Lawrence Township property owners will not see a municipal property tax rate increase for the second year in a row, under the proposed $60.4 million municipal budget for 2025.
Municipal Manager Kevin Nerwinski unveiled the proposed spending plan at the Lawrence Township Council’s Feb. 4 meeting. It is expected to be introduced at the council’s March 4 meeting, followed by a public hearing and final vote on April 1.
The municipal property tax rate is unchanged at 65 cents per $100 of assessed value. The owner of a home assessed for property tax purposes at the township average of $287,570 will pay $1,874.96 in municipal property taxes.
The municipal property tax is one component of a property owner’s tax bill. The total tax bill includes the Lawrence Township Public Schools and Mercer County property taxes.
The $60.4 million proposed municipal budget is $325,032 less than the 2024 municipal budget of $60.7 million.
The proposed budget includes hiring three additional firefighters, three additional police officers and 11 in-house emergency 9-1-1 dispatchers. The dispatchers will replace iXP, which had provided dispatch services – but at no additional cost over 2024.
“We continue to enjoy a favorable financial situation that allows us to provide – and improve upon – the essential services our community deserves and expects from their local government,” Nerwinski said in his budget message to the Township Council.
“In short, we continue to reduce our debt, increase our surplus, add personnel to improve public safety, maintain a forward-thinking, proactive capital improvement plan, and deliver a budget with no increase in our municipal tax for a second consecutive year,” he said.
The results are not happenstance, but from a consistent, fiscally responsible approach to governance over the past eight years and the good work of the employees who serve the community, Nerwinski said.
The main source of revenue to support the budget is property taxes. The amount to be raised by taxes is $31 million, which is an increase of $214,461 over the 2024 municipal property tax levy.
The increase in the amount to be raised by taxes is offset by the growth in the value of taxable properties in the township, Nerwinski said.
Lawrence Township’s tax base is made up of all taxable properties – residential, commercial and industrial. Its value is $4.7 billion for 2025, or $32.9 million more than the total tax base in 2024.
The township also relies on miscellaneous revenue, receipts from delinquent property taxes, state aid and cash surplus funds as sources of revenue, in addition to property taxes.
Miscellaneous revenue includes fees and permits, liquor licenses, the hotel and motel tax and the 2% local retail tax on cannabis dispensaries.
The budget also anticipates using $9.3 million in surplus funds as a source of revenue. The township had $22 million on hand in surplus funds as of Dec. 31, 2024.
On the spending side, the main cost drivers are the capital improvement fund; salary and wages; employee group health insurance; the Mercer County Improvement Authority; and an increase in fire company funding.
The budget appropriates $1 million for Lawrence Community Center funding in the capital improvement fund. The building at 295 Eggerts Crossing Road has been vacant since HomeFront, which had used the building, consolidated its services at its own headquarters in Lawrence Township.
Salaries and wages increased by $842,628 for new employees plus contractual increases. An increase of $841,482 in the employee group health insurance appropriation is due to rate changes, participation and new hires, Nerwinski said.
The contribution to the Mercer County Improvement Authority went up by $61,558, based on contractual obligations.
An additional $30,000 was appropriated for the three volunteer fire companies. Each fire company receives $70,000 from the township, which includes a $20,000 reimbursement for utilities to each fire company.
