Ocean City taxpayers group to appeal ruling
By MICHAEL MILLER Staff Writer, (609) 463-6712
Press of Atlantic City
Published: Wednesday, November 15, 2006

OCEAN CITY — A group of taxpayers who want to tie city spending to the federal cost of living is appealing a judge's ruling that the proposal is unlawful.
Ocean City sued residents behind the Taxpayer Protection Initiative, a move to tie the city's budget to the federal Cost of Living Adjustment. This was 4.1 percent for 2006.

Superior Court Judge Joseph C. Visalli in October ruled in the city's favor, saying the proposed measure would lead to financial chaos.

The group is taking the issue to the state Appellate Court.

“No one ever said it would be easy,” resident James Tweed said in a statement. “What we do not have yet is a thorough analysis of applicable New Jersey statutes. … The proponents of unrestricted government spending won the first skirmish.”

The group collected enough signatures on a petition to get the issue on a referendum. The judge's ruling puts that referendum on hold indefinitely.
In its lawsuit, the city argued that it could not pay pensions, employee benefits or debt service under the spending cap. In his ruling, Visalli said the appropriate time for voters to exercise their discretion over city spending is on Election Day.

But north-end resident Fred Hoffman, one of the named defendants, said this is less effective in practice, especially if incumbents have the backing of the city's political financiers.

“We have an oligarchy in Ocean City. We really do,” he said. “We have a group of tycoons and real estate developers who say, ‘I know what's best for you.'”

The city's $52 million budget is 24 percent higher than it was just five years ago. Hoffman said city spending will put more pressure on officials to encourage high-rise development for an infusion of tax money. Wildwood is banking on high-rise development to offset taxes in that resort.

“How do we fund this? What I see is we'll just go higher and higher. We'll put more buildings down by the beach,” Hoffman said.

The group also wants a more elaborate judicial ruling on the concept of tying city spending to the cost of living. Bergen County's Bogota adheres to this measure.

“The ‘chaos' which the judge predicted would occur in Ocean City did not happen in Bogota,” Tweed said in a statement. “If his decision is allowed to stand unchallenged, then the taxpayers in Ocean City and across the state will never get the opportunity to test the validity of that fear.”

To e-mail Michael Miller at The Press: MMiller@pressofac.com

Upper opposes merger proposal
By MICHAEL MILLER Staff Writer, (609) 463-6712
Press of Atlantic City
Published: Wednesday, November 15, 2006

UPPER TOWNSHIP — The township's leaders are convinced merging local services in the name of slashing property taxes would do more harm than good.
Township Committee this week said it plans to oppose a state proposal to turn municipal tax collection and assessment, animal control and public health services over to the state's 21 counties.

State Sen. Robert Smith, D-Middlesex, Somerset, introduced a bill Oct. 23 that would require each county to hold a referendum in which voters would decide whether they would prefer their counties to absorb the above mentioned municipal services. Smith said turning those services over to the county would save taxpayers considerable money, though the cost to do so and exact amount of savings would still need to be figured out by the state.

The all-Republican Upper Township Committee is expected to vote on a resolution later this month opposing the bill. Among the reasons for the opposition, Deputy Mayor Curtis Corson Jr. said residents would miss the convenience of paying their tax bills in person at Township Hall.

“My mother is one example. She doesn't want to mail it,” Corson said. “She personally goes in and pays it. We'd lose the personal touch.”

Likewise, Committeeman Robert Conrad said Upper residents have a ready local contact for animal-control problems.
“Our animal-control officer is a phone call away,” Conrad said.

Perhaps the biggest downside, according to Upper Township's leaders, is the potential loss of interest on collected taxes.

“If the county was to collect taxes, we'd lose our tax collector and tax assessor. We would save some money there on personnel,” Corson said. “But we earn more in interest than we spend in collecting it.”

“I'm not against consolidating services. But this isn't costing us a bunch of money,” he added.

Under the proposed bill, the state Department of the Treasury would determine how much this merger would cost and what long-term savings would be achieved. Then the proposal would go to New Jersey voters through a referendum.

If voters approved the referendum, towns would phase out property-tax assessment and collection, animal control and public health services over two years.

Smith, the bill's sponsor, said he expected resistance.

“Tax collectors came to all three public hearings we had and said the planet Earth would stop rotating on its axis without local tax collection,” he said.

Smith said towns such as Upper could retain the interest they derive from collected taxes. And he said some counties already offer consolidated animal-control services.

