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The Asbury Park 2017 municipal budget, unveiled Wednesday, would raise the average assessed homeowner’s taxes by $91, down 40 percent from last year. 

The $44.5 million budget is $2.26 million over last year’s $42.27 million spending plan, a 5.34 percent increase.

The proposed 1.264 tax rate translates to a $3,190 annual tax bill [a 2.89 percent increase] for the owner of the average assessed home valued at $252,411.

While the tax rate decreased by .024 cents from last year, the city’s property values rose 5.8 percent from $1.295 billion last year to $1.373 billion this year.

“Our assessed valuation [rateables] has gone up $77 million, which is a good thing” Chief Financial Officer JoAnn Boos [at right] said. “It means we are selling our properties, more people are coming into town.”

Budget drivers include increases in health benefit, contractual salary raises, as well as new hires being added to the city roll, Boos said. Increases were also seen in construction and code departments, due in part to the ongoing rise in development.

“With the new construction there are a lot more permits that need to be issued and then also they go out to inspect all the properties,” she said.

The budget also includes $872,000 of the parking utility’s $3 million fund balance. The parking utility took in $4.9 million in revenue in 2016.

It also includes $850,000 in transitional aid, the allowable 85 percent of last year’s award that the city can apply for, Boos said. Last year the city applied for $1,500,000 in transitional aid but received $1 million.

The preliminary budget will be finalized once the state distributes transitional aid allotments this fall, but in the interim the City Council will vote on April 12 to increase the spending plan over the state-mandated cap. Municipalities are allowed to go over the cap for increased costs in pensions, health benefits, debt, construction and emergencies like costs associated with storm recovery.

“We anticipate that this is the last year that we will apply for transitional aid,” City Manager Michael Capabianco said. “We have to raise taxes to the maximum amount to receive the Aid this year so that we are not faced with an unmanageable tax increase once we shift off of transitional aid.”

The municipal ordinance allowing for the increase states in part: “The City Council hereby determines that a 3.5% increase in the budget for said year, amount to $1,313,716.04 in excess of the increase in final appropriations otherwise permitted by the Local Government Cap Law.”

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