Republican Governor Chris Christie and the Democratic state legislature reached an accord to cap property taxes in NJ, and apparently both sides are partying like it’s 1999; but, for most taxpayers in NJ there will be no party. In 1999 the average property tax in NJ was $4,239, in 2010 it was $7,281: a 70% percent increase in operating costs.
The existing cap implemented by former Governor Jon Corzine was for 4% with a multitude of exemptions. The new spending cap is for 2% with significantly less exemptions, but the remaining exemptions cover significant cost drivers such as pension, health care, debt payments.
Pensions and healthcare costs are two significant areas that have put both the state and municipal governments under a fiscal strain. Debt payments are another issue that many towns face, Franklin Lakes and Oakland being two of them.
*The references to debt statements here are from 2008 & 2002, and do not reflect additional debt authorized in 2009 or 2010; they also do not include debt authorized for school purposes.
For bonds and notes, Wyckoff’s debt is barely on the radar with the debt statement for 2008 coming in at $1,354,300. Franklin Lakes, due in large part to the reservoir purchase comes in at $16,648,250 for 2008. Oakland, for bonds and notes in 2008, is listed as having $13,532,091, with an additional $3,576,000 listed under self-liquidating bonds and notes. Self-liquidating debt normally applies to a utility operation that is self-sustaining and operates without a subsidy from the parent government.
Many in Franklin Lakes questioned the purchase of the reservoir, and point to the added debt payments as being a major issue in efforts to keep taxes down. 2002 saw Franklin Lakes listing only $7,954,336 dollars in bonds & notes, an increase of $8,693,914 between 2002 & 2008 .
Wyckoff, between 2002 and 2008 had only a modest increase of $820,300 in bonds & notes.
Oakland, while not increasing dramatically, has been carrying a steady debt between 2002 & 2008. The 2008 numbers for Oakland were approximately $13,500,000, and the 2002 numbers for bonds & notes was approximately $12,000,000. Again, Oakland also listed the additional self-liquidating bonds & notes which for 2002 were almost $6,000,000.
2008 debt Wyckoff- click to enlarge
2008 Debt Franklin Lakes - click to enlarge
2008 Debt Oakland - click to enlarge
The debt per household is alarming considering that Oakland households carry a public indebtness generally similar to that of Franklin Lakes, but have an average household income 65% lower.
Tick, tick, tick !
Most residents don’t realize that nearly 75% of every dollar in taxes collected, cannot be touched by our mayor and council. The cost of our schools, county, open space and state contributions are fixed costs that have to be funded. The only way to reduce taxes is by taking the Governor’s lead and educate our citizens that if you vote “yes” for the school budget your taxes will go up…period. If you want your elected officials to reduce taxes, vote against the budget (our kids will still get an unbelievable education) and kick it back to the mayor and council to “carve up the turkey” and reduce our tax burden. Consolidating the grammar schools under one roof will reduce the administrative costs by eliminating redundant positions, reduce overhead by eliminating the need for yearly repairs, create new rateables by selling the existing schools and eminent domain a piece of open space to build a new school.