Washington fire budget passes
02/17/02
By KAREN AYRES
Staff Writer
Trenton Times, http://www.nj.com
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP -- Voters approved a 7-cent increase in the fire tax rate by a narrow margin yesterday.
Fire Commissioner Debbie Matson was re-elected but fellow commissioner Robin Skidmore lost a bid for re-election to newcomer Gregory Zalenski.
By a tally of 364-323, voters approved a tax levy that will increase the fire tax rate to 23 cents per $100 of assessed property value. A homeowner with property assessed at the township average of $177,000 will pay $407 a year, a $124 increase.
Matson, fire board chairwoman, said 5 cents of the increase will cover the expense of hiring eight firefighters/emergency medical technicians in January.
The district hired the additional manpower because Allentown no longer could provide emergency medical services. That contract expired in the beginning of January.
The eight full-time employees each receive an annual salary of $33,260, Matson said.
The remaining 2 cents of the proposed fire tax rate increase will be a cost-of-living increase, Matson said.
The budget is approximately $1.86 million. Last year's fire budget was approximately $1.19 million.
Matson received 338 votes, Zalenski got 289, James Merritt got 248 and Skidmore got 211. Matson and Zalenski will each be paid $6,000 a year to serve on the fire commission.