Be sure to drop by the community center on Feb. 17 from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. to support your local first responders
Voting on the Cinnaminson Fire Department’s annual budget and Board of Commissioners will take place on Feb. 17 at the Cinnaminson Community Center next to the municipal building.
The proposed 2018 budget keeps spending flat, but calls for a 2.7 percent tax increase due to a dwindling level of surplus. Chief William Kramer said the department was able to keep increases at 0 percent for six years and around 2 percent between 2014 and 2015, but this year only had about $160,000 in surplus to apply to keep taxes down, compared to a previous $260,000 surplus figure.
The total budget for 2018 is $3,735,242 and the amount to be raised by taxation is $3,097,090. For the average homeowner, this amounts to about 83 cents a month or $10 per year based on the average Cinnaminson home value of $232,200. In 2017, the rate increased by 3.7 percent, which cost homeowners about $17 a year.
The rest of the budget will be covered by a federal grant of $266,377, which covers the cost of three full-time firefighters, the $164,282 surplus and $207,493 in miscellaneous revenue.
Two members of the Board of Commissioners are seeking re-election. Robert Steel and Richard Dietrich are both longtime members of the board, according to Kramer. Polls are open from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the community center, 1621 Riverton Road.
Kramer said on Feb. 15, the department will deliver a presentation at 7 p.m. at the fire station’s open house on Cinnaminson Avenue.
“We will give a presentation to anyone who wants to come on the proposed budget. We will also be broadcasting it on Facebook Live,” he added.
A minimum of four career Cinnaminson firefighters are on duty 24/7, with an additional two career fire marshals on duty during the workweek. The career staff is supplemented by volunteers, who must provide a minimum of 288 hours in the fire station annually, according to the budget proposal.
The department serves a population of more than 16,000, the public school district, 5,535 housing units, 684 businesses and numerous shopping centers and places of worship. The Board of Fire Commissioners participates in the New Jersey State Health Benefits program to control health insurance costs and maintains mutual aid agreements with eight municipalities.
“As always, through sound fiscal policies, we remain committed to good stewardship of department resources funded by Cinnaminson residents,” the department said in a statement.
For more information, visit cinnaminsonfire.org or follow Cinnaminson Fire Department on Facebook and Twitter.
