Bloomingdale Budget Contains $58 Increase for Average Home

Majority of municipal tax bill to fund public safety.

The Bloomingdale Borough Council adopted its $9,727,519 budget for 2012 at Tuesday's meeting, reflecting a projected $58 increase in municipal taxes for the average assessed home. The average assessed home in Bloomingdale is $255,286 this year, as opposed to $147,806 last year, when a $9,569,599 municipal budget was adopted. The borough undertook a revaluation this past year. Last year's average tax bill was about $9,480 after a 6.4 percent tax rate. Bloomingdale Councilman and Budget Committee Chairman Ray Yazdi presented a breakdown of the 2012 municipal budget during a public hearing Tuesday. In his presentation, he showed what portion of the taxes on an average assessed home will go to each borough department. Of the municipal portion …

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Sanitation Fee Suggested to Reduce Budget Gap

Bloomingdale Council seeking ways to reduce budget excess.

A new sanitation fee is one of two ideas presented by Bloomingdale’s auditor to get the borough’s 2012 municipal budget within the 2 percent tax levy increase required by the state. The sanitation fee was presented by Borough Auditor Dieter Lerch at the June 26 meeting as the Bloomingdale Council passed two resolutions to decrease the budget gap from $575,000 to $225,000. Lerch said the sanitation fee would be an annual charge for garbage pick up and is a practice many municipalities have been putting into place. Along with a potential statute that would require libraries to transfer their excess surplus back to the taxpayers for tax relief, Lerch said he is confident the gap will be closed soon. No council members voiced any concerns …

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UPDATE: Should Bloomingdale Seek Public Input on Budget?

Councilman said public meetings may prevent members, administrators from speaking freely.

While Councilman Ray Yazdi has pledged to bring transparency to Bloomingdale's budget process, he does not feel that the council's Budget Committee meetings should be fully open to the public as he said it may discourage department heads and committee members from speaking freely about revenue-gaining ideas. Yazdi responded to a suggestion by Councilwoman Linda Shortman at Tuesday's borough council meeting to advertise the meetings and invite the public to attend and provide input during the process of crafting the municipal budget. She said she felt that hearing the department heads speak about their budgetary needs and ideas for helping reduce costs would not only serve to educate the public but also boost public perception of the …

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Resident Urges Council Not to Allow Huntley on Bloomingdale Budget Committee

Carlo Leduc said allowing former councilwoman to serve on committee would be a disservice to voters.

Bloomingdale Superintendent: Move School Election

Gurbiz votes against taking away public voting on the school budget.

The Bloomingdale Board of Education followed in the footsteps Monday night of many local school districts—including Kinnelon and Butler—by voting to eliminate the district's annual budget vote and move the school board election to November. Board Member Cathy Gurbisz was the only board member who opposed. New Jersey school districts were given the option by the state to eliminate their school budget votes for four years if they keep their budgets within the 2 percent state-mandated tax levy cap and move their school board member elections to November. All school districts have until Feb. 17 to decide whether to move this year's election. Prior to voting Monday, Gurbisz voiced her concern that with issues the school district is facing, such…

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Majority Wants Huntley to Serve on Budget Committee [POLL]

Shortman said former councilwoman has the knowledge and experience needed to assist.

The Bloomingdale Council majority wants to put a familiar face on the committee that helps to develop the municipal budget, but for the first time in the past few years, that person would not be an active council person. Councilwoman Linda Shortman discussed the majority's desire to have former Council President Linda Huntley serve on the committee and explained that she felt it would be appropriate since Huntley, a licensed CPA, helped to develop last year's $9.5 million budget. "I think the person that was most instrumental would be useful to have sit and answer questions," she said. But new Councilman Ray Yazdi, chairman of the committee, disagreed and said having Huntley on the committee would result in negativity from other committee …

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