(WHITE TWP., Feb. 14, 2007) -- The Warren County Board of Chosen Freeholders introduced a budget for 2007 that reduces the estimated equalized tax rate for the seventh year in a row, and set a March 14 public hearing on the spending plan.

The hearing will be held at 7:30 p.m. in the county’s Wayne Dumont, Jr. Administration Building, 165 County Route 519 South, White Township, just south of Belvidere. Copies of the proposed budget are available for public review at all libraries in Warren County, and it has been posted on the official Warren County web site, www.co.warren.nj.us.

“This budget represents the conservative philosophy of the freeholder board,” said Freeholder Director Everett A. Chamberlain. “We’re very concerned about the taxes in Warren County.”

The freeholders estimate that this $103 million budget will result in a reduction of the equalized county tax rate of 3 percent, dropping the rate by 1.7 cents to put it at 49.8 cents per $100 of property. Last year, the 1 cent reduction in the estimated rate was a 2 percent reduction overall. This marks the seventh consecutive year that Warren County freeholders have crafted budgets that reduce this estimated, equalized tax rate.

“I think that’s very positive for the taxpayers of Warren County,” Chamberlain noted.

The budget is supported by $64 million is local property taxes. Other funding sources include $31 million in miscellaneous revenue, such as Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements, investment income, fees collected by county agencies, and state and federal grants that offset the cost of services. Moreover, the freeholders propose using $6.95 million from the county’s surplus account, which will maintain a surplus balance at a conservative $6.31 million.

“I congratulate the department heads,” Chamberlain remarked, explaining, “Their operating budgets came in with very little or no increases. That’s a reflection of the way government is operated in Warren County.”

The proposed budget dedicates $8.8 million for capital projects including road, bridge, building and facilities maintenance and improvements, as well as an additional $2.5 million in capital reserve for future projects. Chamberlain said those future projects include a county library headquarters and Department of Human Services building to be constructed at the county’s White Township campus. The building is in the planning stages.

Banking money now for future projects continues the freeholders’ “pay as you go” philosophy and “avoids debt for future generations,” the freeholder director said.

“Most counties don’t use this type of philosophy,” Freeholder John DiMaio noted, adding, “They borrow, then pay off debt and interest for many years.”

Using a capital account instead of incurring debt and interest is “a win for the taxpayers,” Freeholder Richard D. Gardner remarked.

The freeholders also expect to use $8.3 million generated through the county’s dedicated tax for open space, farmland and historic preservation. With some 15,000 acres of farmland in Warren County already preserved, the freeholders anticipate having 17,500 acres preserved by the end of the year.

Click here to review the budget