The letter “Fiscal discipline puts Middletown on track” (Oct. 21) implies residents should be concerned about the leadership of Democratic representatives who have consistently voted against the tax hikes and irresponsible pet projects that are a heavy burden on Middletown residents.
Democrats didn’t raise municipal property taxes more than 22 percent in three years. Tony Fiore did.
Republicans have held a majority on the Township Committee for decades and therefore can’t blame anyone else for the mess they’ve made. Mayor Fiore helped to create many of the problems we now face.
No one would argue that these are difficult times, but the economic climate cannot be blamed for the result of so many years of mismanagement. Our taxes went up every year, long before the downturn.
Fiore acts as if conforming to a tax cap is the goal. It’s a ceiling, and there are many ways around it, such as taking $750,000 over the last two years from the Sewerage Authority, which can raise our sewer fees to recoup without any annoying tax cap to worry about. Let’s not forget last year’s 13.4 percent municipal tax increase, which blew well past the cap and required a state waiver.
Further, the $4 million reduction in this year’s budget isn’t the spending cut Fiore would like everyone to believe. The budget reduction results mainly from the disappearance of surplus revenue.
Most of those reserves went to pay for tax appeals, which could have been avoided had there been more attention to fair distribution of revenues over the years. That’s the very foundation of municipal government and speaks of the real problem — an absence of foresight and planning.
Residents deserve much better.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Letter: Blame mayor, GOP rule for tax hikes in Middletown, New Jersey
The letter below was written by Linda Baum and appears online today at the Asbury Park Press:
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8 comments:
You should have heard Fiore and Murray do their little side stepping last night. Distorting the truth as usual, stating the overall tax increase vs. our tax levy increase.
Let's talk how much money your tax bill went up. Mine increased by 12%.
Nice to have a former Republican confirm it as well.
Linda -
I have to give you praise for being willing to be out front in public. And clearly your intentions are good, even though I disagree with your conclusions, you have the right to your opinion and vote the same as everybody else.
But when you then go and make a statement that is so incredibly out of touch with reality that it casts doubt on your ability to reason, you do yourself and your cause a great disservice.
"The budget reduction results mainly from the disappearance of surplus revenue." What?
That statement will make most people wonder if you have any clue about budgets at all, maybe even question your understanding of basic mathematical concepts.
The part of the budget where the cuts have been made are in SPENDING. There have been about $4 million in those cuts made from the 2010 budget to the 2011 budget.
Yes, that was due, in large part, to tax appeals, and due to the fact that - unlike previous years - there were very little in surplus revenues to offset tax increases, but the cuts to spending had to be made - and they were.
That is the effect of the 2% cap. Even if the TC wanted to, they couldn't increase taxes by more than the cap, so if you can't increase revenues, how else but cuts do you get down to the cap?
On it's face, the argument that Sean Byrnes used to make was a correct one: "preparations," that is to say, spending cuts, could have been made over the years instead of happening in the last few, but those cuts aren't popular at all, are they? When they're made now, you and others scream at "incompetence..."
But you won't win that argument if you continue to show what appears to be a lack of understanding of what a budget is and what the parts of a budget are.
Again, I applaud your zeal, but you need to understand something before you comment on it...
My tax bill went down 5% this year
And my taxes stayed the same that was the nature of the reval.
Some taxes went down, some taxes stayed the same and others taxes went up, drastically up in some cases.
Legion, where were you last year when
we were $5.5 in debt, and the MTC was
ready to spend the $2.7mil bond on a turf field? That money eventually went to pay down debt. Not even sure if that was legal.
We could have used your expertise then.
Legion,
Most of the cuts you reference weren't cuts -- over $2 million was in one time 2010 expenses that were never part of the 2011 budget. You can't cut what isn't in the budget. Fiore is making up his own facts. Check the letters that came with your 2010 and 2011 tax statement. The information is all there.
Legion,
Most of the cuts you reference weren't cuts -- over $2 million was in one time 2010 expenses that were never part of the 2011 budget. You can't cut what isn't in the budget. Fiore is making up his own facts. Check the letters that came with your 2010 and 2011 tax statement. The information is all there.
The town needed to raise $40 million in 2010 in taxes and $45 million in 2011: that is a 12.5% increase in taxes.
"...spending cuts, could have been made over the years instead of happening in the last few, but those cuts aren't popular at all, are they?"
So, the Republicans won't make the unpopular decisions because self-preservation comes before good decision making for the township. Then, it gets to a crisis point, and Peter robs from Paul because he can. Or Peter winds up pushing for a less favorable COAH solution.....
I guess some people would call this a "toolkit"...people with no management skills that is.
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