SPRING LAKE HEIGHTS — The Spring Lake Heights Borough Council met this week, introducing the 2025 municipal budget with an estimated total general appropriations of $9,006,125.35, and honoring the borough’s public works and EMS members for their hard work for residents of the town.
Budget intro
The proposed local purpose tax rate for 2025 is 0.327, a 4.23% decrease from last year. The estimated local tax levy included in the proposed budget is $7,111,669.
“The total municipal tax levy for 2025 increases from 2024 by a little over $212,000, which is inside the 2% levy cap,” said Councilman John Casagrande, finance committee chair. “The primary drivers for that are increases in health care costs, pension costs and debt service payments.”
Casagrande said the overall budget bottom line is lower this year than last due to grants received by the borough, and noted that this year will be the first full year to see the new utility rates that were passed in 2024 realized.
“We will see the full effect of that revenue, and determine how we can continue to invest in our infrastructure improvements, along with paying down the existing debt service in the utility fund,” Casagrande said.
The average value of a home in Spring Lake Heights this year is $823,846. A decrease of around $108.16 in local taxes annually is possible for a home valued at $750,000, and a decrease of $144.21 for a $1,000,000 value home.
Mayor Chris Campion Jr. spoke on the budget, thanking staff for ensuring responsible spending in the borough.
“I just want to thank you and commend our office staff, our department heads and all of our employees who again are doing the right thing, looking out for our residents and funding our budget based on what we need to operate the borough, and not how much ratables went up and how we can keep the rate the same and play all these politics,” the mayor said. “One of the first lessons I got up here was to watch the bottom line and what our spending is, and I appreciate our administrator and all the teams were focusing on what really matters, which is total spending in the municipal budgets. So thank you for that.”
The public hearing before a final adoption of the proposed budget is set for June 16, with a budget information session scheduled for Wednesday, June 4, at 3 p.m. in borough hall, for residents to learn more on the budget and ask questions before the council vote.
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