Council Encourages Residents to Attend Budget Meetings

Two special meetings about the 2013 Bloomingdale budget will be held soon.

These budget review meetings will be held on Thursday at 8 p.m. and June 6 at 7:30 p.m. at Bloomingdale Borough Hall.

Officials are encouraging residents to attend the meetings and ask questions.

The council introduced the budget April 23. 

The introduced $7.5 million tax levy, the portion of the budget funded by local taxes, would increase the average homeowner’s municipal taxes by $66. The average home is assessed at $254,000. Last year’s tax levy was more than $7.6 million.

Councilman Ray Yazdi recently said the increase was "the lowest we've had in years."

The budget comes in at about $11,000 under the state-mandated 2 percent increase cap and its allowable exemptions.

The average property assessment decreased by more than $1,000 from 2012. The amount of assessed tax ratables decreased by more nearly $3.7 million since last year.

The council will hold a final public hearing and vote on the budget June 11.

The budget can be viewed on the borough website.