Crime & Safety

2013 Cherry Hill Fire Budget Includes No Tax Increase

The introduced budget will likely be amended before final adoption in January.

The proposed budget for Cherry Hill Fire District No. 13 is going up for 2013, but Cherry Hill taxpayers won't see a tax increase under the version introduced to unanimous approval by the fire commissioners last week.

Coming in at $25,505,823, about half a million dollars more than the 2012 version, the budget calls for $22,027,945 to be raised in taxes—essentially flat as compared to last year.

"The bottom line is, taxes aren't going up—there's no tax increase in this budget," said Tom Fiorentini, the district's principal staff assistant.

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The budget will likely have to be amended following a special meeting today, which will determine whether the district spends roughly $2.6 million on new fire apparatus out of a capital reserve fund.

While he said the department is in good shape generally, fire commissioners chair John Vaughan Jr. said putting new trucks into service is part of the district's rolling plan to replace equipment on a 10-year basis.

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"It keeps the first line of apparatus ready and available," he said.

Since the money will come out of a capital reserve fund, it means the district won't add to its debt service to get new apparatus on the road.

"We're not borrowing any money," Fiorentini said. "It's not a bond issue."

The fire commissioners are scheduled to take a vote on final adoption on Jan. 3, 2013, ahead of the annual fire district election, which is slated for Feb. 16, 2013. The public will have a chance to vote on both the budget and two seats on the Board of Fire Commissioners—those currently occupied by Vaughan and Howard Margulies.

Last year, just 892 of the township's roughly 53,000 registered voters voted in the fire district election—a turnout of slightly less than 2 percent.


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