The City Council next month will consider the fourth Payment In Lieu Of Taxes (PILOT) in the last two years, this time for the largest project and the longest program yet.
Continue reading Main Street project would get 30-year PILOT
Category Archives: City Council
Dornoch property wins tax appeal for 2012
A Main Street property that was among more than a half-dozen properties acquired years ago by developer Dornoch Holdings won a tax appeal, knocking about 17 percent off the tax bill for 2012 and a 6-percent reduction in the assessment.
The property at 1501 Main St. (Block 320, Lot 12) had an overall property tax bill of almost $14,700 last year. The assessment for 2013 was $229,700 and reduced by about 6.3 percent to $215,100, according to property records.
The City Council authorized a credit of $2,505.79 due to a judgment of the Continue reading Dornoch property wins tax appeal for 2012
Preliminary budget projects $43 tax hike
The City Council on Monday night introduced a $51.83-million budget for 2014 that would increase the municipal portion of the average property tax bill by about $43.
A public hearing and final approval is scheduled at the City Council’s April 14 regular meeting. In the meantime, the budget will be sent to the state for technical review, Chief Financial Officer Frank Ruggiero told council members Monday night. He described it as a very aggressive budget that increases taxes about 1 percent over last year, staying under a state-imposed 2 percent cap. UPDATE: A copy of the budget can be found here. Continue reading Preliminary budget projects $43 tax hike
Council approves nearly $3m for park upgrades
With nary a question or comment from the public, the City Council last night approved borrowing almost $3 million for improvements to Union County’s Rahway River Park and athletic facilities behind the high school on Madison Avenue.
Continue reading Council approves nearly $3m for park upgrades
Shopping center wins five-year tax appeal
Another month, another multi-year tax appeal is settled. A shopping center that straddles the border of Rahway and Woodbridge will get a refund of more than $188,000 on its tax bill over the last five years after the City Council approved a judgment by the state Tax Court.
City to borrow $2.3m for Rahway River Park
The City Council on Wednesday night introduced a $2.35-million bond ordinance (07-14) to fund its share of a massive upgrade of facilities at Rahway River Park. A public hearing and final approval is scheduled at the March 10 regular meeting.
The plan — as outlined by Interim Mayor Samson Steinman in his State of the City address — is in the preliminary design phase, according to City Administrator Cherron Rountree. The current field at Rahway River Park would be renovated to include a turf field, eight-lane track and area for field events, lights, 5,000-seat bleachers, press box, two team pavilions, a concession stand with bathrooms, and fencing. Groundbreaking is expected by the fall.
The city’s $2.3-million portion of the project is expected to impact the average assessed Rahway home at $7.60 annually, according to Rountree. It’s unclear how much the county’s portion of the project would impact taxes, or whether that will come from the Union County Open Space, Recreation and Historic Preservation Trust Fund or the county’s capital improvement budget. The county portion is expected to be about the same as the city’s share ($2.3 million), according to Rountree, who worked in various capacities at the county before becoming city administrator last year.
“This is a perfect example of true shared services,” Rountree said, calling it a three-way partnership because the county was looking to do improvements at Rahway River Park and included the city in its planning. “The city would not have the financial resources to upgrade and/or purchase a property to build a facility of this sort…and the county does not have a need to have the additional components that the city is proposed to add.” The city will be able to reserve a pre-set number of events each year at the facility before the general public.
The alternatives would be to continue using Veterans Field, which floods, or to complete the project without the county, which Rountree said would be “at least double what we intend to spend on this project before acquisition or costs associated with correcting drainage issues.”
At the present time, Rountree said there are no plans for adding parking at Rahway River Park, which also includes Walter E. Ulrich Pool.
Included in the mayor’s announcements last month were upgrades to the county’s Greenfield Park adjacent to Rahway Middle School and the field behind Madison School.
There are no cost estimates yet for the Greenfield Park project because the county is handling the entire project, Rountree said. There are two turf fields planned, one for football and rugby and another for soccer, and the city has asked for a T-ball field as well as requested the county to repave the middle school parking lot in conjunction with the improvements. It’s expected to break ground sometime in 2015.
The field behind Madison School and the high school will receive a $120,000 grant through the county’s Kids’ Recreation Trust (which is funded from the Open Space, Recreation and Historic Preservation Trust Fund), in addition to about $170,000 from the Board of Education and $200,000 from the city, Rountree said. Groundbreaking is expected by the summer, possibly the spring.
State of the City 2014
Note: The full State of the City remarks can be viewed here.
Redevelopment took a back seat to parks upgrades and other initiatives related to the arts during the 2014 State of the City address last night.
‘The State of the City is…’
With the second postponement of the State of the City (now scheduled for Wednesday at 7:15 p.m.), I thought it’d give us another opportunity to have some fun with it and also solicit some input from readers. Inspired by a reader comment via Facebook last week, I ask you to finish the sentence:
“The state of the city is…”
Feel free to use one word or a short phrase that you think best describes the “state of the city” — in your view. The most typical phrase we often hear when it comes to State of the City or State of the Union, is always “strong” — but that’s usually coming from the person delivering the remarks, so what else would you expect? Instead, what would you say?