| Author |
Message |
    
Overtaxdalready
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 6, 2001 - 12:19 pm: |     |
You're right Mem, that count does seem low. I think I'll go up and down the street next time and record actual amounts. If it's snowing I'll bring my SUV with me....after I take out all the $125 sneakers I just bought for my kids of course. |
Nakaille
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 6, 2001 - 12:49 pm: | |
Mtierney, I'm still waiting for you to take a look at homes in my neighborhood. Your taxes will go down, you may have slightly less property to have to care for, and you may even get the same size house, although you might want a smaller one that requires less effort to clean. What are you waiting for? You'll still be only 20 minutes away from your grandkids. I know you don't take this offer/advice seriously, but I honestly don't understand why not.
Bacata |
Mem
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 6, 2001 - 1:06 pm: | |
Lydial,
Thank you for clearing that up about your laundry habits. I admit, I was concerned when I counted eight bottles of #2 laundry detergent in your recycling, and was about to call Big Brother.
Now, can anyone tell me where/when I can recycle all these piles of used $125 sneakers I have around my house and yard? The neighbors are complaining. |
Golden
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 6, 2001 - 1:13 pm: | |
Dave
Why such a strong warning to Mommabear?
"first and last warning" ? After reading your rules of conduct I felt the warning should have gone to the MORONIC comments made by Ihateice.
Both postings were a little emotional and if you felt the need to respond, why not respond to both?
This board is your game, and we must play by your rules . So if you don't agree with what I said, or my use of the word MORONIC, please don't issue a final warning - just go ahead and ban me from this board |
Bobk
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 6, 2001 - 1:26 pm: | |
Must have been my recycling that Ihawhatever saw. I put ten empty Ripple bottles out last week since I can't afford the French stuff anymore. With the new taxes I ain't got no SUV any more. I am riding the Jitney with the common folk. |
Dave
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 6, 2001 - 1:30 pm: | |
OK, all three of you please stop. (Can it be a final warning now?)  |
Mem
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 6, 2001 - 1:57 pm: | |
ihateice,
Sorry for making fun of your comments. |
Snowmom
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 6, 2001 - 2:05 pm: | |
John, Your points are well taken, esp. w/regard to the overall tax structure in NJ. But I honestly don't think we could ever expect or hope that our current elected officials (TC) would ever say or do anything to challenge the Essex co. and/or state democractic machinary. The fact that we are one of the first towns in Essex county (state??) to voluntarily perform a reval pretty much assures that... |
Nakaille
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 6, 2001 - 2:29 pm: | |
Snowmom: Voluntary is a funny word for something that was at least 9 years overdue under NJ law. If the earlier TCs had had the guts to do it, we wouldn't have had nearly as much of a mess as we did. As Curmudgeon pointed out, the TC was fulfilling its obligation to the WHOLE town, unlike what some folks say some prior administrations have done (like letting Springfield Ave go down hill because people of means don't shop there anyway?) Or would you prefer that the financial imbalance from east to west remain that way? Is it okay for someone to keep paying disproportionately as long as it's not you? Mighty neighborly of you if that's your view. If it's not, please correct me.
Bacata |
Ffof
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 6, 2001 - 2:30 pm: | |
Lydial - I wanted to tell you about your full recycling bins...could you put them out BEFORE they are completely full, cause I need a place to toss my extra wine bottles...(!)(wouldn't want anyone thinking I was a squanderer...let alone a lush!) |
Mem
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 6, 2001 - 2:37 pm: | |
ffof,
Great recommendation for Lydial. Now there will be more room in your recycling for me to sneak some of my bi-weekly seven cases of empty Mad Dog Red Wine bottles in. |
Ffof
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 6, 2001 - 2:46 pm: | |
Mem - LOVE that stuff...but you'll ruin my gleaming reputation (I've been tossing bottles - green, brown, clear, whatever) into various neighbors bins for years now. Ssshhhh.... |
Nohero
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 6, 2001 - 2:48 pm: | |
Snowmom - it's not the democratic party which has been in charge of the legislature and the governor's office for the last eight years. The current state government has followed a deliberate policy to not have the state take more financial responsibility for such items as education.
I think "voluntary revaluation" is another one of those phrases which should be retired. It was an "overdue, required revaluation".
As for recycling, I usually just drive over to the west side of town, and put them in the bins on the curb over there. |
Mem
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 6, 2001 - 3:04 pm: | |
I tried sneaking over to Millburn with my empties, but they knew right away that a Maplewoodian was trespassing when they spied the labels. |
Chloe
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 6, 2001 - 3:27 pm: | |
To the TC... First of Hello to all of you.
