Deptford council passed a resolution that officially introduces the 2025 municipal budget during its meeting on March 17.
While the exact details of the plan were not disclosed, the resolution was approved unanimously. Councilman Ken Barnshaw provided brief insight into the process of developing a municipal budget.
“We all do our job, and it’s important that we continue at our meetings looking at our bill list, tax collection reports, the financial reports,” he explained. “There’s … a wealth of information that comes to us. It’s important that we look at it and have questions to get to our (township) manager, CFO and mayor, things of that nature. So, we’re on schedule.”
A second draft of the budget is currently in development, and the final draft will be revealed at a later date. According to Mayor Paul Medany, there will be no tax increase.
“Just off the top of my head, that’s probably the fifth or sixth time we’ve gone zero in the last eight or nine years,” he noted. “That’s a pretty great accomplishment, especially in this day and age. The things that are hurting us are state health benefits and tax appeals. They’re huge.
“We can always say if it wasn’t for them, we’d be in good shape,” Medany added. “But that’s make pretend. They’re here and we have to deal with it. State health benefits are going to go up this year. Our manager and CFO are working on some options for us, but it’s challenging. Which is all the more important that we go zero to give everyone tax relief.”
Township manager Thomas Newman Jr. expects the cost of state health-care benefits to increase by 14% in 2026. Prescription costs, meanwhile, are expected to rise by 20% or greater.
“It’s something to prepare for,” he pointed out. “Obviously, we’ll shop and do the best we can and try to come up with some creative ideas. But that’s a huge, huge concern.”
Council also introduced an ordinance that establishes a CAP bank in the event the township exceeds municipal-budget appropriation limits for the calendar year. That does not mean council has already exceeded the limit, just that a bank is in place in the event it does.
The measure will be voted on at the next council meeting on Monday, April 7, at 6 p.m.
