Brick Budget Sees Half Cent Tax Rate Decrease, No Service Cuts

Brick Township passed their 2017 municipal budget at an April 25 town council meeting. (Photo by Sara Grillo)

BRICK – Brick Township residents will see a half cent decrease in the municipal tax rate, from 69 to 68.5 cents per $100 dollars of assessed property.

Township Business Administrator Joanne Bergin said the decrease is not something that anyone can remember in recent times.

“It’s a pretty big victory on our end,” she told The Brick Times, noting that township officials were able to provide the decrease without cutting any services, just by reducing their spending.

At the April 25 town council meeting where the $100,507,142 budget was passed, one resident pointed out that the township had even hired 28 people over the past two years. This year’s budget is also $4.4 million lower than it was in 2016.

Residents of Brick Township came out for an April 25 meeting where the 2017 municipal budget was passed with a half cent decrease in the municipal tax rate. (Photo by Sara Grillo)

Residents will also find some relief in the amount of the budget to be raised by taxation, with this year’s tax levy set to $70,437,469 – which is $407,971 lower than last year. The average tax payment decreased $15 for the median residential home assessed at $294,100, from $2,029 to $2,019.

Some adjustments were made in light of the Riviera Beach roadway improvements project, as it may have an impact on this year’s beach revenue.

Officials said that overall, there was more surplus to draw from at the end of this year than there was at the end of last year, but that the more you take from the surplus bank to offset the tax rate, the more you’ll need to take at the next year in order to have the same impact. They explained that the best fiscal practice is to take half the money and leave about half.