Page 10 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • March 28, 2012 Franklin Lakes Council adopts 2012 municipal-purpose budget by Frank J. McMahon The 2012 municipal budget for the Borough of Franklin Lakes was presented to the public last week and was then unanimously adopted by the governing body. The $16,465,162 budget will result in a $205,000 percent increase in the municipal taxes to be raised in 2012. Franklin Lakes Borough Administrator Gregory Hart pointed out that the increase is $884,541 below the tax levy cap imposed by state law. The tax rate for 2012, which includes the borough’s state mandated $1,491,000 contribution to the library, will be 26.4 cents, an increase of a half cent over last year’s tax rate. If that tax rate increase is certified by the Bergen County Board of Taxation, there would be a municipal tax increase of $52 for the owner of a home with the current average assessed value of $1,030,000. The general appropriations in the budget increased $702,782, rising from $15,762,380 to $16,465,162. That increase includes a decrease in salaries of $5,523, an increase of $146,420 in “other” expenses, an increase of $360,785 in deferred charges, $165,000 in capital improvement, and an increase of $36,100 in debt service. The appropriations for the reserve for uncollected taxes remained the same at $1,035,000. Hart explained that the borough appropriated $165,000 toward capital improvements in order to reduce its debt service costs by fully funding some capital projects in its operating budget rather than issuing additional debt. Anticipated revenues, including the $205,000 increase in the local tax for municipal purposes, increased by $702,782. That figure includes a $240,000 increase in the use of the surplus, a $247,782 increase in miscellaneous revenues, and a $10,000 increase in receipts for delinquent taxes. During the presentation, Hart pointed out that, while the borough is responsible for collecting all property taxes, the municipal portion of the total tax bill amounts to 16.9 percent, while the local school portion is 40.5 percent, the regional school portion is 28.2 percent, and the county portion is 14.9 percent. Hart also compared the borough’s tax rate to those of other Bergen County municipalities. He emphasized that the borough’s tax rate is the second lowest in the county behind Alpine. He also noted that $7.6 million of the $16.5 million in appropriations in the budget are for nondiscretionary items such as the library, medical insurance, debt service, the reserve for uncollected taxes, the contribution toward pensions, and garbage col- lection and recycling, while salaries and wages, the majority of which are subject to contractual obligations, account for 32 percent. As a result, Hart said, in nearly 80 percent of the budget is “somewhat fixed.” Hart also advised that the total number of employees in the borough government remained the same at 56, and the outstanding debt on bonds, notes, and loans as of Dec. 31, 2011 was $14,456,575. The borough’s total tax rate will not be known until this summer when the county certifies all the components of the overall rate. The total tax rate will also include the school and county taxes and the county’s open space tax. Last year’s total tax rate was $1.53. Once the total tax rate has been established, a property owner can multiply that rate by the assessed value of his or her property in hundreds of dollars to determine the total property tax due for 2012. The Franklin Lakes Planning Board has approved the United Water NJ site plan for the improvement of its water treatment plant on the Wyandotte Drive side of McBride Field on Franklin Lake Road. The borough owns the field and the property on which the plant is located. United Water intends to demolish the existing treatment plant at that location, a small one-story building on the Wyandotte Drive side of the 20.5-acre field across from the entrance to the Indian Trail Club, and replace it with a larger one-story building. The new building will have front and side yard access doors and an expanded driveway access, underground water lines, and fiber optic cable lines extending from the building to Wyandotte Drive. The new treatment plant will house a new well that will be about 125 feet deep, but will not increase the amount of water drawn from the aquifer, according to Anthony Delescinskis, a senior project Planning board approves Wyandotte treatment plant engineer for United Water. He also advised that the amount of water to be treated at this new facility will be the same as already allocated by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. He explained that the two wells that presently exist will be plugged with concrete and the new well will draw the same amount of water as either of the two existing wells which did not run together. In addition, the existing storm water sewer system on the site will be modified, and the existing fire hydrant will be replaced. United Water will also install a water line from the utility’s treatment plant building on High Mountain Road in the public rights of way around the McBride Field to the new treatment plant. Thomas Herten, the attorney for United Water, previously told the board the area would be improved by adding a gravel and stone parking lot with timber borders to provide parking for about 50 vehicles at the ball field on the site. The board gave its unanimous approval to the project at its public meeting earlier this month after Carol Walczyk, a professional engineering consultant on the project, described the landscape plan for the site. Plans call for blue spruce and Norway spruce trees around the entire property. She said the trees will be eight to 10 feet tall when planted, but will grow to a height of 40 to 50 feet and be 20 feet wide. The trees are deer resistant and will grow quickly to provide good screening of the building, the consultant added. Delescinskis advised that the parapets have been raised to hide the mechanical equipment on the flat roof of the building. However, he said the High Mountain Road treatment facility cannot support routing the water line from that plant to the Wyandotte facility along Scioto Drive to provide more fire hydrant service in that area, as previously requested by Mayor and planning board member Frank Bivona. Bivona advised Delescinskis that Bergen County plans to repave almost all of High Mountain Road this spring and the water line should be installed before that paving project is done. Construction of the building is expected to start after Labor Day and last for about 12 months, according to Delescinskis. F.J. McMAHON