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nwyave
Citizen
Username: Mesh
Post Number: 20
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, April 13, 2003 - 12:03 am: | 
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ok here goes - a thread to its own!
It seems like most of the focus on our high real estate taxes is on the high percentage of taxes attributable for the schools. I am not thrilled about the high school taxes at all, as I truely wonder if we have made all the difficult decisions that need to be made. However, notwithstanding that, I believe that our tax problem goes beyond beyond school taxes and the "cost of carrying Newark." Why is there year after year (including this year) an increase in the municiapal tax? Remember, until last year, even the county was able to keep a lid on taxes for many consecutive years. Are we (as a municipality) living within our means in difficult economic times? It appears not. When I read that part of the increase was due partially to unexpected interest expense , I was truely surprised. How can interest expense not be projected accurately. We have certain debt on our balance sheet and in a very favorable interest environment, this should be the last thing that is a surprise in preparing a budget.
I now live here a year and a half and often sit quietly in trustee and planning board meetings, to try to educate myself. I am getting the strong feeling though, that we do not always make the difficult decisions - ones that might not be popular, but ones that are important. For example, while I totally agree that relying so heavily on property taxes is a crazy way of generating funds, the reality is what it is. We can not continue to blame the system, but learn to live with it, for better or worse. I also fear that things are buried in the budget as "capital expenditures." Capital expenditures or regular operating costs, these are usages of our hard earned dollars.
Again, I make the analogy to corporate finance. If the revenue $s are not there, a prudent financial executive, will report back that a reexamination of the budget is necessary. I get insulted when I read that the "average" increase is "x" dollars per SO resident. This, I believe on some level is an attempt to try to minimize in the taxpayers mind the increase. The increases are real and in a very tax weary municipality are increases over substantial bases.
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nwyave
Citizen
Username: Mesh
Post Number: 22
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, April 13, 2003 - 12:36 am: |
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sorry - plse do not respond to this under this thread. I accidently created this as a new thread under the supermarket thread. You will see there is a totally different thread for this topic now - plse post comments\opinions there. Sorry for any confusion.
Dave - if you see this, can you delete this new thread that I created under the supermarket discussion? Thanks
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