BERKELEY – This year’s municipal budget will see a slight increase, as the costs of running a town goes up.
The total budget for 2025 will be $62,814,771.24. This is an increase of 729,419.49 from last year’s $62,085,354.75.
The amount of this that will be raised by taxes will be $42,707,196.65. This is an increase of $2,803,096.93 from last year’s $39,904,099.72
The tax rate will be .785 cents (less than a penny) per $100 of assessed valuation. This is an increase from last year’s rate of .740.
The assessed valuation is how much your house and land is assessed at, not what it cost.
The average home assessment in 2025 is $210,117. For someone with a home valued at this amount, their municipal tax bill would be $1,649.42. This is an increase of $103.77 from last year’s average tax bill of $1,545.65.
This article only covers the municipal tax rate. Even though the town collects all taxes, the town will then dole out the correct amount to the county, the two school districts, and other entities.
According to the township budget, the valuation of all property in town has gone up by about $48 million in the last year.
Mayor John Bacchione said that this is a responsible budget that is impacted by costs that are going up for everyone. This is why one of his goals is to reduce the debt that the town is incurring every year.
“Everything we need to run the town goes up but we try to keep it as tight as possible,” he said.
Last year, for example, changing from using premium gas to middle grade saved $130,000. Fuel is one of the costs that increase annually.
Another big increase is health insurance. The township switched away from the state plan to a private plan years ago. The private plan has seen a lower increase than the state, but an increase nonetheless.
One key aspect that the town can control is switching over to robocans, which has been a plan in the works. Senior neighborhoods will start to see these soon.
The benefit of these, Bacchione explained, is that it reduces injuries on the job from sanitation workers lifting heavy cans all day.
The deductible for each claim is $50,000, he said. This adds up quickly. Ten claims could cost the town half a million dollars.
The sanitation department also saw the most number of claims. These workers will be offered openings in other departments, officials have said at a previous Township Council meeting.
The mayor credited Business Administrator Jay Delaney and Chief Financial Officer Paul Bodine for crafting an efficient budget that passed early in the budget season.
