Page 4 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • August 1, 2012 Mahwah Bergen County sets township’s tax rate for 2012 by Frank J. McMahon The Bergen County Board of Taxation has finalized the 2012 fiscal year tax rate for the Township of Mahwah, and the third quarter property tax bills will be based on that new rate. Elizabeth Villano, the township’s tax collector, advised however, that the grace period for paying third quarter property taxes has been extended to Aug. 20 due to the late issuance of the tax bills as a result of the delay in the receipt of information from the state and county. The township’s total tax rate for 2012 is now $1.626 per $100 of assessed valuation. That total tax rate is comprised of a Bergen County tax rate of 24.4 cents, which represents an increase of 1.9 cents; the Bergen County open space tax rate of three tenths of a cent and a municipal open space tax of one cent, neither of which changed from the prior year; the township’s school district’s tax rate of 98.4 cents, which reflects an increase of 2.3 cents; a library tax of 3.7 cents, which reflects a decrease of two tenths of a cent; and the municipal tax rate of 34.8 cents, which reflects an increase of six tenths of a cent. The 1.626 total tax rate for the township reflects an increase of 4.6 cents. The new overall tax rate will increase property taxes by $216 per year for the owner of a home with the average assessed value of $468,800. Those with homes assessed at the township’s average will now have an annual property tax bill of $7,623. Property tax obligations are determined by multiplying a property’s assessed value in hundreds of dollars by the tax rate. Each homeowner must determine his or her individual total tax by multiplying the township’s new $1.626 total tax rate by the actual assessed property value in hundreds of dollars. To determine if that is an increase or a decrease, the homeowner must compare that tax obligation with the tax obligation under the township’s previous total tax rate of $1.58 and the property’s previous assessed value in hundreds of dollars. In April, the township council adopted a $34,564,660 budget that was $420,352 less than the 2011 final budget and $215,000 under the state-imposed two percent cap on the township’s tax levy. The budget included appropriations of $12,364,550 in salaries and wages, $3,750,000 in health insurance costs, $2,145,178 for the library, and $3,516,110 in debt service. The revenues in the budget included $3,250,000 from surplus, $4,913,416 in state aid, $875,000 in construction code fees, and $21,985,265 in property taxes including the library tax.