Hopewell Borough property owners are facing a 3-cent tax increase as the borough council introduced a $4.5 million municipal budget for 2025.
Borough Council members introduced the budget on April 3. A public hearing is scheduled for May 1 at 7 p.m.
Borough Administrator Doug Walker said there will be “no” cuts in service with the 2025 municipal budget. He added that the biggest budget drivers this year are “debt service and a 17% increase to healthcare premiums.”
The proposed municipal tax rate would increase from 74.9 cents to 77.9 cents per $100 of assessed valuation for 2025. The owner of an average assessed home at $408,351 would pay $3,181 in municipal taxes.
Municipal taxes are one item on a property owner’s total tax bill, which also includes the Hopewell Valley Regional School District (HVRSD) taxes and Mercer County taxes.
The amount an individual pays in taxes is determined by the assessed value of his or her home and/or property, and the tax rate that is set by each taxing entity.
“My takeaways are a continuing decrease in our requests for more funds from our community,” Mayor Ryan Kennedy said at a Council meeting on April 3. “Two years ago, we were at a 4.5-cent increase, last year 3.5-cent, this year 2.5-cent tax increase.
“We will [have] $150,000 of kind of pay-go capital for this budget year that we didn’t have last year that will allow us to do projects without borrowing more money for it. Also, largely through Doug’s work with our CFO adjusted our banking relationships to increase the amount of interest we receive on the fund we have.”
Property taxes are the main source of revenue supporting the budget. The amount projected to be raised by property taxes for 2025 is $2.46 million.
On the revenue side, the projected budget revenues include: $653,000 in the use of surplus, $342,482 from sewer rents, $200,000 from interest on investments and deposits, $172,344 from the energy receipts tax, $18,887 from municipal court, and $9,828 from fees and permits.
On the appropriations side of the budget, the budget will fund appropriations that include $987,000 on municipal debt service.
Additional appropriations – $515,000 towards a shared service agreement with Hopewell Township on public safety (includes police department), $259,525 for the Stony Brook Regional Sewerage Authority, $249,000 for public works (includes salary and wages), $245,000 for insurance, $208,000 on sanitation, $145,272 for the maintenance of the free public library, and $90,000 towards legal services.
There are also appropriations of $86,500 for utilities, $84,500 towards the sewer system, $62,250 towards public buildings and grounds, $52,600 for the Planning Board, and $33,000 for engineering services and costs.
