Belleville Council Cuts School Budget Tax Levy by $760,000

The Belleville Township Council voted Tuesday night to reduce the tax levy portion of the nearly $63 million 2013-14 school budget by $760,000, a decrease that did not satisfy one council member.

The amount trimmed means the average household tax increase drops from about $270 to approximately $110, officials said.

The cuts were approved by the council one day after the Board of Education unanimously approved a resolution to accept that amount and not to appeal to the county to restore all or part of the amount.

The decision comes after one councilman who was supposed to help decide what to cut said he still favored trimming spending from an average increase of more than $270 back down to zero, less than the amount that is now cut from the spending plan.

"Not enough was cut," Councilman Kevin Kennedy said in an exclusive interview Wednesday. 

Kennedy missed the meeting as he recovers from surgery.

Only five percent of registered voters came out April 16 to reject the budget by nearly 70 votes, and a council committee met with school officials to decide on a dollar amount to reduce the spending plan.

Kennedy said he still favored cutting to get to a zero tax increase, and was supposed to be part of the committee before needing surgery.

The committee was instead led by Mayor Ray Kimble and former school board president and current Councilman John Notari.

The budget was voted down after former board vice president Patricia Inaugurato publicly screamed out against the budget at an earlier meeting.

The budget includes spending $507,000 on armed security officers and other equipment upgrades for each district school in the wake of the Newtown school shooting.

Two screaming matches regarding the increased budget spending broke out at a March 25 Board of Education meeting. The budget was passed by the board, with Inaugurato voting no.

During the chaotic budget public hearing a shouting match broke out between school board member Joseph Longo and frequent school critic Vincent Frantantoni about the need to have armed security offices at each district school.

Later, Inaugurato yelled to the audience, encouraging everyone to vote against the spending plan, after she tried to talk about her disappointment that the plan increased spending in ways with which she disagrees.

With an April election, Belleville is now one of the few school districts left in New Jersey that did not vote to shift its election to November.

That change to November would preclude a public vote on the budget, officials said.

The altered budget is required to be submitted to the Essex County Superintendent by May 20, officials said.