July 31, 2013 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • Page 5 Mahwah Bergen County Tax Board sets 2013 tax rate by Frank J. McMahon The Bergen County Board of Taxation has set the 2013 total tax rate for the Township of Mahwah at $1.664 per $100 of assessed valuation. This rate represents an increase of 3.8 cents. The owner of a property assessed at the township’s aver- age value of $470,000 will now pay $7,821, a $179 increase in the total annual property tax. A property owner’s tax obligation is determined by mul- tiplying the property’s assessed value in hundreds of dol- lars by the tax rate. The township’s total tax rate includes Bergen County’s tax rate of 24.7 cents, which represents an increase of three tenths of a cent; the county’s open space tax rate of three tenths of a cent and a municipal open space tax of one cent, neither of which changed; the school district’s tax rate of $1.009, which reflects an increase of 2.5 cents; a library tax of 3.6 cents, which is one cent lower than last year; and the municipal tax rate of 35.9 cents, which reflects an increase of 1.1 cents. In May, the Mahwah Council adopted a $35,605,815 budget for 2013. That budget represents a $749,012, or 2.2 percent, increase over the 2012 budget and was expected to increase the local tax levy for municipal purposes above the two percent state-imposed tax levy cap. Brian Campion, the township’s administrator, explained at the time, that the local tax levy is in excess of the cap because the levy includes cost increases that are allowed to be excluded from that cap. Examples include the $270,000 increase for health insurance and $135,000 in an allowable debt service cost increase. This budget represents a $44,288 net reduction of the $35,650,103 budget that Mayor William Laforet presented to the council in January. That spending plan would have raised the tax rate from 34.8 cents to 36.5 cents. According to Campion, one of the major causes of the tax rate increase is the decrease in the net valuation of the overall township, which is used to calculate the municipal- ity’s tax rate. The current net valuation of the township is $5,663,744,555, which is down $37,867,222 from last year. The budget included a wage freeze on all township employees even though there is an increase of $330,900 in the amount appropriated for salaries and wages. The increase in the salaries and wage line of the budget, Campion said, was caused by the contractual 2.5 salary increase granted last year to the township’s union employ- ees. Because that increase became effective July 1, 2012, last year’s budget only contained a half year of that increase while this year’s budget includes the full year’s expense, even though no employees will receive further pay increases this year. The third quarter tax bills, which will be based on the new rate, are due Aug. 1. The grace period extends until Aug. 20, after which time interest will be charged back to Aug. 1.