If you look at the Calendar Year Budget, Jersey City taxpayers are on the hook for $81 million of bankable days. This is the reason, we should eliminate municipal government and just have county government.

Dogs disease can be passed to humans.
http://www.seattlepi.com/default/arti ... ans-vets-warn-1169743.php

It is common for dog owners to exercise their dogs in the early morning hours at the playground. I've seen and head it many times. While I have always lived on the park for many decades, I never allowed my children to use this park. For the price of the PATH I took them to parks in NY which does not allow dogs. Children can pick up all kinds of diseases from dog crap. Van Vorst Park is just a dog's latrine. Parents who are concerned about their children's innoculations should be more concerned about what their children are exposed to in this park.

So the above writers believe Downtown should be a walking community. What about the older residents who was born here but now have arthritis or heart disease and get around using a car? Or families with children? Downtown did have parking spaces before the garages and vacant land became condo buildings.

Downtown JC needs parking spaces for residents. The 26" snowstorm was a burden to local residents with cars. There should be parking gargages and lots throught this city.

Here is Ed Toloza speaking before a neighborhood group on appealing property taxes. The lighting is poor but the sound is great.

http://vimeo.com/20935346

Call the tax assessor, Ed Toloza at city hall.

The Assembly held hearings on Public Access TV, A3766. The Senate S2664 removes Public Access TV. The Assembly bill would not remove Public Access TV. This bill also affects internet and phones.

I am really sorry to hear about St. Mary's HS. During Mass several years ago, I heard the pastor proudly tell the parishoners the number of scholarships the students amass for that graduating class. While I don't remember the amount it was alot for the number of students. As taxes go up, parents are faced with the reality of paying city hall or the child's tuition.

I wanted to be brief and used the Abbot Districts as an example. I saw the Board of Ed budget increased in the early 1990's from $180 million to over $600 milion today. Basically, it was the Abbot Districts that started charter schools. As I said before, Doria said Bayonne can't afford to share their funding with charter schools. Since the money wasn't local not one care. However, JC is losing funding since 2005, the rate increased from $13.18 to $16.58. That is a significant increase.

The State of NJ has the third highest deficits for fiscal year 2011 compare the the other states. If the governor decides to give more money to charter schools most likely he will transfer money from the local school district. I wrote a letter to the editor back in the 1990's on the charter schools debate. I said Charter Schools will probably closed private/religious schools which received no funding. Incidently, former Mayor Doria, who chaired charter schools in Trenton said Bayonne cannot afford to have charter schools and at this point they do not. Under the Abbot funding, charter school advocates saw state tax dollars flow into JC and other urban districts. Now that the spigot is turned off, local taxes wil increase. There is no other answer.

Are there police cameras along Newark Avenue? If not then there should be.

26% of 511 million is 132 million, so why is the city passing $170 million?

I went to the public hearings on the light rail and voiced my concerns about the tracks. I suggested the light rail should be elevated to avoid traffic. Light rail is very slow, it would move faster if it was elevated. But the politicans and develpers wanted the trains at ground level. The trains would attract more riders if it moved faster.

Another story about United Water-United Water is a French based company.

United Water exposed in Papakura
Submitted by WPG Akld (not verified) on 3 September 2009 - 1:55am
in LocalNeoliberalismProtest ActivityState
Water Pressure Group Auckland held a successful demonstration against United Water's alleged fraudulent charging on Wednesday 2 Sep 2009 at United's Papakura offices. The small but vocal protest, from 11:30am to 1:30pm, highlighted the charges laid against United Water - a subsidiary of France based utilities TNC Veolia - for allegedly overcharging the South Australian state government by including United Water's NZ and Ballarat overhead costs.

According to WPG spokesperson Penny Bright, there will be major ramifications from this unprecedented legal
action by the South Australian Government for allegedly tens of millions in overcharging.

"Does this mean that United Water in New Zealand has knowingly and deceptively misrepresented their costs, in order for the giant French water multinational Veolia to gain a foothold here?" asked Ms Bright.

Ms Bright noted questions are now being asked about the role of former Papakura District mayor David Hawkins, who signed Papakura into a 30 year contract for United Water to run Papakura's water. Hawkins is now corporate liason manager for Watercare Services, the wholesaler of water & wastewater services to all of Auckland's council water companies.

