Tax Rate Steady In Adopted Chatham Township Budget

CHATHAM, NJ — Residents will see no municipal purposes tax rate increase this year under the budget adopted by the Chatham Township Committee, according to its budget statement.

This budget maintains the municipal purposes tax rate at 0.321 per $100 of assessed value, ensuring no municipal tax increase.

According to Ziad Shehady, the Township Administrator for Chatham Township, this is because the township's revenue has increased in recent years.

"By limiting the spending to only what is absolutely necessary, we definitely kept a tight belt on the discretionary spending, which is what helped us keep the tax municipal purposes tax rate to .321," Shehady said.

Additionally, the adopted budget calls for a 1.5 percent open space tax rate, down from the previous rate of 2 percent. In comparison to last year, this change will result in a combined lower tax rate for residents.

"Preserving our environment and providing recreational spaces have always been among our top priorities, and this reduction in the open space tax reflects our commitment to striking the right balance between fiscal responsibility and environmental stewardship," Mayor Ashley Felice said.

This year's Chatham Township Finance Committee was the result of bipartisan efforts, according to Shehady. Together with Chief Financial Officer Debra King, Felice and Committeewoman Stacey Ewald served on the committee.

Township services are funded with only about 17 cents of every dollar paid by taxpayers, Shehady said.

The Township Committee controls 17 percent of the budget, which is allocated to services such as police protection, road maintenance, park maintenance, recycling collection, animal control, and the non-profit Senior Citizen Center.

The remaining 83 cents must be collected for the separately set county, school and library taxes.

"This budget marks a significant achievement in terms of our fund balance. Through prudent financial management and careful budgetary decisions, we have bolstered our reserve funds. This improvement ensures that we are better prepared for unforeseen circumstances, allowing us to weather any potential economic challenges that may arise in the future," Felice said.

The 2023-24 township budget was approved 4-1, with Committeeman Mark Lois casting the lone dissenting vote.

During the public hearing, Lois stated that he disagreed with how the township went about reducing the 0pen space tax rate.

"We have reduced the open space tax here, but only by adding that $165,000 that we are moving into the municipal budget. So while we are reducing this tax, it is money that is being moved into the municipal budget," Lois said. "The reason I'm voting no is to increase funding to Open Space and to more transparently and openly reflect the actual spending to maintain the land."

Ewald disagreed with that statement, saying that she believes there is less transparency in keeping those funds within the Open Space trust fund.

"There is no transparency around what is flowing through that open space trust fund. In my opinion, aside from all the other excuses I've said that I would vote for this and I support what we are doing here in terms of moving the DPW expenses back into the operating budget, the other reality is that doing it otherwise is far less transparent to the residents," Ewald said.