Hearing the news about municipal taxes in Cherry Hill Township since 2012 has become like listening to the latest Top 40 hit on the radio over and over again. The news just keeps repeating.
For the fourth consecutive year, Cherry Hill residents will likely see no change in their municipal tax bill. Council unanimously voted to introduce the township’s fiscal year 2016 budget on first reading at last Monday’s council meeting.
The proposed budget includes a flat tax rate. The flat tax rate has been a part of every budget passed since Mayor Chuck Cahn took office in 2012. This year’s proposed total budget amounts to $67.55 million, an increase of just under $1 million from last year’s $66.6 million budget.
In introducing the budget to council, Cahn said the township has done a number of things to keep taxes flat for four straight years while maintaining the same level of services. Some of the factors he named included streamlining the township’s internal operations, emphasizing economic development through finding new uses for underutilized sites and improving municipal services through smart investments in various departments. Cahn added the township has saved taxpayers nearly $5 million in the last four years through refinancing its debt.
“We’ve built a strong future for our community that includes a multi-faceted approach,” he said.
Cahn added the township’s ratable base has increased for the first time in more than 10 years, and the township is hoping to grow it more with further development in the future.
“Since 2012, we’ve worked hard to make Cherry Hill more business friendly and revitalize our underutilized vacant properties,” Cahn said.
The biggest new addition to this year’s budget is more funding for the township’s road maintenance program. The township has added about $4 million to the program for next year compared to fiscal year 2015.
“We’ve allotted more than $8 million for this year’s road maintenance program,” Cahn said. “That is almost four times the amount when I first came into office. We hear it all the time about our roads. Now, we’re serious about it.”
Cahn also highlighted the partnership the township has forged with Cherry Hill Board of Education to help move forward a project to bring turf fields to Cherry Hill High Schools East and West. The township and board of education are working on a shared services agreement for the project. The township also plans to make additional upgrades to multiple parks, playgrounds and sports courts. About $4.8 million has been allocated for recreation improvements.
Members of council praised Cahn and the township’s financial team for keeping municipal taxes flat for four consecutive years.
“I’ve lived in this town for 49 years and I haven’t seen anything like this in the 49 years I’ve been here,” Councilman Jim Banner said. “It’s tremendous to see that we’re holding the line on taxes and yet our services have not diminished.”
“This budget clearly reflects fiscal discipline and smart investments,” Council President David Fleisher said.
Council will vote on adopting the budget during a public hearing at its meeting on Sept. 16.
