Hopewell Township introduced a budget of $22M on March 27th. Residents will pay $14.7M in municipal taxes at a rate of $0.37 per $100 assessed property value (a tax levy increase of 2.02%). Of the $14.7M, 46% is allocated to salaries and benefits, 24% to debt payments, and 6% to retirement funds and pensions.
Through a revised schedule of tax payments with Hopewell Valley Regional School District, the township announced that $2M will no longer be needed on reserve and can be added to its surplus, bringing the total to $11.8M. Money ($1.5M) from surplus is proposed to fund capital projects that include purchasing two dump trucks and one animal control vehicle($454K), repairing roads ($954K), designing the community/senior center ($40K), and funding a redevelopment plan ($100K).
Currently Hopewell Township is paying $1.7M in interest charges on $68.4M in debt. According to Mayor Kuchinski, this translates to 1 in 4 tax dollars used in the service of debt.
A public hearing on the budget will take place on April 24th.
