The Haddonfield Board of Commissioners on Tuesday approved a $15.23 million budget that will increase the local tax rate by 7.47 percent.

The budget will boost the average amount paid for local services by taxpayers to $2,304 yearly. That's a $134 hike for the owner of a home assessed at $491,359, the borough average.

The tax hike is largely fueled by a nearly $500,000 increase in the reserve for uncollected taxes. The reserve is a state requirement. The budget will still keep Haddonfield under a state-mandated, 2-percent cap on increases to the amount raised by taxes, or the tax levy. The projected levy will be $10,576,000, up from $9,992,651.

Commissioners are also approved the 2012 budget for the Partnership for Haddonfield, the borough's business improvement district.

The PfH budget was reduced from $355,046 to $300,000 this year. The surplus, the amount carried over from year to year, dropped to $18,000 this year, down from $67,346 last year.

Jeff Kasko, a commissioner and a PfH board member, said the surplus has been shrinking for several years because expenses continue to rise while the BID tax has not been increased. The two-tier tax rate is paid by local commercial-property owners.

The PfH budget comes from a $250,000 annual tax levy on businesses, $32,000 in revenue from the annual summer crafts fair and surplus funds.

Please see the attached PDF for the full agenda from Tuesday's meeting.