WPG Auckland is seeking a copy of SA Water's 'Statement of Claim' and all/any supporting affidavits from the South Australian Supreme Court. Ms Bright claims this should help fuel an urgent investigation here in NZ by the appropriate authorities.

Said Ms Bright: "If proof exists that United Water contracts in NZ have been based on (fraudulent) misrepresentation - then at last - there should be the basis for cancelling these contracts and getting rid of United Water in New Zealand for once and for all."

I spoke to a JC cop who told me he made an arrest several weeks ago of a teenager carrying a machete. Several cops had to tackle him, at first they thought he was carrying a baseball bat. This happened around Mercer, Wayne Street area. It never made the newspaper. Let's not forget, Healy says crime is at a 30 year low.

Dr. John DiGioia
1971 Kennedy Blvd
JC
201-432-5222

This drug store was robbed twice before in the last 3 years at gunpoint.

The data comes from census on the type of housing. In the past I collected this data from the Public Library on Jersey Avenue. However, things might be on line with the 2010 census.

Newark taxes went up 16%. That is low compared to JC. Newark, Trenton, and Camden had layoffs in their police dept. to save taxes. JC is laying off Soccor coaches. Camden just recently received a tax increase. Their taxes have been frozen for years. We should have a city wide income tax and freeze property taxes to the national average of 1%. JC is close to 7% now.
To answer the question on the state income tax, it was promised to schools, but the money went to institutions.
Our taxes can continue to rise and Healy can be re-elected because taxes does not effect the majority of JC residents who vote.

I do not agree because the majority of voters in JC are tenants many which live in protective housing: rent-control, public housing, affordable housing, and abated waterfront. And lets not forget protected seniors. Probably a 1/3 are homeowners who receive a tax bill.

84 PERCENT!
Jersey City municipal taxes have skyrocketed over past years; residents weigh in with concern
by Ricardo Kaulessar
The Jersey City Reporter
Oct 10, 2010

Imagine that your overall property taxes are 50 percent higher than they were five years ago, and that the municipal portion of your tax bill alone has gone up over 84 percent during that time as well.

If you are a Jersey City taxpayer, you don?t have to imagine it. You are paying those taxes right now ? or trying to.

Your property tax bill for 2010 currently has a municipal tax rate of $35.68 per $1,000 of assessed property value. That means if you own a home assessed at $100,000 for taxation, you pay $3,568 per year in municipal taxes alone. Compare that with the municipal rate of $19.30 per $1,000 in 2005, the first year of Mayor Jerramiah Healy?s administration.

Last year, your overall tax rate was $60.01 per $1,000, about 15 percent lower than this year. The municipal portion of that was $28.58 per $1,000, around 25 percent less than today.

Now add in county taxes, school taxes, school bonding, and the Hudson County Open Space Trust Fund. Your overall tax rate in Jersey City today is currently $69.03 per $1,000, up considerably from the $46.05 per $1,000 in 2005.

And with a property revaluation underway that you can expect to see reflected in your tax bill due in January 2013, it?s anybody?s guess what size check you?ll be writing to the city.

A rate that?s not great

The city?s tax rate is determined by dividing the amount of the tax levy ? the revenue raised from all taxpayers for municipal spending ? by the total assessed value of all properties, known as tax ratables, in the city. Any increase in the tax levy, to fill a budget deficit for example, forces the municipal tax rate higher than the year before. This year the city?s budget had an estimated deficit of $80 million, which the city has tried to eliminate or at least reduce by raising the tax rate.

Once all property in the city has been revalued ? supposedly assessed at its current market value ? some believe the tax rate could go down, because the base of tax ratables will be worth much more.

The amount of municipal taxes levied this year was $210 million, an increase of $40 million from last year?s $170 million levy. This year?s municipal tax rate was attained by dividing the $210 million levy amount by the $5.89 billion total value for assessed properties in the city.

Taxing situation

These higher taxes for Jersey City residents are coming at a time of massive unemployment and rising costs in many areas, from health insurance to heating the home, in a city where crime is high and school test scores are low and many residents question the quality of life they?re getting for the taxes they?re paying.

The higher taxes have incited anger and have led to a recall movement aimed at Healy and members of the City Council.

And in the words of Yvonne Balcer, a frequent critic of city government, they have created a reason for her neighbors living in the residential neighborhood of York Street in downtown Jersey City to start making plans to get out of town.

