the borough that are vacant, with the most prominent being the warehouse on Main Street. I would like to come up with a plan to address the vacant space in the borough."
In addition, the plan includes enhancing recreation offerings, as well as rebuilding relationships with neighboring towns.
But the mayor says the borough has made some progress.
It welcomed a new QPA, Cassie Capparelli, in an effort to ensure sound fiscal practices are followed.The borough also hired a new, experienced full-time business administrator, Fred Carr, and welcomed Melissa Hallerman as the new part-time clerk, O'Brien said.
In addition, the mayor’s office has been open to employees and the public and mayor's hours are available by appointment.
The borough also has a list of 2025 Capital Budget Requests that includes various road improvements such as Gover Court, Vaughn Avenue, Daniel Road, and Victoria Avenue; improvements to East Spotswood Park; IT upgrades, which includes new servers; new courtroom microphone and speaker system, and the purchase of a new ambulance, as well as OEM and DPW vehicles. A request for a new sanitation truck has been deferred to 2026, O'Brien said.
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Susan Loyer covers Middlesex County and more for MyCentralJersey.com. To get unlimited access to her work, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.