ASBURY PARK PRESS APP.COM $1.00 LLLLLLLL FRIDAY 04.24.15 VOLUME 136 NUMBER 98 SINCE 1879 ADVICE JERSEY ALIVE CLASSIFIED 4D COMICS JERSEY ALIVE LOCAL 3A MOVIES JERSEY ALIVE OBITUARIES 11A OPINION 14A SPORTS 1C WEATHER 6C YOUR MONEY 10A PRESIDENT OBAMA LAMENTS DEADLY DRONE ACCIDENT PAGE 1B Tax rate Tax levy Budget Assessed values Surplus Line items Vacation, sick time liability So much for New Jersey shaking its reputa- tion as one of the most-taxed states in the nation: Property taxes are on the rise again this year. $ A number of Jersey Shore governments, among the handful that have already introduced their budgets, are nudging their tax rates up by any- where from less than 1 percent to as much as 5 percent. $ In some cases, however, property taxpayers could pay more, or the government will see fatter budgets, even where tax rates re- main flat. $ Tax rates in Howell and Union Beach, for example, will drop. Because proper- ty values went up, however, some taxpayers will end up paying more. $ Toms River’s spending is up about half a percent, but costs associated with severe winter storms are pushing its tax rate up by 3 cents on $100 in property value, a 5 percent increase. $ After five years of keeping the tax levy flat, Monmouth County will in- CONSUMER’S GUIDE TO PROPERTY TAXES TAX WATCH 7 things you need to know now to avoid a tax shock SUSANNE CERVENKA @SCERVENKA $4.5M Monmouth County will increase in overall tax levy after five years of keeping the tax levy flat. $14M Ocean County will increase in overall tax levy after five years of keeping the tax levy flat. 2% Statewide property tax cap, designed to limit municipal property tax increases, with limited exemptions. 1%-5% Proposed property tax rate increases in Monmouth and Ocean counties. See GUIDE, Page 5A What’s being sold as synthetic marijuana has sent about 30 people to emergency rooms around New Jer- sey, including one person in Monmouth County, health authorities said. The New Jersey Poison Information and Education System has issued an alert to warn people about the dangerous, man-made drug and anything going by the street names “spice” or “K2.” Dr. Steven Marcus, the executive director and med- ical director of the poison information system, said the reactions have puzzled medical professionals because they have included both extreme agitation and the ex- treme opposite — coma. “The bottom line is it’s very, very dangerous. It’s dangerous stuff that could kill,” Marcus said. “This is not just a strong version of marijuana.” ASBURY PARK PRESS FILE PHOTO New Jersey has outlawed the manufacture, distribution, sale and possession of all possible variants of synthetic marijuana. Synthetic marijuana hospitalizes dozens in N.J. See POT, Page 6A KEN SERRANO @KENSERRANOAPP MIDDLETOWN — Thursday evening, residents scruti- nized a planned $60 million change to the roadway at Exit 109 of the Garden State Parkway, near Newman Springs Road. The spiderweb will become more complicated in hopes of improving traffic flow. One of the biggest issues in the area, according to project engineer Maynard Abuan, is that the off-ramp from the northbound Garden State Parkway ends at a four-way intersection with Newman Springs Road and Half Mile Road. Traffic backs up on the off-ramp dur- ing high-volume morning hours. “To have a stopped line of traffic on a high speed roadway is not desirable anywhere, really,” Abuan said. The New Jersey Turnpike Authority will fix that by bifurcating the off-ramp — cars turning left onto New- $60 million plan for GSP’s Exit 109 gets mixed reviews See EXIT, Page 6A ANDREW FORD @ANDREWFORDNEWS All about that bass Feast or famine for stripers in 2015. Hook, Line & Sinker, 1E Officials rule on cause of Rumson fire STORY, 3A Eat up. Sound off. Win an Apple Watch. We’re spotlighting our N.J. millennials project with a road trip next week. 8A