LOCAL OFFICIALS SUPPORT PLAN TO RESTORE MUNICIPAL AID AND PROPERTY TAX RELIEF

MORRIS PLAINS — Several Morris and Passaic County elected officials joined with Senator Joe Pennacchio, Assembly Republican Leader Alex DeCroce, and Assemblyman Jay Webber to voice support for plans to restore State aid to municipalities and property tax relief to local residents.

Leaders in the Senate and General Assembly have proposed detailed plans for addressing the State’s fiscal problems and rebuilding New Jersey’s lagging economy. The proposal calls for spending reductions totaling more than $1.3 billion in Governor Corzine’s proposed 2009 budget, and allocating some of those savings into areas such as municipal aid, property tax relief, and the Transportation Trust Fund. The plan is a comprehensive approach designed to make life in New Jersey more affordable for struggling families, while holding government more accountable.

“Since the McGreevey Administration, Democrats have consistently discounted Republican proposals to restore fiscal order to our State’s budget. They have continually over borrowed, over taxed, over spent and under appreciated the taxpayers of New Jersey. It sure looks like they can use some help,” said Senator Pennacchio (R-Morris & Passaic).

“Too many people are living from paycheck to paycheck. They are struggling with the rising cost of basic necessities such as food and fuel. They are worried about their jobs and their future. We’re concerned, too,” stated Assembly Republican Leader Alex DeCroce. “Our plan is designed to address these worries and concerns. It doesn’t raise taxes. What it will do is provide serious spending and property tax relief and greater financial security. It will make life more affordable and government more accountable.”

Assemblyman Webber, Chairman of the Taxpayer Protection Caucus, continued, “The plan we propose puts taxpayers first. It restores property tax relief and municipal aid to our suburbs, and helps make New Jersey a place where our citizens want to live, not a place they need to leave. Our families deserve to be able to afford to live in the State they love.”

“This is a good plan for Morris County that merits bipartisan support,” said Deborah Nielson, Mayor of Montville. “Municipal aid to our smalltown communities should never have been on the budget chopping block, especially while more and more taxpayer monies flow to urban governments.”

“Municipal aid helps keep property taxes in check, and property tax relief does just that – provide some needed tax relief to our residents,” said Frank Druetzler, Mayor of Morris Plains. “It is unfair to expect working families and seniors to pay more in property taxes because some Trenton lawmakers have been making poor budget decisions for years.”

Bipartisan local officials from Morris and Passaic Counties supporting the plan to restore municipal aid include Frank Druetzler, Mayor of Morris Plains; Scott Eveland, Mayor of Florham Park; Joseph Heywang, Mayor of Butler; Deborah Nielson, Mayor of Montville; William Steenstra, Mayor of Bloomingdale; V. Nelson Vaughan, Mayor of Chatham Borough; John Cesaro, Council President of Parsippany-Troy Hills; Suzanne McCluskey, Councilwoman of Morris Plains; and Phil Weisbecker, Councilman of West Milford.