The West Orange City Council has scheduled two public hearings on the city’s proposed budget and tax rate for later this month. The two hearings will be Monday, August 28, and Thursday, August 31. Both meetings will be in the West Orange Community Center at 5:00 PM. The budget and tax rate will be approved at the September 11 meeting of the City Council.
Mayor Roy McDonald gave the details for next year’s budget which includes a .025 increase in the tax rate to 45 cents per 100 dollars value. The budget will provide a two percent pay increase across the board for all city employees. The cost of insurance for city employees went up by 16 percent. “That’s a major increase, in order to cover that we raised taxes very slightly,” McDonald explained.
A new contract was approved Monday with the West Orange Municipal Police Association. McDonald said the new agreement is very similar to the previous one. McDonald stated the two-year contract will give the police a two percent increase in wages. He added that the only other change dealt with a change in the death in family policy to the city policy which was a little more lenient than the previous police association policy was.
The City Council approved a variance for a property on Tammy Circle to allow the owner to extend a cover for a carport by about 10 more feet. Approval was given by the council for the sale of city owned property located at 2610 South Street. The property is 40 by 130 feet.
The City Council approved specifications and will seek bids for demolishing five condemned properties in West Orange. A slight revision in the wording of the Employee Policy Manual concerning a death in the family was approved.
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