New Jersey has the highest property taxes in America.

“We citizens are part of the problem. Every time you say we want local, local, local, you're increasing your property taxes,” Smith said. “The problem is the intransigence where people won't even consider change.”

Smith's bill was referred to the state Senate's Community and Urban Affairs Committee.

To e-mail Michael Miller at The Press: MMiller@pressofac.com

County removes weight limit on toll bridge to Strathmere
By MICHAEL MILLER Staff Writer, (609) 463-6712
Published: Wednesday, November 15, 2006

UPPER TOWNSHIP — Cape May County lifted weight restrictions this week on the toll bridge leading to Strathmere.
The county's Bridge Commission in May closed the span to all vehicles heavier than 3 tons after engineers found structural weakness in bridge piers during a biannual inspection.

The commission installed temporary traffic signals at either end of the span so that ambulances could cross safely and alone during an emergency. This limited the total weight on the bridge at any one time.

The commission spent $1.2 million to reinforce 25 support piers, including 13 that were especially weakened on the Ocean City side.

“They had to raise the piles and repair the flanges underneath,” Bridge Commission spokesman Stephen O'Connor said. “It's supposed to be shaped like an I. It was shaped like a J. The bottom was bent.”

The bridge has resumed its 15-ton weight limit. That will allow delivery trucks and smaller fire trucks to cross, he said.
The bridge will be closed for a week in March to repair the span's drawbridge. The $250,000 project will fix a broken counterbalance that interferes with the proper closing of the bridge, O'Connor said.

The exact dates of the closure have not been set. O'Connor said the commission wants to repair the bridge in time for the start of boating season.

Few boaters use Corsons Inlet because of its unpredictable navigation channels. The inlet is home to shifting sandbars that change with the weather.

O'Connor said most boaters instead use Townsends Inlet on the southern end of Sea Isle City.

To e-mail Michael Miller at The Press:MMiller@pressofac.com

Upper opposes merger proposal
By MICHAEL MILLER Staff Writer, (609) 463-6712
Published: Wednesday, November 15, 2006

UPPER TOWNSHIP — The township's leaders are convinced merging local services in the name of slashing property taxes would do more harm than good.
Township Committee this week said it plans to oppose a state proposal to turn municipal tax collection and assessment, animal control and public health services over to the state's 21 counties.

State Sen. Robert Smith, D-Middlesex, Somerset, introduced a bill Oct. 23 that would require each county to hold a referendum in which voters would decide whether they would prefer their counties to absorb the above mentioned municipal services. Smith said turning those services over to the county would save taxpayers considerable money, though the cost to do so and exact amount of savings would still need to be figured out by the state.

The all-Republican Upper Township Committee is expected to vote on a resolution later this month opposing the bill. Among the reasons for the opposition, Deputy Mayor Curtis Corson Jr. said residents would miss the convenience of paying their tax bills in person at Township Hall.

“My mother is one example. She doesn't want to mail it,” Corson said. “She personally goes in and pays it. We'd lose the personal touch.”

Likewise, Committeeman Robert Conrad said Upper residents have a ready local contact for animal-control problems.
“Our animal-control officer is a phone call away,” Conrad said.

Perhaps the biggest downside, according to Upper Township's leaders, is the potential loss of interest on collected taxes.

“If the county was to collect taxes, we'd lose our tax collector and tax assessor. We would save some money there on personnel,” Corson said. “But we earn more in interest than we spend in collecting it.”

“I'm not against consolidating services. But this isn't costing us a bunch of money,” he added.

Under the proposed bill, the state Department of the Treasury would determine how much this merger would cost and what long-term savings would be achieved. Then the proposal would go to New Jersey voters through a referendum.

If voters approved the referendum, towns would phase out property-tax assessment and collection, animal control and public health services over two years.

Smith, the bill's sponsor, said he expected resistance.

“Tax collectors came to all three public hearings we had and said the planet Earth would stop rotating on its axis without local tax collection,” he said.

Smith said towns such as Upper could retain the interest they derive from collected taxes. And he said some counties already offer consolidated animal-control services.

New Jersey has the highest property taxes in America.

“We citizens are part of the problem. Every time you say we want local, local, local, you're increasing your property taxes,” Smith said. “The problem is the intransigence where people won't even consider change.”

Smith's bill was referred to the state Senate's Community and Urban Affairs Committee.

To e-mail Michael Miller at The Press: MMiller@pressofac.com