?It?s to the point that everyone I know says, ?I have to sell,?? said Balcer, who posted the tax rates from 2005 to 2010 on her SpeakNJ website. ?A lot of people have put their houses for sale online because they don?t want their neighbors to know.?

Balcer and her husband, Charles, are paying over $10,000 in taxes this year on their 140-year-old home. Balcer was not sure if they can continue to live in town ? and they are not the only ones.

Kim Snyder is a single mother living in downtown Jersey City with her 15-year-old daughter.

Currently working as an executive assistant at Columbia University in New York, Snyder said, after paying thousands of dollars in rent for the past 13 years, she wants to move into her own home. But she sees that as impossible with the high taxes she would have to pay on the new house.

?I was born and raised here, and I still love this town,? Snyder said. ?But when my daughter graduates from high school, I am going to move out of here, because why am I paying taxes this high when you don?t get services like good schools for the amount you?re paying??

The high taxes are one of the reasons she is helping out with the recall.

A 22-year resident who declined to be named who owns a home in the city?s Greenville section and several other properties throughout the city also is considering moving out with his wife, but will continue to own his properties.

?I pay $9,000 to $10,000 a year in taxes on my properties, and the taxes are as much as my mortgage, which is ridiculous,? the Greenville resident said. ?I am not saying we should not pay taxes, but I could move out to another community and there?s better policing, better schools, better quality of life.?

Paul Bellan-Boyer, who has lived in a condo with his wife on Duncan Avenue for more than 10 years, said he was ?surprised a little bit,? but not completely taken aback, by hearing about the municipal tax portion going up more than 80 percent in the past five years.

?Any property owners in Jersey City at the low-end are getting squeezed,? said Bellan-Boyer, who works for the Jersey City Episcopal Community Development Corporation, which builds affordable housing throughout the city.

Bellan-Boyer said he is paying over $2,000 a month for a 30-year mortgage and thousands of dollars more in property taxes. However, he and his wife have no plans to move out of town.

Proposing their solutions

City spokesperson Jennifer Morrill said Mayor Jerramiah Healy and his administration have worked since he got into office ?to minimize any property tax increase,? including this year with such measures as laying off and furloughing city personnel, closing the Jersey City Police Academy, reducing the number of fire companies, and eliminating the rank of police inspector. She says the Healy administration is developing a consolidation plan for city services and additional layoffs.

City Councilwoman Viola Richardson, who represents the city?s Bergen-Lafayette section, said she was worried about seniors living in her community who are being forced out of their homes because of the high taxes. She recommends they call City Hall (201-547-5000) to find out about a program that will help freezes their taxes for a certain period of time. But she believes that the taxes will not continue their rise.

?I don?t think taxes will continue to go up and up, and at some point will level off,? Richardson said.

Richardson is concerned about the municipal budget deficit. Her solution?

A tax on the payrolls of companies operating in Jersey City. But her idea has been nixed by her council colleagues, who point out that legal challenges have defeated previous attempts by the city to implement such a tax.

Ricardo Kaulessar can be reached at rkaulessar@hudsonreporter.com.

Copyright 2010 Hudson Reporter. All rights reserved.

When Velazquez was a freeholder, rumors floated he lived in Bergen County. I brought this up at the council meeting.
Velazquez should answer the public on where is living and where he lived when he was a freeholder.

Esther Wintner announces her candidancy for Ward B in Lincoln Park. She is interview by Charles Balcer.
http://vimeo.com/15445906

The school rate is $16.58. I have a chart on my web site. It has 2005 to 2009 rates. I will update the chart later.
http://www.speaknj.com/taxes.htm

Anyone who attended Wedesday night council meeting 9/29/10 knows I asked the administration for the new tax rate. The city portion is now $35.68. The tax rate for Jersey City was $19.30 in 2005. That is a 84.87% increase in five years. I am only including the city's rate, not the county or school.

No, they went up 33%. The March budget hearing had a 23% increase, now you have 10% increase. JC had two different fiscal years. It is 33%.
Yvonne

The economists are saying the "recession" is over. If that is true, then home prices will go up in 2011. Per square ft, homes are cheaper than condos. If you find something you like - buy.

N.J. police salaries rank highest in nation with median pay of $90,672

Sunday, September 19, 2010, 11:17 AM
By Chris Megerian/Statehouse Bureau


http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010 ... salaries_rank_highes.html