| Author | Message | ||
     Rastro Citizen Username: Rastro Post Number: 42 Registered: 5-2004 |
Why stop with Maplewood? Let's join up with Orange, West Orange and East Orange. We can then be called "Greater Orange" and have lots of economies of scale. | ||
| mrosner Citizen Username: Mrosner Post Number: 1396 Registered: 4-2002 |
Pizzaz: Read my post again. I said everything would be on the table. I am not going to guess as to which would be the best way to go. This process requires having an open mind and a willingness to explore all options. It might turn out that a unification of the two towns might be best, it might just be sharing services. | ||
| Pizzaz Citizen Username: Pizzaz Post Number: 337 Registered: 11-2001  |
I would have suggested joining up with Millburn/Short Hills and Livingston. To each their own, but decaying cities such as Orange East Orange and Irvington need to be Wards of the State. This is were the emphasis of redevelopment planning should begin. | ||
| Pizzaz Citizen Username: Pizzaz Post Number: 339 Registered: 11-2001 |
My point once again Mark, to paraphrase what Mr. T suggested at the BOT meeting, it shouldn't matter one iota what I think, let the Public vote and decide. Certain issues can be studied to death, fughettaboutit. Let's Vote! I&R is the short track to allowing the public to speak. | ||
| Soda Citizen Username: Soda Post Number: 1444 Registered: 5-2001  |
This dog won't hunt. --s. | ||
| Rastro Citizen Username: Rastro Post Number: 44 Registered: 5-2004 |
Pizzaz, First, I was being sarcastic about joining with The Oranges. You might suggest joining with Millburn/short Hills and Livingston, why in the world would they want to join with us? What would we have to offer them? Higher taxes? Why would they share their higher commerical tax base with us? Do you think they WANT higher taxes? We can vote all we want to join with whomever you like. Heck, let's vote to join with Beverly Hills. I'd like a high class address like that. You can't just take. You have to have something to offer. And we just don't have anything to offer a town like Millburn or Livingston. | ||
| Josh M. Citizen Username: Jmaxlaw Post Number: 98 Registered: 3-2004 |
Actually-- joing the Oranges and Maplewood together as one municipality is not a bad idea-- if the numbers were right. East Orange and Orange, actually, both have a lot of potential. They're on the train line, and have some pretty good housing stock. There is the potential for some pretty significant rateables in East Orange and Orange. That being said-- they come with obvious problems. However-- if anything-- the merger may help those problems. It certainly, on its face-- would not make South Orange/West Orange/Maplewood any worse. Just because a municipal boundry is erased doesn't mean all the problems suddenly "merge" together. It doesn't mean housing projects will suddenly spring up on Crest Drive (those are reserved for quarries on Harding  ). The bottom line from my perspective is this: I give Mr. Rosner a heck of a lot of credit for getting this thing rolling with Maplewood. Frankly, this is way overdue. The caveat, of course, being that the consultants show real savings for taxpayers. | ||
| just me fromsouthorange Citizen Username: Jmfromsorange Post Number: 580 Registered: 7-2003 |
rastro- i'm for taking the word 'orange' out!!! i liked the idea of the village of south mountain that as talked about a few years back. i'm tired of trying to explain to people i lie in SOUTH orange not orange or east orange... | ||
| woodstock Citizen Username: Woodstock Post Number: 668 Registered: 9-2002  |
JM, I used to live in Jamaica Estates, in Queens. Jamaica Estates is about as different from Jamaica as Irvington is from Short Hills. But when people asked where I lived, I told them Jamaica because it sounded more "street." Teenagers were and still are strange creatures. That said, I do like Village of South Mountain or South Mountain, NJ better than South Orange. But it's not high on my list of things to change around here...  | ||
| Pizzaz Citizen Username: Pizzaz Post Number: 340 Registered: 11-2001 |
What does South Orange have to offer is the question poised by Rastro? Now, lets see: 1. A community ranked in the top ten (?) in the state for per capita household income. 2. A splendid number of diverse and integrated neighborhoods of beautiful homes on tree lined and gaslit streets. 3. A town which is Home to Seton Hall University and a number of synagogues and churches. 4. A main transportation hub into NYC via Midtown Direct. 5. A calibur school system more affected by its proximity to Abbott Districts than by the level of educational instruction provided. 6. An ability to pay the second highest property taxes in the state. 7. Elected officials willing to consider alternatives for the greater good (Mark, I did not know that you were instrumental in recommending the study about shared services, if so, Kudos to you). Rastro: How's that to start. Now, I know the larger unification question is more difficult to address, but I think a focus with respect to Maplewood is very beneficial. We are one town with two municipal governing bodies, and our school children bind us together irrevocably. Cost savings, non school related, would accrue in a merger. The underlining tax levy of school funding needs to be addressed at the State level. How then can our elected officials serve that end goal? Let the people decide would be a good starting point. Leadership from Trenton would help also. Perhaps we could have our state representatives speak to this issue in an open forum and update us on the process for a planned State Constitutional Convention. What needs to be done, and where do we stand? How can we institute I&R for local, regional and state issues? How does our elected official bring forth issues for the Public vote? Isn't that what public service from an elected official is all about? The answer is let the Public vote, and let our elected officials think out of the box to enjoin community involvement in major public undertakings. | ||
