An increase in Red Bank property taxes for the current fiscal year is expected to be cut in half next month.

The change depends on the outcome of a borough council vote scheduled for September 8, when a proposal to siphon $270,000 in surplus money from the water utility and the general fund will be discussed.

If approved, the move would cut the tax increase on the a borough residence assessed at the average $407,000 to $67 for the year, down from an anticipated $133, borough CFO Frank Mason tells redbankgreen.

The juggling of funds was necessitated after Trenton told the borough that it could not include some $340,000 in extraordinary aid provided by the state last year in setting the base for the current budget, Mason said.

That meant the borough had to cut additional costs and find offsetting funds to remain under a state-mandated cap of four-percent growth in municipal budgets, officials said.

Mason said the borough plans to draw down $170,000 more from the water utility surplus and $100,000 more than previously planned from the general fund. That brings the total reliance on surplus funds to $1.25 million this year, compared to $1.3 million last year, he said.

The borough also projects an additional $60,000 in cost savings on landfill fees as a result of a 2008 ordinance that eliminated garbage pickups for many nonprofit institutions, Mason said.

The September 8 meeting will be held at 6:30p. The regular bimonthly meeting scheduled for September 14 has been canceled.

Here’s the proposed resolution with the figures: 09-209resolution