Municipal Tax Hike in the Works

Borough commissioners introduced a $15.23 million budget Tuesday that will increase the local tax rate by just over 6 percent.

The increase 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, a state requirement. The increase will still keep Haddonfield under a state-mandated 2-percent cap on increases on the amount raised by taxes, or the tax levy. The projected levy will be $10,576,000, up from $9,992,651.

Commissioner Jeff Kasko, the borough director of revenue and finance, said debt service, capital improvements, increases in medical costs for employees and a decrease in ratables, the value of real estate in Haddonfield, also contributed to the tax hike.

Two other commissioners earlier this month said the rising amount of uncollected taxes appears to be a sign of the times.

"They don't have the money to pay their taxes," said Ed Borden, one of three borough commissioners, Haddonfield's highest elected officials. "It's very straightforward."

"There are people who would probably surprise all of us who are in that situation right now," Commissioner Tish Colombi, the mayor, added.

The total budget appropriation is $13,524,917, down from $13,491,261 last year. The addition of $1.7 million in surplus funds carried over from previous years accounts for the remaining amout of the $15.23 million budget.

The projected tax rate will be 47¢ per $100 of assessed property value, up from 44¢. A second reading of the budget ordinance and a public hearing will be held on April 24.

Haddonfield’s average property tax of $12,088.88 is nearly twice the state average at $7,776, according to the state Department of Community Affairs. That amount includes borough, school and county taxes.

Haddonfield has the second highest average property tax bill in Camden County. It trails Tavistock, an exclusive enclave at the tip of Haddonfield, enclosed mostly in an exclusive golf course. Haddonfield's property tax bills are 27 percent higher than Voorhees, $8,777.41, third in the county.