Boonton Township school, town hall renovations could boost taxes almost $1,000 a year

Boonton Township homeowners could face an increase of as much as $1,000 on their annual tax bills with separate, multimillion-dollar renovation projects on the table from both the township administration and the local school district.

Residents will vote on March 12 to approve or deny a $15 million bond referendum proposed by the district for improvements at Rockaway Valley School, the district's lone building. Meanwhile, the township committee is considering an almost $11 million upgrade to the municipal building on Powerville Road, parts of which are almost a century old. The township expects local cannabis tax revenue will fully fund the second project, but if not, taxpayers would foot the bill.

It's a lot of change in a small, largely rural community of 4,400 residents. The potential sticker shock has been amplified by negotiations with neighboring Mountain Lakes, which is seeking a tuition increase for the almost 200 Boonton Township students who attend their high school.

"I think there's a realization in town that something needs to be done," Municipal Administrator Douglas Cabana said of the township building proposal. "We've gotten our money's worth out of that building. The fact that another major capital project in town is being proposed at the same time is problematic. But voters will get to decide on that [school] project."

Rockaway Valley School referendum

The $15 million school renovations tab could be offset by $4.7 million available in "use it or lose it" state funds, but first district taxpayers have to agree to pick up the remaining cost in the March vote.

If approved, the project would translate to $39 per month in added taxes for a resident with the median home value of $529,640, according to the district's referendum website. That amounts to $468 a year.

The average residential tax bill in town is about $12,800, according to state records.

The increase would begin in July 2025 and continue over the 20-year bond period. Payments for the last school referendum in 2000 − for a new middle-school wing on the school − ended in 2021.

"The district was poised to hold the next referendum in 2020-21, but the pandemic disrupted the plan," district officials state in their presentation online.

Christian Angelillo, the district's combined superintendent and principal, was out of town at a conference last week and unavailable for comment, school officials said.

Municipal building proposal would tap cannabis funds

Meanwhile, the township committee is moving ahead on its plan to upgrade and expand the municipal building on Powerville Road, which includes both township offices and police headquarters. The estimated cost of $10.9 million could be offset by $1.35 million a year in accumulated tax revenues from the TerrAscend cannabis farm off Old Denville Road.

"The cannabis revenue is not dedicated," Cabana said. "Based on what has been received annually since its inception, there is sufficient revenue to cover the annual municipal building bond payment, maintain the 2021 tax rate and include other capital projects, if desired."

Depending on the length of the bond the town issues for the remaining cost, taxpayers could see increases of anywhere from $33.78 to $42.83 a month for the median-value home, according to a township presentation online. That would amount to about $405 to $514 annually.

Aging facilities

In their online presentations, the township committee and school district make similar arguments for the projects: They're needed to upgrade and expand aging facilities not up to current standards.

Portions of the municipal building and police complex are 97 years old, with additions in 1952, 1972 and 1997, the township said. A feasibility study in 2022 cited "serious deficiencies with the existing building, including aging core systems and infrastructure, failure to meet public safety regulatory requirements, severe space constraints and lack of ADA compliance, emergency exits and energy efficiency."

The school referendum, meanwhile, would help the district by replacing "outdated systems and improving the school environment," according to the RVS presentation. The school currently has about 400 students.

"Our classroom unit ventilators, for example, are 65 years old, dating to the construction of Rockaway Valley School," the district said.

Details include a new HVAC system for air-conditioned classrooms, updated boilers for heating, additional storage space, LED lighting, a security vestibule for the school entrance, electrical upgrades, renovations to the nurse's office and completion of a roof replacement that began in phases over the past two years.

District officials are eager to take advantage of $4.7 million in state funds, representing nearly a third of the total cost, but those funds cannot be accessed without an approved referendum.

"Taxpayers across New Jersey pay toward the revenue that helps fund school construction projects, but the money only flows back to communities where voters approve referenda," the presentation states.

What's next?

Cabana, the township municipal administrator and clerk, said the committee started considering building needs in early 2022, knowing that significant portions of the previously expanded facility were approaching 50 years old.

"Some of the systems that were replaced in the '90s are beginning to show age, said Cabana, who is also a Morris County Commissioner. "We were having issues with the roof now and then. We just had a flood."

The township was unaware at the time that the school district would also ask voters for more funds, he said. "We had no idea what they were working on. The first we heard about it was sometime in 2023, at which point we were already pretty far down the road."

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Unlike with the school project, voters won't get to weigh in directly on the municipal building. That decision will be up to the five elected members of the township committee, which Cabana said will have a public hearing before voting on the bond. Cabana said they hope to put the project out to bid within 60 days. The planning board will review the site plan during its meeting on Feb. 5.

To participate in the March 12 school referendum, residents must be registered by Feb. 20. Mail-in ballots can be requested from the Morris County Clerk's Office - either by mail by March 5 or in person by March 11.

Tuition increase at Mountain Lakes HS?

The proposals also come as the Boonton Township school district negotiates a new send-receive agreement with Mountain Lakes High School that may also raise tax bills in the township.

In December, the school board sent a letter to residents warning that Mountain Lakes was seeking a 7.25% tuition increase. That prompted about 40 residents to turn out for a Jan. 4 meeting of the Mountain Lakes Board of Education.

Mountain Lakes officials would not confirm the 7.25% figure. But they said they were trying to recoup a $1.9 million shortfall accumulated over the past 10 years under a previous agreement. That deal kept increases at 2% per year, which did not keep pace with inflation, the Mountain Lakes board said.

Negotiations between the two districts will continue on Feb. 11, according to an update posted Thursday on the Boonton Township district website.

Clarification: This story has been updated to reflect that local cannabis tax revenues may cover some or all of the cost of the municipal building project.

William Westhoven is a local reporter for DailyRecord.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: wwesthoven@dailyrecord.com 

Twitter: @wwesthoven

This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: Boonton Township projects could boost tax bills by $1,000 a year