Mayor’s Column: Committee adopts 2015 municipal budget with no tax increase
At our meeting on March 23, the Voorhees Township Committee unanimously adopted the 2015 Municipal Budget with no local tax increase to our residents.
In recent years, Township Committee has controlled spending without sacrificing the quality of municipal services our residents have come to expect and deserve. For example, there are 23 less full-time municipal employees than in 2009. Programs like our side-arm trash collection and our new side-arm recycling collection have allowed more efficient use of our Department of Public Works staff members.
Our shared services programs have created revenue for the Township while cutting costs. We have shared services programs with Camden County, our local school district, Eastern Regional High School, Gibbsboro, Magnolia and Laurel Springs. We meet regularly with area municipalities to discuss other potential shared services initiatives.
The Township’s use of Compressed Natural Gas trucks has not only saved approximately $35,000 a year in fuel costs, but helps protect our environment by emitting significantly less greenhouse gases. The installation of an above ground fuel tank at our DPW headquarters will save 15¢ per gallon for the cost of gasoline.
The Township continues a partnership with an energy company to purchase power directly from the source, saving approximately $125,000 per year in utility costs.
Generating tax revenue is also important in stabilizing taxes. The evolution of the Virtua Medical Campus and the Voorhees Town Center has created hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax revenue and hundreds of new jobs. Also, in 2014 Voorhees saw 87 new businesses open, leading to the creation of 717 new jobs.
Our Shop Voorhees program allows a portion of our residents’ normal purchasing dollars spent on goods and services in the Township be applied to their property tax bills, thereby reducing their taxes at the end of the tax year. The program encourages our residents to shop locally, helps our community businesses thrive and thereby increases our Township rateables. We have about 60 businesses and 5000 residents participating and the numbers continue to rise.
The Voorhees Township Committee will continue to work to stabilize taxes by controlling spending and generating revenue.
