By Christopher Lang
Editor
Posted: Feb. 7, 3:06 p.m.

Tenafly officials will discuss the preliminary capital budget Saturday as they near the end of formulating the municipal spending plan.

The public meeting starts at 9:15 a.m. and will be held at the Tenafly Borough Hall, 100 Riveredge Road.

This will likely be the last workshop meeting the council will hold as it prepares the preliminary budget to be shipped out for state review.

Prior to this meeting lawmakers have been holding public sessions to discuss other portions of the municipal budget, including the Police and Fire department allotments.

Municipal documents show that officials are looking to spend less this year than in 2007. Currently, officials have allocated $123,000 — a drop from last year by $110,000.

"Saturday’s meeting is to review the capital plan," Mayor Peter Rustin said, adding, "which is big bucks. But it is fairly cut and dry."

Tenafly still has time to submit the preliminary plan to the state since Trenton extended the budget deadline.

Many municipalities, including Tenafly, are just now receiving the state’s financial aid figures — which is a revenue source used to offset the municipal taxes needed to fund programs.

"The new budget deadline gives us a little more time," Rustin said yesterday.

If the budget was adopted as is, Rustin projected a 5 percent increase.

That figure, however, represents one-third of the overall taxes residents will have to pay this year. The remaining two-thirds will come from the school board’s and the county’s budget.

Overall, Rustin is confident that the budget is a good plan.

He anticipates that the final budget will be adopted in April.

E-mail: lang@northjersey.com or call 201-894-6710