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LOCAL
AREA MUNICIPAL LEADERS JOIN HUNDREDS IN TRENTON TO PROTEST PROPOSED MUNICIPAL AID CUTS
The Cumberland
Development Corporation (CDC), coordinated the participation of
Mayors and governing body members from the area communities in a
meeting attended by more than 400 representatives of municipalities
with less than 10,000 people in Trenton last Thursday.
The meeting, sponsored
by the NJ State League of Municipalities, included Corzine
administration officials, who explained the Governor’s rationale in
proposing drastic cuts in state aid and provided the platform for
local officials to make suggestions for other alternatives and to
protest the Governor’s proposal which will cut in half or entirely
portions of the state aid for towns of 10,000 or less in population.
Participants from
Cumberland County
included Downe Township Mayor Renee Blizzard, Deerfield Township
Committeeman John Stanzione, Hopewell Township Mayor Bruce Hankins,
Lawrence Township Mayor Tom Sheppard, Shiloh Borough Mayor Howard
Scull, Shiloh Council President
Harold Davis, Stow Creek Deputy Mayor
Randy Dickinson, Upper
Deerfield Deputy Mayor Douglas Rainear and CDC executive director
Tony Stanzione.
“The small towns in
Cumberland County and around the State are being unfairly targeted
for state aid cuts and are being urged to share and consolidate
services,” stated Tony Stanzione. “Overall they have already taken
the lead in sharing services and have proven to be the most
efficient and cost-effective municipalities in the State. CDC
provides a forum for the townships when it comes to issues like this
and a mechanism for joint actions.”
There is also growing
concern that these rural towns could take an additional financial
hit if fees for State police services for towns that do not have
police departments are imposed in addition to the state aid cuts.
According to the local
municipal leaders who went to Trenton, the rural municipal
governments have been working within a spending cap every year,
unlike State Government, and rural municipal budgets have been
reduced, shared services are in place, others are being planned and
employees multi-task by doing more than one job.
According to the CDC’s
analysis of the state aid reductions, the Governor’s budget proposal
cuts aid to municipalities of less than 10,000 in population by
22.7% overall while the larger towns in the state are reduced by
only 7.47% overall. The twelve rural townships in Cumberland County
are being cut by 17.5% overall, while the three larger cities are
expecting reductions overall of 7.75%. A breakdown by rural town
with an estimate of possible effects on local purpose tax rates
follows.
|
Municipality |
2008 State Aid |
Decrease from
2007 |
Possible
Tax Rate Effect |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Shiloh Borough |
$21,605.00 |
43.57% |
$0.112 |
|
Hopewell Township |
$204,336.00 |
42.53% |
$0.089 |
|
Stow Creek Township |
$70,236.00 |
32.40% |
$0.089 |
|
Lawrence Township |
$125,195.00 |
28.62% |
$0.107 |
|
Deerfield Township |
$115,697.00 |
26.08% |
$0.063 |
|
Greenwich Township |
$30,185.00 |
23.29% |
$0.048 |
|
Fairfield Township |
$139,026.00 |
20.46% |
$0.083 |
|
Commercial Township |
$143,502.00 |
18.46% |
$0.122 |
|
Maurice River Township |
$199,116.00 |
15.45% |
$0.138 |
|
Downe Township |
$65,295.00 |
9.78% |
$0.088 |
|
Upper Deerfield Township |
$119,019.00 |
6.34% |
$0.028 |
|
OVERALL FOR
RURAL AREAS |
$5,814,649
|
17.5% |
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"The loss of state aid
will be devastating to many communities. We must maximize our
resources by sharing and consolidating services, while still
maintaining our individual identities,” commented Mayor Blizzard.
Downe Township
requested and jointly hosted with Commercial Township a shared
services meeting with their neighbors in
Lawrence, Fairfield and
Maurice River Townships on March 5. Mayor Blizzard added, “by
establishing shared services between the townships, we can reduce
costs, deliver municipal services in a more efficient manner, and
provide property tax relief for all of our residents."
“Lawrence Township was
about to pass its 2008 budget with no local property tax increase
because we felt in these poor economic times we had to forgo any
unnecessary expenditures, remarked Mayor Sheppard. “With these
proposed state aid reductions with no notice or planning by the
State, we, like many other townships, either have to raise taxes or
cut services.”
The mayors and other
governing body members are asking their legislators for support in
stopping these cuts in 2008 and urging a planned reduction for those
who are not operating efficiently and/or not taking advantage of
shared and consolidated services where possible in the coming years.
The CDC Board is asking
for the help of residents of the area who believe that State’s
budget dilemma should not be solved through possible higher local
property taxes due to the massive, unplanned reductions in municipal
property tax relief or by charging rural communities for State
Police coverage, to contact their legislators and the Governor.
Copies of sample letters and emails in opposition to this plan and
the legislators’ and Governor’s addresses will be posted to the CDC
website and to some municipal websites as soon as these documents
have been approved by CDC and the municipalities. See
www.cdcnj.com for more information or contact CDC at
856-451-4200 or
cdc@cdcnj.com.
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