The tax rate increased by six cents to $3.95 per $100 of assessed value
TRENTON -- Trenton City Council, by a vote of 4 to 2, approved a $207.7 million budget Thursday, 15 weeks before the fiscal year ends.
Council members Phyllis Holly-Ward and George Muschal voted against it and Councilwoman Marge Caldwell-Wilson was absent. Muschal said he voted "no" over concerns that some city employees have not been paid.
"I don't have a problem with the budget, but pay the workers," he said.
Business Administrator Terry McEwen said he met with union leaders last week to discuss payroll and the budget process, among other things, but was not told about any members who have not been paid. McEwen said he would sit down with Muschal to address his concerns.
The fiscal year began July 1. In late October, the administration introduced a $216.4 million budget, which has been in council's hands ever since. The budget committee held a series of hearings and slashed an additional $8.6 million.
"To those critics who talk about why our budget is so late ... we can't do it without the state's approval," Council President Zachary Chester said. "We work hard on this budget, but at some point, we can't move forward until we get this examination by the state."
The state Department of Community Affairs gave council the go-ahead on March 1.
"Every transitional community has to go through the same process," Chester said.
Under the budget, the municipal tax levy, or the total amount to be raised from property taxes, increased to $78.7 million from $77 million for the 2015 fiscal year.
The tax rate increased by six cents to $3.95 per $100 of assessed value. For a house assessed at $100,000, the tax bill would be $3,950 a year.
The city's largest revenue sources are taxes and state aid -- including $20 million in transitional aid -- but other revenue included grants, payments in lieu of taxes and fees and licenses.
Earlier this week, Mayor Eric Jackson said he was hopeful that the budget would pass.
"It's my hope because this has been a working process that the budget will get passed," he said a media roundtable Monday. "And it's my hope that personal agendas -- and I hope there aren't any -- don't get in the way of the progress that we know we need to make to get this budget ultimately approved."
Cristina Rojas may be reached at crojas@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @CristinaRojasTT. Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.
