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Admin
| | Posted on Sunday, October 21, 2001 - 5:06 pm: |     |
To Marie and Fred:
Is the Township Committee's annual contribution to the Community Coalition on Race too much, too little, or just right?
To Marie and Fred:
In the spring, all three Maplewood members of the Board of School Estimate voted "no" on the "Special Question" proposed by the Superintendent and the Board of Education. If you had been a member of the Board of School Estimate at that time, would you have voted "yes" or "no" on that question. |
Marie
| | Posted on Monday, October 22, 2001 - 5:31 pm: | |
I would not fund the CCR until the follwing things happened:
1) They show meaningful data to support the claims they have made about how they are responsible for increasing real estate values in SOMA.
2)Provide accurate data proving the success of the Prism Mortgage Program.
3) Provide proof that they have successfully racially integrated ANY neighborhood in SOMA - to date they have made a lot of lofty claims without any substantial proof to back these claims up - if they are taking taxpayers money I would like to see substantive accountability before funding them further.
4)Also, if they are going to make the claim that they are modeled after Shaker Heights then they must follow the same - to date our BOE has severed their relationship with the CCR. I believe the Shaker Heights model includes a strong working relationship with their BOE.
5)The entirety of their meetings must be opened to the public. |
Marie
| | Posted on Monday, October 22, 2001 - 5:41 pm: | |
I would have voted no - asking residents to pay any additional taxes on top of the increase many residents were already slammed with would have been just plain wrong and unethical.
I also believe that we should allow the taxpayers of Maplewood to vote on future school budgets. |
Fredprofeta
| | Posted on Monday, October 29, 2001 - 2:02 pm: | |
Dear David:
Here is my answer to your first question:
The Townshipâs annual contribution to the Community Coalition on Race differs each year. It has been a steadily decreasing amount. So the answer to your question must depend on the particular year in question. For 2001, the promised contribution is $36,000. I think that is ãjust about right.ä The CCR budget for 2002 has not yet been drawn up, so I am unable to comment on the Townâs projected contribution for that year.
When the CCR began in 1995, it had to obtain most of its funding from Maplewood and South Orange. I believe that Maplewoodâs contribution that year was $50,000; so was the amount obtained from South Orange. The CCR needed that amount of public funding then because it was a start-up organization, with little ability to attract private dollars. Now the situation is entirely different. The 2001 CCR budget is $176,000. Maplewoodâs $36,000 represents 20% of the total. The budget projected $93,500 from private sources, including contributions from citizens to our funding mailings. We have already received $97,000 from private sources. This includes bequests, fundraising events (e.g. Voices in Harmony), grants ($31,500 so far), and contributions from CCR trustees. It is significant that this latter amount will top $10,000 ö a real statement of commitment from those who labor for the CCRâs mission. It is also interesting that the trusteesâ contribution is almost 1/3 of the total amount contributed by all the taxpayers of Maplewood. The CCR expense to each taxpayer is about $1.66 per $100,000 of assessed valuation.
I think that this analysis demonstrates that the CCR is increasingly able fund its mission. However, financial circumstances in the future could change that. That is why I say that it depends on the year. I do not think it would be wise for the Town to ever cease making a contribution to the CCR. Financial ties of some dimension demonstrate that the Township Committee is dedicated to the CCR mission, and provide it with the ãpurse stringsä to assure that the CCR agenda is in accord with the Townâs Master Plan (now long overdue).
What does Maplewood get for its money? Many things, I submit. The CCR has held many successful forums on racial issues, including those featuring former Governor Tom Kean, several on the issue of race and the schools (the event featuring Dr. Beverly Tatum generated a record attendance), and most recently the inspiring NJ Secretary of State, DeForest Soaries, Jr.
The CCR Neighborhood Association Committee has facilitated the development of many Maplewood neighborhood associations ö the number has doubled since the CCR came into being. The CCR believes that neighborhood groups significantly contribute to the friendliness and stability of the areas which they affect.
In addition, the CCR has given hundreds of tours to prospective home buyers who have answered our real estate ads. David, you know about this program because you served as a guide, with distinction, during my Chairmanship of the CCR. You probably know that over 20% of these tours result in purchases. The Marketing Committee has distributed 1015 packets of literature to prospective buyers, and 12% of these have resulted in purchases.
Then there is the issue of market value influence. From 1991-95, the average price of a home in Maplewood went from $181, 414 to $181, 545. At the same time, for example, Chatham went from $253,371 to $306,385, and Madison from $266,865 to $315,065. Other more western towns experienced the same increase. This is one of the reasons why the Township Committee wanted to form a group such as the CCR.
Sometime after 1995, the market value picture began to change. While Midtown Direct began service in 1996, Maplewood and South Orange did not begin to experience increases until 1998, by which time the CCRâs marketing program was in full gear. The CCR places ads for M/SO in New York metropolitan area newspapers, and, through its professional publicist, ãpitchesä stories to papers such as the NY Times. It is no accident that Maplewood is now on the Timesâ ãradar screenä, and the newspaper has done several favorable stories about the Townâs desireable diversity. Proof of this effect was the comment in a Times Sunday editorial, about a year ago, which named Maplewood as an outstanding exception to the national trend away from integrated neighborhoods.
Maplewoodâs values increased 8.1% in 1998, 15.7% in 1999, and 19.4% in 2000. South Orange has experienced even more dramatic increases. These increases far outstrip increases in Chatham, Livingston, and Westfield.
Is the CCR only one of many factors contributing to these market value increases? Absolutely. But is the CCR a significant player? The correlation in time is there for all to see. But letâs suppose for a moment that the CCR only made a 1% contribution. In 1998, the total market value of homes in Maplewood increased by approximately $240 million. A 1% contribution by the CCR results in $2,400,000 worth of appreciation ö this, by itself, justifies the Townâs financial contribution.
Most of these facts would probably be better known to the public if more residents attended CCR meetings. As you know, when the CCR first came into existence, the majority of the Board felt that discussions on racial topics would not be candid unless they were private. But the trust between Board members has developed to the point where I, for one, feel that a large portion of the meetings can be public. However, as with bodies such as the Township Committee, there will always be portions that must be held in private. For example, the trustees recently discussed the behavior of certain out-of-town brokers ö the evidence in this regard could not be publicized without jeopardizing the strategy. This is analogous to the Townâs private discussion of litigation matters.
Significantly, 60% of the CCRâs meeting last Thursday was open to the public. But, as often happens, no member of the public at large attended. All of the Coalition committee meetings are fully open to the public. I invite all who are interested to attend CCR proceedings. A good introduction will be provided on Tuesday, October 30, at the CCRâs annual report to the community, at Morrow Memorial Church, Ridgewood Road, Maplewood, beginning at 7:00 P.M.
Fred |
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