Page 4 THE VILLADOM TIMES III • April 17, 2013 Waldwick Waldwick residents can expect a tax increase of about $180 for the average house this year, but not from the municipal part of the tax bill. The mayor and council have maintained their part of the equation flat for 2013. The council last week approved a total municipal budget for 2013 of $13,606,775, which is $29,330 less than the 2012 expenditures. The $8,641,011 to be raised by taxation is down $6,741from 2012. Taxes on a house assessed at $416,000, the borough’s average, will remain at $2,308. Borough council adopts 2013 municipal budget Borough Administrator Gary Kratz said, however, that the municipal share of the tax bill is only 23 percent. The school district’s share is 68 percent, and the county’s about 9 percent, he said. Mayor Thomas Giordano thanked Kratz for his leadership role. “We are always looking for savings and greater efficiencies throughout the year. This year he did a fantastic job,” Giordano said. Legislation to honor fallen Marine and Waldwick native Joseph D’Augustine by renaming the United States Post Office in Waldwick in his honor was reintroduced in the U.S. House of Representatives last week by Rep. Scott Garrett (NJ-05). H.R. 1458 would name the post office building at 1 Walter Hammond Place the “Staff Sergeant Joseph D’Augustine Post Office Building.” The entire New Jersey delegation in the House is co-sponsoring the bill. “After Joe’s funeral I thought of what tribute would be fitting to honor the life of a ‘Waldwick hero’, and the post office came to mind,” said Waldwick Mayor Tom Gior- Bill reintroduced to rename post office dano, who called Rep. Scott Garrett and asked him to help with the request. “On behalf of the council and myself, I would like to thank Rep. Scott Garrett for bestowing this honor on Staff Sgt. D’Augustine and his family. May Joe’s memory forever live on in our community and in our hearts”. “Words cannot describe the gratitude our community and our country have for Joseph’s selfless commitment to protect his fellow Marines and the freedoms of the United States of America; he is a true hero,” said Garrett after (continued on page 10) Councilman Don Sciolaro, the finance committee chairman, said that the council approaches every budget preparation period with the intent of keeping taxes level without affecting the level of service. “I think we have a pretty good handle on what is important in the community, and we communicate that to our department heads,” Sciolaro said. “We try to avoid major fluctuations, even when we face expenses that we can’t control, such as a drop in state aid or a pension bill. But we manage our expenses well, and sometimes we make our own good fortune, such as was the case with the sump pump ordinance,” he added. The borough estimates it has saved more than $250,000 in sewer treatment charges since the sump pump ordinance was adopted two years ago. Other contributing factors were the salary breakage that resulted from employee retirements and from replacing a full time employee with a part timer, and health care cost reductions attributed to more state control of premiums and additional employee contributions for coverage. The council decided to apply $708,500 from surplus towards this budget to further reduce the tax impact. More than 28 percent of the current surplus of $2,466,640 is being used.