Mayor Yaede Proposes 2019 Hamilton Township Budget That Would Reduce Municipal Taxes

Click Here to View Budget Message Video  or  https://youtu.be/j5ZOjWHzLik

Today, Hamilton Township Mayor Kelly Yaede announced her proposed 2019 Municipal Budget that would provide Hamilton taxpayers with a decrease in the municipal tax rate, if approved by the Township Council.

Under Mayor Yaede’s plan, municipal taxes would be cut by over 1 ¼ (1.25) percent.

In a video budget message, Mayor Yaede touted her administration’s efforts over the past year to achieve cost efficiencies and maintain staffing levels that are 11 percent below 2007 levels, while promoting economic growth and generating surplus that Yaede wants to return to local taxpayers.

Mayor Yaede’s budget also continues to invest in needed police vehicles and technology that Hamilton’s Police Officers rely on – which have helped to achieve over a 10 percent reduction in crime in 2018 than the prior year.

Additionally, the Mayor’s budget will continue to fund needed road repairs that benefit our entire community.

Mayor Yaede also explained how in order to provide for a tax decrease, her administration had to overcome rising costs that the Municipal Government is unable to reduce, including:

• A $400,000 fee hike from the Mercer County Improvement Authority for the community’s recycling collection
• A $400,000 increase in costs associated with garbage collection
• And a $865,000 increase in bills from the State of New Jersey for pension costs for municipal employees – in a system that, for decades, the State Government has under-funded

These three categories account for 86 percent of additional spending in the budget, highlighting the fact that Hamilton Township held the line on spending in the rest of the proposed budget to just 0.25 percent growth.

Mayor Yaede’s budget proposal also maintains a similar level of fund balance as the budget that the Township Council approved last year, which is why she hopes that the Township Council will join her in approving her budget plan to decrease municipal taxes for Hamiltonians.

At the end of her budget message, Mayor Yaede also announced that, later in the year, her plans are to make a $10 million debt payment (towns in New Jersey routinely fund capital budget items, such as local road repair projects, sewer system projects and other long-term infrastructure projects through issued debt – which is similar to how many residents make mortgage payments to pay off a home over several years).

Mayor Yaede also made a point to thank her administration and Township employees who have performed their work duties in the face of a significant increase in politically-motivated OPRA requests and instances where employees have been harassed, followed and videoed.

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