No 'Compelling Reason' for Tax Increase, Deputy Mayor Says

The $1.4 million tax increase proposed in the first draft of Moorestown's 2013 budget won't fly, according to Deputy Mayor Chris Chiacchio.

Reflecting on the budget ahead of Tuesday's budget meeting (7 p.m. at the township offices), Chiacchio said council had directed township manager Scott Carew and financial officer Tom Merchel to "drastically reduce the deficit."

Chiacchio stated he was speaking for himself, not on behalf of all the members of council, but said, "A $1.4 million deficit is not acceptable ... Everyone agrees a 9 percent increase is not going to happen."

Though he had not had a chance as of Monday night to see the budget revisions proposed by Carew and Merchel, Chiacchio said he'd rather use the township's surplus to close the deficit than impose any tax increase.

According to Merchel, the township has built a roughly $5 million budget surplus, much of it thanks to the $4 million in liquor license revenue last year. 

Chiacchio claimed Moorestown's sizable surplus puts it in an enviable position compared to most of the other towns in the county that have far less.

"I haven't been provided with any compelling reason why we need to raise taxes," he said. "I think there's no better way to spend (the surplus) than on our residents." 

Merchel, who plugged $1.8 million from the surplus into the budget to help close the deficit, advised against using too much, using the practices of previous town councils as a cautionary tale. They would drain the fund each year to keep taxes artificially low, he said, until one day there wasn’t enough money left to do it.

But Chiacchio said even if the township uses more surplus—$1 million, for example—it would still have one of the largest surpluses in Burlington County. And with tax appeals expected to drop off due to reassessment, which will supposedly save the township about $500,000 a year, now is the time to use the surplus and spare the taxpayer, he said.

"What's the surplus for then?" said Chiacchio. "Why not give relief to the taxpayer now, rather than saving the money based on a projection that might not come true?"

Chiacchio criticized the entire method municipalities use to craft budgets—in which they start with an amount and then use a combination of taxes and other revenue to reach it—calling it a "flawed model." Instead, governments should figure out what taxpayers can afford, then build their budgets around that number.

"That's true budgeting," he said.

The deputy mayor also tossed out other potential long-term ideas for controlling the budget in the future, including investing in new technology that would eliminate the need for a full-time IT position, and shared services with multiple towns.

"That's how we need to start thinking," he said. "Otherwise we're going to be banging our heads against the wall every year."

Chiacchio said council is aiming to introduce the budget sometime this month. 

Follow Moorestown Patch for continuing coverage of the township budget.