Tax rate hike less than half of original proposal Deferring school taxes, using surplus were key, council prez says B Y PATRICIA A. MILLER Staff Writer The Brick Township Council has pared the proposed municipal tax rate increase from 12 cents to 4.9 cents by deferring school taxes and using surplus. Council members were expected to introduce the $71,636,107 budget - up $4,447,515 from last year - at the June 12 council meeting. "Here's the key," Republican Council President Stephen C. Acropolis said Monday. "You are either going to use surplus and defer school taxes or you are going to increase taxes. These are tools the township and every other township are using to try and soften the tax burden on young families and senior citizens alike." Democratic Mayor Daniel J. Kelly originally proposed the 12-cent hike in the municipal purposes tax rate to mend what he called a "structural imbalance" in township finances. The township relied on one-shot revenue and deferred school taxes for too long in the past, Kelly said. Acropolis said he told Township Administrator Scott M. Pezarras he wanted to cut the proposed municipal tax rate to a specific number. "I said you have 4.9 cents to work with," Acropolis said. "I don't care what you do." The township has deferred $1.9 million in school taxes and used $1.4 million more in surplus this year than in 2006, Pezarras said. The amount to be raised by taxation will rise to $42,252,327, up $2,475,360 from 2006, he said. The township will use $14,308,566 of surplus, which leaves a cushion of roughly $2.2 million, Pezarras said. "I would have preferred it to be higher," Pezarras said. "I have some concerns about the township's ability to replenish surplus that was utilized to balance this year's budget." Acropolis hopes that by next year, the township will have a buyer for both the Foodtown site on Route 70 and the Civic Center site on Chambers Bridge Road, which will bring in more revenue. Former Mayor Joseph C. Scarpelli left the township with a "brand-new mayor and a new business administrator," which was difficult, Acropolis said. "Dan Kelly is brand new," he said. "I understand his plight. I understand how difficult it is for someone to come and grasp a $70 million budget. The easy way out is to raise taxes, and the hard thing to do is to make cuts." Scarpelli resigned on Dec. 8, one month before he pleaded guilty in federal court in Newark to accepting bribes from an unnamed developer. The GOP-controlled Township Council appointed Kelly as mayor on Jan. 4. Kelly and Acropolis are both running for the remainder of Scarpelli's two-year, unexpired term in November.