| Rastro Citizen Username: Rastro Post Number: 46 Registered: 5-2004 |
Perhaps I should have been more explicit. What does South Orange have to offer of real value that those town's don't already have? Don't get me wrong. I love this town and don't want to live anywhere else. But we need to be realistic in what the other towns would truly gain by merging with us. 1-I'd be surprised if South Orange's per capita income were higher than, say, Short Hills. 2-Nice, and one reason I love this town, but hard to put a real value on quaintness. 3-All tax-exempt organizations that, while important to the town, cause property taxes to be even higher than they normally would. 4-Isn't Short Hills on the Midtown Direct line? (I could be mistaken). Besides, lots of Livingston folks already come to South Orange to use the Midtown Direct. 5-To another town, this is a liability. Think of the discussions in other threads about non-residents who attend CHS. Why would another town want to take on this burden of educating people from another city? 6-Aility to pay goes in tandem with higher taxes for any town we merge with, other than the town with the first highest property taxes. 7-I also commend the BoT for looking for ways to reduce expenses. But that doesn't buy other towns much. Personally, I agree with Mark. We should be lobbying Trenton (and working with other towns) to get the ridiculous property tax system fixed. | ||
| MHD Citizen Username: Mayhewdrive Post Number: 1356 Registered: 5-2001  |
For the record, it was actually Peter Feola who was instrumental in raising the issue of regionalization & shared services during his run for Trustee 3 years ago. However, Steglitz & Theroux did such a good job of attacking him personally, his message got lost. | ||
| Pizzaz Citizen Username: Pizzaz Post Number: 341 Registered: 11-2001 |
Rastro: I speak about Maplewood and you continue to go off on regional administration. Where are our state elected officials? McGreevy has come out with some idiotic formulation for homestead rebates. Let's go beyond his opinion and enjoin public discussion. This question is too big for him and our officials to decide alone. It belongs to the public, how about it? State Constitutional Convention etc..... As to your education posting of illegal students, get real to the problem of local housing enforcement. Given the current local sourcing for public funding of our schools, Village Hall and Maplewood should be all over this issue. | ||
| mrosner Citizen Username: Mrosner Post Number: 1398 Registered: 4-2002 |
The idea of shared services (or merging towns) goes way back. There have been some efforts going back more than ten years. There were a lot of reasons that they failed and as long as we are willing to learn from those efforts maybe we can make this go round more successful. While I am sure that Peter Feola raised the issue during an election, the issue has been raised many times before (and since) by both political candidates and residents. I think it is safe to say that everybody can take credit for wanting to consider options to save on property taxes. If this effort proves succesful, I am sure the list of people who will take credit for being instrumental in the effort will be plentiful. I serve on the committee with Art Taylor, Allan Rosen, Fred Profetta, K. Keventhal and Ken Petits. The hope is this will provide some property tax relief, but as stated many times before the real problem lies in the property tax system itself. | ||
| Pizzaz Citizen Username: Pizzaz Post Number: 345 Registered: 11-2001 |
...and in the over-administration of the public good (welfare). | ||
| Josh M. Citizen Username: Jmaxlaw Post Number: 100 Registered: 3-2004 |
While perhaps I'm giving Mr. Rosner too much credit... the important thing is that the discussions are happening. I... and everyone else... is interested in seeing the numbers. | ||
| doublea Citizen Username: Doublea Post Number: 694 Registered: 3-2003 |
Josh M. - Good luck on your bar exams. | ||
| Josh M. Citizen Username: Jmaxlaw Post Number: 103 Registered: 3-2004 |
doublea-- Studying for the bar is about as much fun as coming home and finding your basement flooded. Thank you very much... I'm wondering if I did the right thing taking New York as well as New Jersey... but I'm pretty sure I'll be happy about my decision in the end. Again-- thanks for the sentiments. | ||
| Pizzaz Citizen Username: Pizzaz Post Number: 451 Registered: 11-2001 |
Hey Mark: What's your opinion, and how do you wish to engage yourself in an effort to fastforward a State Constitutional Convention? As it is, the Governor's plan is pushed out until 2008. I would think our local officials would immediately petition the state for a more plausible schedule to address the property tax crisis we face, no? | ||
| MHD Citizen Username: Mayhewdrive Post Number: 1511 Registered: 5-2001 |
I see that on the agenda for Monday's meeting is an ordinance Authorizing the Issuance of $3,023,307.50 in Bonds for "capital improvements"? Can someone please clarify what this is for? Don't we already carry a very significant burden of bond debt? |
