COUNTY &
SCHOOLS
MUNICIPAL
The flyer, FACTS about Woodcliff Lake's Runaway Taxes, recently distributed by the Democrats accuses the Republican controlled Council of being responsible for a 51% increase in the property taxes. This is completely false and misleading.
What they didn't tell you is that the Mayor & Council has control of only 22% of your property taxes. The rest goes to the Schools and the County. The tax chart below depicts the amount of Municipal taxes vs. School and County taxes over the period 2001 - 2007. From 2003 to 2007, while the average School and County taxes increased by $1926, the average Municipal tax increased by $470.
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COUNTY & MUNICIPAL |
The LaPaglia team has actually cut operating expenses in the Borough. Shared services with neighboring towns is one way we have accomplished these savings. An example - the TriBoro agreement will save taxpayers over $500,000 during the next three years. A few other examples are shared equipment and machinery, a traffic study, and personnel (CFO and Tax Assessor shared with other towns to save on salary & benefits). The two primary reasons municipal taxes rose are that the Democrat controlled State Legislature shifted the burden of Police (up 80%) and Employee (up 60%) pensions from a State funded benefit to a Borough funded benefit and double digit annual increases in employee medical insurance.
Standard & Poor's recently awarded the Borough a rating of AA+…….the highest rating a municipality can receive. They awarded this rating after a thorough, in-depth study of the financial health of Woodcliff Lake. It validates our successful financial management practices. Ask yourself - would Woodcliff Lake have received the AA+ rating if it was in the poor financial shape the Democrats allude to?
