Monday, June 10, 2013
Residents to see 3.02 percent tax increase.
Bloomfield officials passed a budget last Wednesday that Mayor Raymond McCarthy called "good, but not great." The budget, summarized online here, calls for a $117 property tax increase for the average Bloomfield home, assessed at $280,300, an increase of 3.02 percent from 2012. With the increase, the average assessed home will be responsible for $3,915 in annual property taxes. The total budget is $73,749,243.55, a increase of $2,405,900 over what the township spent in 2012. At $120,000, the employee group health plan was the largest single expense, followed by pension payments for police and fire, which totalled $108,777. According to the township's budget summary, the health plan cost decreased by .89 percent from 2012 while the …
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Defeated budget would have cut over 100 teachers from the district.
The Bloomfield School Board voted 8-1 against a proposed school budget described as "armageddon for the district." Middle School teacher and head of the Bloomfield Teachers Association teachers union John Shanagher described the defeated proposed schools budget as "armageddon" for the district at Tuesday night's Board of Education meeting. He said he had been informed in a conversation with a school administrator earlier that day that the proposed budget entailed cutting over 100 teachers in the district in addition to administrative and secretarial staff. Given Bloomfield's already crowded classrooms, Shanagher said the loss of such a large percentage of teachers would be disastrous for the district. But, speaking during the open comments…
Thursday, December 20, 2012
The district ended the year with a $500,000 surplus, nearly $1 million less than in 2011.
The Bloomfield School District budget will end the year in the black, but a lower than usual surplus may end up having an impact on next year’s tax levy. The district’s year-end audit found an approximate $500,000 surplus from the 2011-12 school year. While ending the year with a surplus is always welcomed, Business Administrator Michael Derderian said it was below average. “It’s not a lot,” said Derderian, referring to the year-end total. In 2011, the district pulled in about $1.4 million in surplus. Derderian said the district has typically generated a surplus in excess of $1 million in previous years. The lower surplus is due to unanticipated costs — including increased class sizes which called for hiring more teachers — and …
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Town council was unable to amend and adopt the 2011 municipal budget on Wednesday night.
The Bloomfield Township Council narrowly missed amending and adopting the 2011 budget Wednesday night in a split three-three vote. Township officials reviewed a budget amendment that would have increased total appropriations and revenue from $69.9 million to $70 million. Township Administrator Yoshi Manale said the amendment was neccessary because the state auditor said the municipality's anticipated revenues were too low. Mayor Raymond McCarthy said amendment would resolve another snag in the budget in which state officials required the township to cut about $260,000 to reflect the bond payment for the recent municipal revaluation. The township had to make the change because state officials said the payment could no longer be considered …
Anthony Bianchi
2:24 pm on Tuesday, June 11, 2013
I thought property tax increases under Chris Christie were capped at 2.5%. Why is Bloomfield's 3.02? more ›