I have a few questions and comments for your consideration -
Firstly, What is the new mill rate? I have read and heard everything from 2.66 - 2.89 with a mill rate creeping over 3.10 when the school porion of the tax is figured in... We need that information ASAP please...
Secondly - I have read that NJ legislators are proposing legislation to ease in our new revals over the next 3-5 years. Is the TC consdering this also? I certainly hope so, because by championing this phase it could go a long way to healing the bad feelings and serious split in Maplewood.
I think that noone in Maplewood objects to paying their fair share of taxes. However, now we have sections of town (something I never considered when speaking of Maplewood before the reval)... the East-siders feel they have been paying more than their fair share and the West - siders(formerly known as "the Hill") are in a state of shock over the dramatic increase in their taxes and the immediacy of their due date. We live in what is - I guess - the middle (neither East or West) and we have been paying just as much in taxes as the East -siders - but have seen our taxes go up substanially - but not to the extent of the West -siders...
What's the point I'm driving at? We need information(definite decisions made) and enough advanced warning to be able to comply with the new taxes...
It is my hope that the TC will agree to phase in the new taxes over the next 3-5 years while at the same time reviewing the administrative budget of the Township to either create new rateables or to eliminate unecessary Township positions (Do we really need a Police director's salary and benefits?) and search for other cost-cutting measures (a pool of township vechicles as oppossed to having specific cars assigned to employees.)
But first things first - let's agree that all Maplewoodians love their town and are willing to pay their fair share of taxes... but increases of the magnitude that are about to take place need time to be phased in over a period of time.
While it was commendable that the TC didn't raise the municipal portion of the taxes for the past few years - wouldn't slight increases have been a better solution as oppossed to the voluntary reval which puts needed funds in the town budget without technically raising taxes? Just a thought...
Also - I think in a effort to do the right thing -the TC has created bad feelings in town. No ones taxes should decrease (read East-side). Rather, their taxes should not have increased and the rest of town should have increased as is proper. The feeling that I have from my friends and neighbors is that the East feels "payback" for "carrying the town" and is almost glad to see the West punished.
No one in town receives more services for the "privilege" of paying more taxes and no one receives less services for getting a reduction in taxes. People in town are in a very defensive mood and that is not good for what makes Maplewood a great place to live.
Houses are still being sold and bought a brisk pace even with higher taxes; but by whom? We are losing some of our best neighbors and friends because of the inabilty to pay such outrageous taxes and the insecure feeling of having it sprung upon them. I know personally of such losses to the Maplewood community because of this and it's sad.
Remember we pride ourselves on being a diverse community (meaning economic diversity as well as social, racial, etc.)... Do we want to have happen here what has happened in Manhattan? A place where only the wealthiest can afford to live.
For example, if we were to consider selling our house - we'd do fine but where else in town could we move to? No where, due mainly to a seemingless continued upward spiral of taxes (municipal, school and county). We may not be able to continue to live here in the near future unless the tax base gets stabilzed.
Instead Maplewoodians finding themselves looking to areas where housing stock on the whole costs more (for the time being), but taxes are significantly lower and services greater... and one would rather pay more for the house (investment that appreciates) than taxes which are income disposed of forever.
Sorry to be so longwinded - but it's time to stop the bleeding and heal our town. That responsibility falls to the TC as our elected officials whom we have entrusted so much power to. The gesture and the action of phasing in the new reval over a 3-5 year period and seriously reviewing the admistration practices and budget of our wonderful Township seem like the place to start. |
John
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 6, 2001 - 3:29 pm: | |
Snowmom- The fact that we are one of the first (and I'm not sure that is right) would give us even more leverage to say there is something wrong. This is one of the responsibilities of our TC "to be our voice to Essex Co. and the State". To assume the county and state would not respond is no reason not to challenge them. If they don't go to bat for us who will?
Bacata- I for one am not so sure that if the reval had been done 9 yrs ago there would be much less of a mess today. Property values on one side of town have moved rapidly over the past 3 yrs while in other parts of town they have stayed stagnant. The condition of the housing stock is partly to blame. This is no fault of the owners in the area of town where values have gone up. |
Lydial
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 6, 2001 - 3:35 pm: | |
Mad Dog! Ripple! What are you guys, tycoons? It's wine in a box for us... |
John
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 6, 2001 - 3:38 pm: | |
Good Lydial, one less bin to take to the curb. |
Dave
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 6, 2001 - 3:39 pm: | |
Wine in a box!?
Luxury.
We have to make our wine from coffee grounds, vegetable scraps and roots we find in the yard. |
Mem
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 6, 2001 - 3:58 pm: | |
Dave,
Recipe please? I've been trying to ferment all my used $125 sneakers in lydial's many empty wine boxes, but the neighbors complained about the smell. |
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