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Before I start, I want to make the following VERY clear:
1) I believe taxes are high
2) I believe we have corrupt politicians in this state, both parties
That said, while I was writing my quarterly property tax check this AM, I again looked at how my bill is allocated. The breakdown is as follows:
10.4% - county tax
16% - local tax
70.4% - school tax
3.2% - open space tax
as you can see, the vast majority goes to the schools. if someone else's bill is NOT disproportionate like this, I'd like to hear from you . I think I'm typical for the state. So my issue is with school tax ONLY since it makes up the bulk of the bill.
OK! My question is (i'm getting to it, bear with me): when people complain about taxes, they talk about the corrupt state government as the reason why. "It's the STATE, it's the STATE WORKERS, it's the GOV, and so on".
OUR LOCAL REPS put the school budget out there EVERY YEAR. Our LOCAL REPS encourage you to vote. PEOPLE vote in elections which DIRECTLY affect the property taxes we pay. You know PRIOR to voting exactly what your taxes will be next year. In my town, the last 3-4 budgets were defeated because the residents felt they were too bloated. Our local reps got wise, and our increase this year was < 3%.
So how can we be angry (in THIS instance) with the taxes we pay when WE VOTE FOR IT! You are not at the mercy of the state government. If you have a beef, you need to take it up with your local representatives. However, I've seen in more than one instance how people are HAPPY with their local government, yet bark at the amount of school tax they pay.
I'm failing to see how the STATE government is controlling this. If someone can tell me specifically how state funding was CUT to their municipality by SUCH a large percentage huge increases were necessary, I'm all ears. But again, you still vote on it.
I also asked the question about Abbott funding a few times. I don't have a line item about how much goes to fund abbott districts, and if someone has the answer, they're not telling, yet people scream they are funding abbott districts. It confuses me. Maybe I'll make a call to find out.
Also, if I'm way off base, I'm sure you won't be shy. But can we discuss without mud-slinging?
Bottom line - I'm to blame partly for the school tax I pay, I'm not laying misplaced blame since i'm the one pulling that lever. this is one area where the common man CAN make a difference.
As far as my town I have been voting no on the school budget for the last few years. The past two years it has been defeated, then what happens is the proposed budget goes before the town council.....see where I am going with this??
Abbott schools...we are funding them but it is in such a round about way it's hard to pin down, for me anyway...I will keep digging.
NJEA has such a stranglehold on NJ I don't know if we will ever free ourselves from it.
Just like consolidation....take for instance Jersey City..it has at least 4 Public HS and countless elementary school so I can see justification in a JC Board of Ed with their own superintendent...but Morris, Sussex, Warren those districts can be consolidated saving the tax payers huge money.
The pension fund fiasco ...well the state has been "borrowing/stealing" from it for decades now it's time to pay the piper and who do you think is doing the paying???
oh and call me naive..I thought your taxes covered trash pick up..imagine my suprise when 2 co workers one from Hackettstown and one from Sparta told me that trash pick up is not covered, in their towns, they have to contact their own pick up & payment with a trash hauler
In my school district where the budget did not pass one year they did what children do call a DO OVER they come back with 1 million less and nobody really is informed about this do over and win. So instead of 21 million they get 20mill. It out of control!!!! Look at what the teachers make in my school district Pascack Valley, Hillsdale.
In my school district where the budget did not pass one year they did what children do call a DO OVER they come back with 1 million less and nobody really is informed about this do over and win. So instead of 21 million they get 20mill. It out of control!!!! Look at what the teachers make in my school district Pascack Valley, Hillsdale.
That's about what happens when ours goes before the council.
What a farce....it's more then likely one of the reasons turn out is low on school budget ballots..most people know they are just wasting their time.
In 1976, Governor Byrne instituted an income tax as a means to fund the school systems. Technically, it is illegal to do it the way it's being done now, through property taxes. Also, Abbott v Burke ruled that the 33 Abbott districts get 40% of the state school budget. The remaining municipalities have to fight for the remaining 60%. Therefore I have to conclude Trenton has to held accountable for the current state of affairs. The original provision was for funding to occur through income taxes. Then, the judiciary's ruling further crippled the local municipalities in suburban and rural areas.
The only way Trenton can receive a message that there is dissatisfaction is for people to move out of the state en masse. That speaks volumes. Since people are choosing to stay, it sends the message to Trenton that state government can continued to be run poorly, and the tax base will continue to be preserved. If the majority was outraged enough, they'd vote with their feet, and Trenton would be forced into making real change. As long as people continue to live in the state, however, the status quo will prevail. My .02.
That's the ugly little secret that causes the folks at the NJEA and etc to roll over laughing at budget vote time....it's a win win for the whole crowd.
They pump a budget up, if it passes great !!. If not it gets "discussed" at the county level and goes thru with very little modification anyway !!
In 1976, Governor Byrne instituted an income tax as a means to fund the school systems. Technically, it is illegal to do it the way it's being done now, through property taxes. Also, Abbott v Burke ruled that the 33 Abbott districts get 40% of the state school budget. The remaining municipalities have to fight for the remaining 60%. Therefore I have to conclude Trenton has to held accountable for the current state of affairs. The original provision was for funding to occur through income taxes. Then, the judiciary's ruling further crippled the local municipalities in suburban and rural areas.
The only way Trenton can receive a message that there is dissatisfaction is for people to move out of the state en masse. That speaks volumes. Since people are choosing to stay, it sends the message to Trenton that state government can continued to be run poorly, and the tax base will continue to be preserved. If the majority was outraged enough, they'd vote with their feet, and Trenton would be forced into making real change. As long as people continue to live in the state, however, the status quo will prevail. My .02.
So Mike are you saying that because school districts are getting less of the pie from the state because more is going to the Abbott districts, the way towns make this deficit up is by raising property taxes??
So Mike are you saying that because school districts are getting less of the pie from the state because more is going to the Abbott districts, the way towns make this deficit up is by raising property taxes??
Precisely. You can track the REAL punitive increases from 1999 forward. That's when the last Abbott (I think Abbott V) was adjudicated, calling for that % of funds. The localities have to be able to fund their schools somehow. The only blame I can assign localities is the people who live in them, and their unwillingness to merge services. Too often, when this notion is bandied about, there is a vocal opposition. And I will tell you why that is: too many in NJ have livelihoods, or have family whose livelihoods are somehow intertwined with local government. Such a notion of merging services can mean cut backs in local government personnel. That's people's jobs being threatened. Cutting back the size of local government is a monumental task, but one that needs consideration if NJ residents expect real property tax relief. If I was still a citizen of NJ though, what I'd really have a beef with is the fact that the income tax is supposed to be the mechanism in which to fund schools, as it was earmarked in the state constitution back in 1976. That's now how it's done today. People who are informed about this simple fact should be asking, why????
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. I think I'm typical for the state. So my issue is with school tax ONLY since it makes up the bulk of the bill.
njkate
