Wyckoff Residents Will See $54 Tax Increase

The average homeowner in Wyckoff will see a $54 tax increase this year, the township committee announced of the budget it introduced at a meeting last month.

According to the announcement, the 2014 budget calls for a municipal tax increase of 0.75%, or about $54.46 for the average home. The budget accounts for increases in several uncontrollable expenses, the Committee said, including increases in state-mandated pension and healthcare contributions. 

The township also cited the 60 inches of snow that fell on Wyckoff this winter as costing about $170,000 to remove.

“Despite these costs, the Township Committee worked hard to limit the budget in these tough economic times,” it said in the release. Some of the cost-cutting measures the governing body pointed out include seeking county and state grants to help pay for projects, and entering in shared services agreements to help reduce costs.

Some places that will be seeing some money this year include the roads department. According to the announcement, the township has allocated $1.3 million on road repaving this year. That’s up from $300,000 in 2013. 

The town will also spend $200,000 to replace police radios and computers, $45,000 on a new DPW truck used for snow removal and road patching, and will update the 20-year-old town hall phone system.

The municipal tax, which will total $1,808 this year for the average homeowner, is about 14% of the total tax bill. The rest is comprised of school, library, and county taxes.