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^ Honestly the gas tax should have been held off until Murphy was elected (or any Democrat) like we all knew would happen, then they could instead legalize weed and tax that... and whatever the hell we’re doing with the extra gas tax money could have come from the weed tax instead.
NJ could go to combining municipal services like police, fire and Board Of Education for one and taxes still won't be lowered, they will just spend that money somewhere else.
That depends on how exactly those are combined. If you are merging the BOE of two towns for example, make sure you end up with one Superintendent who makes 250k a year instead of both of them. Same goes for their assistants and other BOE staff. This way you can probably save 0.5 - 1.0 million a year just on combining BOE. Without affecting the teachers or principals...
That depends on how exactly those are combined. If you are merging the BOE of two towns for example, make sure you end up with one Superintendent who makes 250k a year instead of both of them. Same goes for their assistants and other BOE staff. This way you can probably save 0.5 - 1.0 million a year just on combining BOE. Without affecting the teachers or principals...
So you save 5% on the town's budget. Doesn't save me enough to care. Not saying it shouldn't happen, but it doesn't make NJ easier to afford.
So you save 5% on the town's budget. Doesn't save me enough to care. Not saying it shouldn't happen, but it doesn't make NJ easier to afford.
Do the same with all the highly paid management. Police chief, fire chief(if applicable), heads of all departments. Some towns also have a non political town manager that is a head of all departments.
I am pretty sure that this action will cut the budget by about 10 - 20%...
Do the same with all the highly paid management. Police chief, fire chief(if applicable), heads of all departments. Some towns also have a non political town manager that is a head of all departments.
I am pretty sure that this action will cut the budget by about 10 - 20%...
Ok, call it 10%. Let's say your property tax bill is $10,000...you save $1000/year. Nice, but $9,000 still leaves a mark. Plus town budgets grow, so by year 6 that $1,000 savings completely disappears like it never happened. Now at least you're back at $10,000 instead of $11,000, but you need to cut like 40%-50% of the property tax bill to make a lasting difference to most people, IMO.
Ok, call it 10%. Let's say your property tax bill is $10,000...you save $1000/year. Nice, but $9,000 still leaves a mark. Plus town budgets grow, so by year 6 that $1,000 savings completely disappears like it never happened. Now at least you're back at $10,000 instead of $11,000, but you need to cut like 40%-50% of the property tax bill to make a lasting difference to most people, IMO.
It is not just the top salary in the school system, it is repeating the whole board of ed administration every few miles. There are, for example, 70 towns in Bergen County plus the regional High School systems - all with superintendents and administrations and even buildings and property not attached to the schools.
The same can be said for the police - multiple chiefs, captains/lieutenants, dispatchers, buildings, all repeated every few miles, just like the school systems.
There is too much overhead. You could still have the same number of teachers and principals in the schools and the same number of police officers on patrol and still save money.
Going to a county police force only with a county board of ed only would save a lot more than 10%. Unfortunately, this will never happen.
......This state need investments in public transportation, other infrastructure, water systems, parks and its struggling cities. Those are the only actions that will make the state more attractive to potential employers.
Whenever NJ is rated near the bottom of the list as a being business friendly environment it's never sited that it's due to the of lack of "investments in public transportation, other infrastructure, water systems, parks and its struggling cities".
It is not just the top salary in the school system, it is repeating the whole board of ed administration every few miles. There are, for example, 70 towns in Bergen County plus the regional High School systems - all with superintendents and administrations and even buildings and property not attached to the schools.
The same can be said for the police - multiple chiefs, captains/lieutenants, dispatchers, buildings, all repeated every few miles, just like the school systems.
There is too much overhead. You could still have the same number of teachers and principals in the schools and the same number of police officers on patrol and still save money.
Going to a county police force only with a county board of ed only would save a lot more than 10%. Unfortunately, this will never happen.
In my town, schools are 60% of the budget with 60% of the school budget going to teacher salaries. So of that remaining 40% of the school budget that isn't direct classroom stuff, maybe 20% goes away in consolidation. You end up with 80% of today's school budget, so schools go from $6,000 of a $10,000 property tax bill to $4,800. Local police is $1,500 of that $10,000 property tax. Maybe you shave $500 off from administration consolidation. All in we just saved $1,700 of a $10,000 property tax bill.
I'd take it. Makes sense for the most part and I'd like to have that money back in my pocket. There are two caveats. I'd still argue inflation sucks that one-time reduction away within a few years, and we're having the same conversation again with no lever to pull. Also, if I'm a buyer, I can now buy a more expensive home from the lower monthly escrow payments - what savings I gained from the lower property tax probably goes away with higher fixed mortgage payments. It's a good deal for current owners, but it probably doesn't make a different for prospective buyers.
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