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WEST ORANGE, NJ — The West Orange Town Council voted to adopt the 2023 municipal budget during their meeting on Tuesday. The spending plan will come with a 5.8 percent municipal tax hike, according to recent figures from administrators.
Tammy Williams, Michelle Casalino and Bill Rutherford voted yes on the budget. Asmeret Ghebremicael and Susan Scarpa voted no.
The tax increase – which stood at more than 16 percent this spring – was reduced to 6.74 percent after administrators went back to the drawing board and did as much “chopping, slicing and dicing” as possible. An amendment to the budget introduced to the council on Aug. 1 will adjust for extra state aid and grant money, and further reduce the tax increase to about 5.8 percent. A second amendment was introduced on Tuesday that will have zero impact on taxes, chief financial officer John Gross stated.
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Many residents have been loudly criticizing the impending tax hike over the past few months. Read More: Potential Tax Hike In West Orange Chopped Down – But Is It Enough?
Watch footage of the meeting below, cued to the discussion and vote on the budget.
Find out what's happening in West Orangewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
A West Orange resident’s property taxes are generally made up of three parts: school, municipal and county. Read More: Average Property Tax Bill In West Orange Is Growing, Latest Data Shows
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This year’s proposed municipal budget represents about 26 percent of a West Orange resident’s property taxes, with 61 percent going to the board of education, 12 percent going to the county, and 1 percent going to the library tax levy, according to township figures presented earlier this month.
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