Municipal taxes are projected to increase by an average $82 as part of a 2018 budget introduced by City Council.

The governing body introduced a proposed $54.895 million budget (AR-134-18) during a special meeting tonight. A public hearing and final approval is scheduled for the governing body’s July 9 combined pre-conference and regular meeting July 23. City Council also introduced the annual Special Improvement District (SID) budget (AR-135-18) of $140,000, which funds the Rahway Arts and Business Partnership (RABP).

The $82 increase on the average assessed home in Rahway ($133,000) is about a 2.38 percent increase over 2017. Average municipal taxes were about $3,432 in 2017 and projected at $3,514 for 2018. Last year’s budget also increased by about the same average total. The amount to be raised by taxes is about $37.73 million, up less than 1 percent, or about $288,913, from $37.441 million last year.

About $55 of the average $82 hike is attributed to the loss of tax revenue because of the buy-out of about two dozen flood-prone homes last year under the state’s Blue Acres program. The city’s Net Valuation Taxable was $1.45 billion in 2017 and projected to be $1.428 billion in 2018. Another $27 can be attributed to general operating increases throughout the budget.

The proposed municipal tax rate for 2018 is $2.642 per $100 of assessed value, compared with $2.58 in 2017. A copy of the proposed 2018 municipal budget in its entirety can be found here.

In the 2017 budget, an estimated $15 of an overall $82 increase was due to the acquisition and demolition of about 20 flood-prone properties around the city. The 20 properties had a total assessment of about $2.556 million, generating property taxes of almost $162,000. The 2016 budget had projected a $39 municipal tax increase.

The 2018 budget includes additional revenues of about $1.815 million across nine different categories of fines, taxes and other fees, the highest being $500,000 from a reserve for health insurance claims, $350,000 from receipts from delinquent taxes, and a $300,000 anticipated surplus. The budget also includes additional expenses of $920,000, including $724,002 from the Water Utility and $199,102 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

The municipal portion is but one part of the overall tax bill, accounting for about a quarter of the bill. The school portion of the tax bill constitutes about 40 percent of the bill and the county portion about another 25 percent, which also includes the county’s Open Space, Recreation and Historic Preservation Trust Fund.

This is probably the latest that the municipal budget has been presented in recent memory. Typically, it’s introduced and approved in the spring. Last year, it was introduced in April and approved by mid-June. In 2016, it was introduced in May and approved in late June. Interim Mayor Ray Giacobbe, Jr. was appointed in January and is running for election to a full, four-year term in November.