SOURCE 04-13-09

PROPERTY TAX RELIEF policy during the eight years the Democrats have been in power in Trenton is like an old-fashioned shell game: place a pea under one of three cups, rapidly shuffle the cups, stop, and make the observer guess which of the cups hides the pea.

Is the hand quicker than the eye? Let’s see.

First, the Democrats raised sales taxes from 6 percent to 7 percent with the promise that the sales tax increase would fund a sustained property tax rebate program for most of us.

Then Jon Corzine went so far as say that over his first four years as governor he would increase those rebates by 40 percent.

Now, he says, this year there won’t be rebates for middle-class, suburban homeowners who are not senior citizens. He says there’s no money in the budget. The global recession — that could not be anticipated even by this former-Wall-Street-guru-now-governor — has put state government billions of dollars in the red.

But Corzine, despite this, reminds us that he’s nonetheless providing property tax relief by each year increasing state aid to education in each town in New Jersey, including your town.

Are you following this?

Corzine says, rightfully, that since school taxes on average make up about of 60 percent of your property tax bill, state aid to school districts helps hold the line on your overall property tax.

OK, at least that’s something back for your high state taxes. Well, not really.

Why? Because New Jersey will be receiving almost $2 billion in federal economic stimulus money to help fund state school aid and school construction programs.

Laundered stimulus money

It’s clear that much of the state school aid Corzine says he’s sending our towns to help hold the line on property taxes will be nothing other than “laundered” federal economic stimulus money – borrowed money. The federal government in the future will have to pay that money back. And, as you know, that means that each of today’s high school students will be paying off that debt in higher federal taxes and/or inflated retail prices for much of their working lives.

Then there are the numerous ways Corzine is actually contributing to our local and county property tax burden:

► Each year, Corzine has been decreasing state aid to municipalities while increasing aid to cities. To make up the difference, suburban residents pay higher local property taxes as they continue to subsidize city taxpayers.

► The state continues to mandate government responsibilities to Bergen and Passaic counties and demands that residents pay for those programs with county property tax dollars. For example, our county prosecutors are appointed by the governor and answer to the state’s attorney general, but county taxes pay for the tens of millions of dollars it costs each year for those state-run offices.

► Corzine is going ahead with the Council on Affordable Housing plan. That’s a state plan to place quota-based low income housing into each town in New Jersey. Experts say it will cost taxpayers $2 billion, much of that coming from increases in local property taxes.

► Now we hear that Corzine is closing down the three state special-needs schools in our area – in Paramus, Totowa and Wanaque. These facilities provide year-round schooling to about 170 kids with severe physical and emotional handicaps at an estimated cost of $30,000 a child. There is no doubt that these children need and deserve our help, but now that help in the future will have to come from local school boards at what promises to be added cost to local property taxpayers.

Watching the cups

Are you watching those cups as Corzine shuffles them around?

Are you thinking, why didn’t Corzine and the Democrats save money for these “rainy days?”