Skip to content

A town square for an unsquare town

redbankgreen

Standing for the vitality of Red Bank, its community, and the fun we have together.

FAIR HAVEN: TAXES ON THE TABLE

fh-b39-l6-fisk-st-122016-500x382-4536121The February sale of a vacant borough-owned lot on Fisk Street helped keep a lid on property taxes this year, said Administrator Theresa Casagrande.   (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

Taxes dominated the Fair Haven council’s semimonthly meeting Monday night, with a borough budget up for adoption and presentations on spending plans by two school districts on the agenda.

Bottom line(s): a drop in the borough levy, a drop in the local school tax, and an increase in the one that funds the regional high school.

• The borough’s plan to spend $9.49 million this year won unanimous council approval. It calls for a 4.3-percent drop in the local tax rate, to $.388 per $100 assessment, according to the user-friendly budget available on the borough website.

The net result is that the owner of a home assessed at the borough-average $770,600 would pay $14 less this year toward the local portion of the tax bill, excluding school, library, Monmouth County and Open Space levies.

Last year, the average assessment was $741,546; four years ago, it was $550,678.

Administrator Theresa Casagrande said the tax load was lightened by the February 27 sale at auction of a vacant borough-owned lot on Fisk Street. From an opening bid of $330,000, two bidders drove the price up in $5,000 increments until Kevin Gosney made the winning offer of $405,000, according to meeting minutes.

• Rumson-Fair Haven Regional Superintendent Pete Righi and Business Administrator Frank Gripp offered an outline of the high school district’s $19.46 million operating budget for the year, which calls for a three-percent increase in the tax.

The increase exceeds the state-mandated two-percent levy cap because of allowable adjustments for enrollment growth, said Gripp.

The plan includes capital spending on Borden Stadium for “better ADA compliance” and needed repairs, with about $250,000 in costs expected this year, Gripp said.

Rumson residents continue to carry more than two-thirds of the levy burden, though that borough’s share declined slightly this year, continuing a trend over the prior three years. Fair Havenites now pay 30.7 percent of the levy, up from 30.4 percent last year, according to figures supplied by the district.

In Rumson, the average home assessment dropped by about $5,000 last year, to $1.333 million, Gripp said.

The R-FH board of ed is scheduled to meet next on Tuesday, May 2.

• Under the borough school district’s $14.96 million operating budget, taxes would decrease by $58 for the owner of a home assessed at the new borough average, Business Administrator Val Petrone told redbankgreen. That’s even after accounting for the increase in home values, she said.

The smaller levy, she said, was largely thanks to the extinguishment of a bond that covered improvements to Knollwood School 20 years ago. The final payment will be made in early June, she said.

First-year Superintendent Sean McNeil outlined plans for a revamped curriculum starting in September to address what he called “disappointing” scores under the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, or PARCC, testing regime.

A curriculum audit found that “there were quite a few holes in what were were teaching our students, which have now been addressed,” McNeil said.

The district’s budget is on the board of education‘s agenda for Wednesday night, Petrone said.

Remember: Nothing makes a Red Bank friend happier than to hear "I saw you on Red Bank Green!"
redbankgreen Classics
Partyline
THIS LOT IS GOING TO POT!!
Do NOT hit this monster pothole in Red Bank’s best parking lot for people watching or your weekend plans may go up in smoke. In the backgr ...
DEM GOV HOPEFUL FULOP VISITS RED BANK
110 people braved the ice on Super Bowl Sunday morning to head to Triumph Brewery to hear Steve Fulop’s case for why he should be our ...
REAL BRICKS!
Pardon our nerdiness, but we were excited to see the facade of the long-vacant building at 42 Monmouth being renovated with a facade that ap ...
NAVESINK SUNRISE
Sunrise colors Sunday over the Navesink. Shot from Maple Cove. (photo by Partyline contributor Thomas Doremus)
PET OWNER TO RED BANK: SCREW YOU
(photo and text by Partyline contributor Anna Cruz; headline by redbankgreen) Remember to scoop the poop!  
A HAIR DRYER IN A TREE?
(Photo and text by Partyline contributor Nicole Taetsch) If someone is missing a red hair dryer, it’s hanging from a tree on Oakland S ...
FROM DEEP LEFT FIELD..
(Photo and words by Partyline contributor Peter Cavalier) Shapes, Angles, and Colors: an Artist’s Canvas Where: A frigid Saturday morn ...
SUNSET ICE BOATING
Sunset ice boating Saturday. (photo by Partyline contributor Thomas Doremus)
ICY NAVESINK BLISS
Ice boating is back, baby! (Photo by partyline contributor Boris Kofman)
TEACHERS GET COUNCIL KUDOS
The Mayor and Borough Council honored five teachers from the Red Bank Borough Schools who were selected for the Governor’s Educator of the ...
RED BANK LIBRARY HEAD BIDS ADIEU
Eleni Glykis in her last day on the job in Red Bank Thursday (photo by Brian Donohue) redbankgreen stopped in the Red Bank Public Library to ...
TO TOWER HILL!
Parents and kids flocked to Tower Hill on Monday morning, taking advantage of the federal holiday and perfectly timed Sunday snowfall.
BROAD STREET IN WHITE
Taken during the snowstorm Sunday. (Photo by Partyline contributor Thomas Doremus)
Stunning Sunrise at Marine Park
Sunday’s sunrise from Marine Park. (photo by Partyline contributor Thomas Doremus)  
WALL STREET CLOSED FOR LEAK
Wall Street in Red Bank closed for water leak.
INDOOR SOCCER KICKS OFF
Pre-k and kindergarten aged kids were at Red Bank Middle School bright and early Sunday, participating in the indoor soccer program hosted b ...
SUNSET OVER FROZEN NAVESINK RIVER
Sunset colors Saturday evening over the ice shot from  Shrewsbury Ave. (Photo by Partyline contributor Thomas Doremus)  
ICY VIEW FROM TRAIN WINDOW
View of the partially frozen Navesink River Saturday afternoon from NJCL Train #7244. (Photo by Partyline contributor Karly Swaim)
RBR BEATS RBC IN BOYS HOOPS RIVALRY
 Red Bank Regional's boys basketball came out with the win at home against their crosstown rivals Red Bank Catholic on Tuesday in Little Si ...
FRIGID DINNER FOR WATER LINE WORKERS
Work continued into the late night hours on Bank Street Tuesday night as a crew replaced several water lines to homes under the town wide le ...