State of the Borough Address 2008 Commissioner Neal Rochford

Thank you, Mayor.

Let me begin with the revaluation.

The first thing I want to say is that I am immensely proud of the residents of Haddonfield with respect to the level of cooperation during the reassessment process.

We achieved a 94% interior inspection rate and many people went out of their way to make it possible and convenient a field inspector came through their property. It was extra work to accommodate busy schedules, but it was well worth it.

Even now, during the informal review process, the tone from our property owners has been overwhelmingly respectful. I have even seen some smiling facing coming out of the review meetings.

I cannot begin to thank Tom Colavecchio and his staff in the Tax Assessor's office for the professional work they have put into this project. Many long hours have gone into keeping this process on schedule.

I'd like to give you a snapshot of the revaluation:
• The total value of all taxable property in Haddonfield went up 111%, from about $1 billion dollars to about $2.2 billion.
• The average value of vacant land went up by 272%.
• Residential property went up by 120%.
• Commercial property went up by 114%.

Prior to the reassessment, the average value of taxable property was about $225,000. The new average value is about $494,000.

The total taxes raised for School, County and Borough purposes will remain the same: $51,300,000.

The local tax rate will decrease from $4.89 per $100 of assessed value to $2.32 per $100 of assessed value.

Based on the preliminary numbers:
• 29% of properties saw a decrease in taxes;
• 28% of properties saw a tax increase from 0% to 5%;
• 24% increased from 5% to 10%;
• 19% increased more then 10%.

These numbers may change after adjustments are made from the informal hearings.

The informal hearing process ends later today. The new tax numbers must be sent to the County for certification by January 28. Tom will continue to discuss with any resident their reassessment again after February 6. Residents also have the right to formally appeal their assessment at the County level until April 1, 2008.

The purpose of the revaluation is to ensure that all properties are at their market value at the same point in time and that they are fairly taxed relative to one another. It is my hope that a majority of our residents feel that the process has been open, conducted in a professional manner, and ultimately fair.

Now ... the Borough Budget!

Last year we had introduced our budget much earlier than in the past, and I was able to share some of the details with you during the Mayor's Breakfast.

This year, because of a new funding formula for schools and new budgetary guidelines for municipalities, the state has asked that municipalities not introduce their budgets early.

I can tell you that our Administrator Sharon McCullough had been working with the departments to keep any increases to a minimum, without effecting services.

Areas of the budget that give me heartburn every year are those that we have little or no control over costs, and where costs continue to increase. Here are a few examples:
• Health care cost rose $106,000 – up 8%.
• We make two pension payments to the state: Police and Fire increased $110,000 (41% higher) and Public Employees increased $86,000 (75% higher).
• Casualty Insurance cost rose $16,000 – 11%.
• Worker's Compensation increased $15,000 – 8.5%.
• Energy cost increased $23,000 – 9%.
• Non-union employee pay raises will be at 3.25%.
• And we have provided $150,000 for judgments from reassessment hearings.

On the "plus" side, we saw significant savings from the elimination of the Assistant Administrator position, as well as several retirements.

Paying taxes online or through a credit/debit card is still being worked on. We ran into several issues with the vendor we originally picked that delayed the introduction of the program. We are currently working with our IT staff to create our own program to facilitate this process. It is my hope that we can work out these issues and begin a program by midyear for both taxes and utility payments.

We have made many changes to our Borough Web site which we believe make it more user-friendly. Most needed forms can now be found online: building permits, zoning application forms, planning application forms, pet licenses forms. The answers to many of your questions are now just a click away, 24/7.

The Borough is looking at several major capital projects in the upcoming year:
• New radio-read water meters – an investment of $1.7 million.
• Our ongoing road improvement program – $1 million.
• A new pump station at Coles Mill Road to replace an outdated station on Longwood, including a gravity-line connection down Grove Street to the CCMUA.
• Public works is in need of a new bucket truck – $200,000 – as well as a new chipper truck – $100,000.

Along with Mayor Colombi and Commissioner Borden, I am committed to continued aggressive upgrading of Haddonfield infrastructure.

The Borough Hall building is a point of pride for our community and it should look its best at all times. Many of you may have noticed that the parking lot behind the Borough Hall has been repaved and the inside of the building is currently being painted.

Lastly, the Business District

As Tish mentioned, the Partnership for Haddonfield continues to do an outstanding job on keeping the business district vibrant and an exciting place to shop and gather. The board for the Partnership, under the outstanding leadership of Rob Kugler, is made up of volunteers of residents, merchants, landlords, and professionals. They put in hundreds of hours of service to keep our business district the best in South Jersey. I am pleased that for the fourth year in a row there will be no increase in the BID assessments on properties within the district.

I thank you all for what has been a very interesting and sometimes challenging year. Haddonfield continues to thrive and prosper. Our future is bright.

As your Commissioner, I am proud to serve this Borough. I am proud of the Borough employees who make the day-to-day operations run smoothly. I will contue to work collaboratively with Tish and Ed to preserve the Borough services and enhancing the quality of life that our residents deserve and expect.

Thank you.