Budget approved
By MELISSA DIPENTO
The Cherry Hill Sun
10/5/2011

Mayor Bernie Platt offered his final thoughts on the 2012 budget before asking council to adopt the $64.5 million plan at the Sept. 26 council meeting.

Platt said he was proud to present his final budget, which includes a local tax levy, or the amount to be raised by taxpayers at $45.1 million.

“When I took office, this municipality was at a crossroads. Businesses were unsure of Cherry Hill’s 21st century landscape and on the fence about this town’s viability as a significant regional hub. My administration changed that attitude, by bringing more than $1 billion in new development to the township and supporting economic and development policies that brought back investor confidence,” Platt said.

“I will be leaving office knowing that fiscal responsibility won the day with a workforce that is 20 percent slimmer and working smarter.”

The tax levy is about a $400,000 increase from last year’s budget, township spokesman Dan Keashen said. But even with the increase, the budget remains well under the state-mandated 2 percent cap.

Currently, the average assessed home pays approximately $8,800 in total property taxes.

Residents with an average assessed home of $140,000 can expect to see an increase of about $14 on their next municipal tax bill, Keashen said.

Before council adopted the 2012 budget, members of the public were invited to comment and question the budget.

Numerous residents, including the Republican candidate for mayor, Stephen Buividas, and his three council running mates, Ann Madden Tufano, Maria Heckendorn and Dolores Kelly, asked council to consider a budget with no tax increase.

In other township news:

Mayor Bernie Platt, joined by other local officials, announced last week that the township will save $265,000 on the cost of municipal trash disposal over the next 14 months, thanks to its purchasing partnership with seven other Camden County municipalities.

Cherry Hill currently pays about $1.3 million in incinerator fees, Platt said, to dispose of 23,000 tons of solid waste.

The township will now pay $52.50 per ton. Cherry Hill had been paying $65 per ton.

In total, the collective savings will be about $950,000 over the next 14 months for Voorhees, Haddon Township, Merchantville, Winslow, Somerdale, Gibbsboro and Collingswood, who joined Cherry Hill this year to seek a collective trash disposal contract.

The agreement, the township reports, is the largest of its kind in South Jersey.

The collective purchasing involves about 175,000 residents, which make up a quarter of the county’s population, and 103 square miles.

“Throughout my tenure as mayor, I’ve made a commitment to the residents of this township that I would think progressively and do whatever was in my power to continue delivering high-quality services at the lowest possible prices,” Platt said.

Somerdale Mayor Gary Passanante said the measure will save the borough a penny on its tax rate.

“These are unprecedented discussions,” Passanante said. “We’re extremely proud and we thank Cherry Hill for taking a leadership role. We can accomplish much more together than we can apart.”