Franklin passes 2013 budget

By Scott Baker
FRANKLIN — The Borough of Franklin voted 4-1 to pass their $6.1 million 2013 budget, which is over a five percent increase from last year’s figure.

Borough Auditor Tom Ferry, of Ferraioli, Wielkotz, Cerullo and Cuva, P.A., claimed the increase in budget is largely due to a state-mandated appropriation for uncollected taxes, which is over $150,000 higher than last year’s reserve.

“There was a decrease in our tax collection rate and the appeals hit us really hard,” Ferry said of the reason behind the inflated figure.

Ferry also claimed Franklin is “raising money in this budget to maybe help offset any tax appeals that come in.” This higher reserve will give the borough a larger buffer to pay the schools and county in case of any lost appeals, in which case the municipality is expected to eat the school portion and must wait to be reimbursed the county portion.

On the average home in the borough, which is calculated to be about $215,000, the property tax will go up to $6,280 — which is a $258 increase from last year’s tax on the average household.

Of that $6,280, Franklin keeps only 33 percent, or $2,093. Another 34 percent goes to the local schools, 16 percent goes to the regional schools and 17 percent goes to the county.

During the public hearing on the budget during the April 23 borough council meeting, former Franklin Mayor Richard Durina approached the dais to give the council some “points to ponder” regarding the budget.

While he admitted that running a municipality is a very difficult job, he used statistics from some nearby areas to make a few points.

Ogdensburg, he said, has showed no tax increase for the second consecutive year. Vernon’s tax levy has lowered slightly for the second consecutive year. Municipalities where the taxes have gone up, he added, haven’t gone up nearly as much as Franklin — citing Hopatcong’s $37 increase on the average home and Newton’s $20 increase as evidence.

“Franklin has the highest raise [in taxes] on the average home in the county, from the record I’ve been given,” Durina said. With this in mind, he urged Mayor Crowley and his council to reexamine their practices and get the borough back on track.

During a recent phone call, Borough Administrator Jim Kilduff addressed the issue. “The municipality only gets one third of the taxes,” he said, ”but takes all of the heat.”

In the end, the budget passed 4-1, with Councilman Nick Giordano being the sole nay vote.