West Orange proposes same tax rate for 2016

Tommy Mann Jr. - For The Record

City leaders have proposed leaving the tax rate unchanged for the coming fiscal year.

The City of West Orange held its regularly scheduled city council meeting this past Monday evening and voted to approve action to consider accepting the proposed ad valorem tax rate of $0.42500 per $100 valuation following two public hearings later this month.

The proposed tax rate of $0.42500 per $100 valuation is the same tax rate set by the city in 2015. For a home valued at $100,000, property taxes would be $425 per year.

The proposed tax rate has not changed, but some residents of West Orange could see an increase in property tax due to an increase in property values.

Although there is no change to the proposed tax rate from the previous rate, it would not have impacted those who are ages 65 and older as those tax rates are frozen for those individuals.

The proposed ad valorem tax rate for the city is still less than the rollback tax rate of $0.45850 per $100 valuation. In order to surpass that rate, a city would have to call for a rollback election, but Jones said there are no such plans to do so.

The first of two public hearings on the proposed new tax rate will be held at 5 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 25, at City Hall, which is located at 2700 Western Ave. in West Orange. A second public hearing is scheduled for 5 p.m., Monday, Aug. 29 at City Hall.

The city is still working on its budget for the 2016-2017 fiscal year and will hold another budget workshop at 4:45 p.m., Monday, Aug. 22, prior to the start of the next regularly scheduled council meeting at 5 p.m.