Putting Taxpayers First
It's no secret. One of the reasons you live in Bedminster is for those deliciously low taxes. The Bedminster Township Committee manages the municipal line item on your annual tax bill, which comprises about 20% of your total real estate taxes.
The Township Committee's approach to creating the annual budget is simple - taxes are your money, and not ours to waste! That means eliminating unnecessary expenditures, identifying efficiencies, realizing costs savings opportunities through shared service arrangements, and prioritizing capital investments that provide residents the biggest bang for the buck. It's never easy and necessitates some tough choices, but in the end we live by the credo that low taxes are Job #1 in Bedminster.
"But wait! I'm not a taxpayer, I'm a renter. Does that mean I don't count?!" Not at all! Remember, your landlord is setting your monthly rent in part based on the annual taxes they pay to Bedminster. All things being equal, lower taxes for them should mean lower rent for you.
This year's municipal budget reduces operating expenses by about $747K, or 7.5 percent, versus 2022. The municipal tax rate will be 26.6 cents per $100 of assessed value, a reduction of 1.97%. The average home value in Bedminster increased to $492K in 2023, versus $476K in 2022. Want to learn more about how taxes and assessments are calculated? Click here.
Keeping a tight budget doesn't imply providing less services - it just means doing them at the right price. For example, this year, in response to the need for increased community policing, the budget includes the hiring of two new police officers. Even with the force expansion, police salaries and wages, at $2.11M annually, will increase only $64,837, or 3.2%.
What's the bottom line? The average local tax bill1 in Bedminster, based on 2023 assessments, will be about $1,550, an increase of only $32.80 versus 2022. Year after year, Bedminster is recognized as having some of the lowest taxes in all of Somerset County. Running the township like a business allows us to always put taxpayers first.
1Local taxes are comprised of municipal taxes, local open space tax and library tax, but do not include county, county open space or school taxes.