GLOUCESTER – The 2022-23 budget proposed by acting Gloucester County administrator Carol Steele includes a 3 cent increase on real estate taxes. That doesn’t mean it includes any extras.
“The budget is really streamlined with the only new thing being the raises,” Steele said, referencing pay increases for school employees and county employees.
Gloucester County’s real estate tax, which is 69.5 cents per $100 of assessed value, hasn’t been raised since 2016. In addition, the proposed budget is 2 percent less than the current budget.
Steele said the proposal was put together with two things foremost in mind: improving schools and retaining county employees. The public was invited to a hearing March 23, and a town hall March 30 to discuss the budget with the Board of Supervisors, which has to approve the budget.
While the state approved a teacher pay raise of 5 percent, it funds only half of it. The county must come up with the rest.
“I think there will be a number of people saying, ‘You have got to give teachers raises,’” Steele said before the March 23 meeting.
There was support for the raises at the meetings, with residents stressing improving the school system has countywide benefits.
As for employee retention, Steele noted almost 60 county employees have left since July 1, 2021. For an entity that employs about 400, that’s a substantial number. Board members also showed concern about that.
Another item in the budget is $855,000 for grading and installing an irrigation system for five fields at Woodville Park. Again, there has been significant support for the project.
Those who oppose any tax increase cite rising home prices. With an assessment due soon, the increase in home values will generate more tax revenue. Also, inflation and rising gas prices are hardships on many residents, and any tax increase will make things even tougher.
At the March 30 town hall, the phrase “kicking the can down the road” came up often. Some items in the budget, including Woodville, have been in previous proposals. Now the cost of those items has increased dramatically. The original cost of improvements at Woodville, for example, was less than half of what it is now. If items keep getting pushed to next year’s or the following year’s budgets, expect those costs to rise, also.
Two things were certain, and expressed by Steele, the board members present, and the residents in attendance at the meetings: The budget decision is a challenge, and there are no easy answers.
Copies of the proposed budget are available online, and in print at the county office and the county library. The Board of Supervisors is scheduled to vote on the budget April 18. However, because the state hasn’t approved its budget yet, and it affects the county budget, that deadline could be pushed back. The general assembly is scheduled to meet again the week of April 4.