Working the numbers

Increases of 7.5% in the Middlesex Borough property tax bill’s municipal portion  – a trend the past two years – appear to be coming to an end.

Work on the Borough Council’s 2025 budget is ongoing. Mayor Jack Mikolajcyk said officials have a target of a 2.5% municipal tax increase this year.

“Our goal is to be significantly less (than the past two years),” the mayor said at the governing body’s Tuesday, March 11 meeting.

Mikolajczyk, however, stopped short of saying the target percentage has been achieved, noting “it will be very difficult to get to.”

An increase lower than the past two years in municipal taxes, would be welcome news for property owners. But the complete tax picture is still unknown. The annual tax bill also includes portions that go to the local school district and Middlesex County government. Neither has yet completed their 2025 spending plan.

Items such as employee wages and health insurance still need to be resolved by municipal officials, according to the mayor. The respective contracts of the Police Benevolent Association, the Department of Public Works and municipal white collar workers all expired on Dec. 31, 2024. 

New deals are being negotiated with each of those bargaining units. The agreed upon wage increases and other benefits will be reflected in the 2025 budget.

“To get down to two-and-a-half percent is going to be a challenge,” Mikolajczyk said.

Borough Administrator Michael LaPlace and Chief Financial Officer Caroline Benson planned to continue a series of meetings with department heads this week to scrutinize proposed spending.

The mayor noted the municipality’s state aid is remaining flat this year – no increase – despite rising costs. During the past five years, state aid has been upped only about $21,000, he added.

Meanwhile, the Middlesex Borough Board of Education received positive budget news when aid figures were released recently by the New Jersey Department of Education.

The K-12 Middlesex district’s state aid for 2025-26 was announced at $18,088,634. That’s a 4.62% increase from the $17,289,575 received during the current academic year.

The school board will finalize its budget this spring. Unlike the mayor and council, school officials have not said publicly where they hope to land their spending plan in terms of tax increases.

The municipal budget accounts for 30% of a borough property owner’s total tax bill. The majority of the bill – about 54% – relates to the K-12 school district budget. The Middlesex County government’s budget accounts for the remaining 16%.

Last year’s 7.5% municipal increase was offset by a roughly 4% hike in the school portion of the Middlesex Borough tax bill. Overall, property owners saw an approximately 5% increase in their 2024 total tax bill.

Reminder

Subscribe to Inside – Middlesex. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. It is absolutely free.

Visit Inside – Middlesex on our new Facebook page.