All Around Pennsauken

By Frank Sinatra, AAP Editor

Each year, property taxes – based on the assessed value of a resident’s home – are used in a variety of ways in the community. Broken down into several sections, these taxes are used to pay for county services, school funding, trash and recycling collection, and municipal operations. These last two items are the responsibility of Pennsauken Township’s local government; and the town’s administration and the Township Committee have worked on a continual basis to maintain a fiscally responsible budget.

Pennsauken’s 2019 budget, which has been approved by the State of New Jersey, is remaining flat with a zero increase for the seventh straight year. This means that when it comes to municipal services, trash and recycling collection, and the budget of the Pennsauken Free Public Library – which equated to 30.24 percent of last year’s tax bill – residents will be paying the exact same amount as in 2018. 

Each taxpayer in Pennsauken will pay a total of $1.14 per $100 of their property’s assessed value for the town’s municipal budget, trash and recycling collection, and the yearly budget for the Pennsauken Free Public Library.

“It’s pretty amazing that for seven years in a row, even while expenditures are up and the Township tackles a variety of new projects, the municipal portion of the property tax bill has remained the same,” says Pennsauken Mayor Jack Killion. “The entire Township Committee, working closely with our administrator and municipal staff, makes it a point to be very respectful of our residents’ hard-earned money. It’s our ongoing commitment to our community. The taxpayers of Pennsauken deserve nothing less.”

Pennsauken Township faces significant challenges every year to balance the municipal budget. But it’s more than just holding the line. In fact, the Township is experiencing the largest increase in expenditures without increasing municipal taxes. Pennsauken Township has hired six new police officers, two new firefighters, and two additional public works staff. The town’s administration has also made sure that each department has received the necessary funding they need for the year. There are also several capital improvements planned for 2019, including the purchasing of six new police cars, two new fire department vehicles, and an ambulance for Pennsauken’s EMS. In addition, the Township is in the initial phase or renovating a 12,000 sq. ft. public works facility; are installing new pumps at the municipal pool; making essential repairs to the roof at the Pennsauken Country Club; and renovating the Pennsauken Fire Department’s Station 5.

Pennsauken is also making a $500,000 commitment to improve and repair its infrastructure; there are 102 miles of road that the Township is responsible for maintaining and they continue to replace damaged curbing and improve storm drainage. Pennsauken’s 30 parks and playgrounds are also upgraded on a continual basis.

Several factors helped the Township maintain the level of local taxes. For the sixth straight year, Pennsauken had a tax collection rate in excess of 97 percent, coming in at an all-time of 97.4 percent in 2018.

“Our tax collection rate plays a big role in how we keep the municipal portion of property taxes down,” explains Killion. “Our tax office, run by Danny O’Brien, Pat Huerta, and Kathie Kilroy, do a great job. We also can’t give enough credit to Ron Crane, our chief financial officer, and John Dymond, our assessor, who play very important roles in this process.”

The Township’s Economic Development Department has again secured additional businesses to move into Pennsauken. New businesses coming into town help to increase tax ratables, which offset increasing municipal costs. Another important factor is the fees and permits collected through the town’s highly-successful Abandoned and Vacant Property Initiative.

“Terry Carr and Larry Cardwell, our Economic Development team, do an amazing job to foster business growth in our community,” says Killion. “And every home that stops being vacant and has a family move in is a real boost to our tax base.”  

In addition, the Pennsauken Country Club once again generated above the amount needed to cover operation costs and course maintenance. This entire amount goes directly towards property tax relief.

The services that Pennsauken Township provides its residents and businesses would not be possible without local property taxes. These taxes make up the largest revenue source in the municipal budget. “Every year, our goal is to create a balanced municipal budget that maintains our services while being completely fair to our taxpayers,” explains Killion. “For seven years straight, we’ve worked on not increasing municipal taxes and we’ve succeeded. We’re extremely proud of that accomplishment and will continue to do what we can to serve our constituents responsibly.”