there is a petition circulating in the city ...

this petition asks gov christie to disallow the increase in real estate taxes and refuse to grant jersey city its pending application to increase real estate taxes above the mandated 4 percent annual ceiling ...

the city had its application to raise taxes above the 4 percent ceiling approved last year... stopping the application may make the city to reconsider the proposed tax increases, and potentially reconsider its budget, revenues, expenses and priorities ...

the petition is online, and if you are interested in signing the petition to gov christie, feel free to do so ...

the full text of the petition is available here:

http://www.gopetition.com/online/33870.html


if city hall does not listen to us, they will have to listen to the state ...

share the link with all your friends and neighbors in the city .... make a difference in the life of the city and start building a new future ...

We need volunteers to work in Grove Street path station, Newport/Pavonia path station and JSQ path station;
I will be in JSQ path station on monday (2/8) between 5pm to 7pm... the target is to collect 20000 signatures!! Let us get this done...

I saw this in the Jersey Journal. It appears that Christie is saying no to uncontrolled spending by local authorities, etc. so the petition may have more weight than one would think based on past experience. The ordinance and the tax increase does go through a local/regional finance board.

So please sign or volunteer to get signatures.

http://blog.nj.com/njv_editorial_page ... _nj_authorities_hold.html

They used to be New Jersey’s dirty little secrets, but not anymore. For three weeks, Gov. Chris Christie, the voter-appointed fiscal sniper, has been firing shots at free-spending regional boards and authorities.
Bam! The Delaware River and Bay Authority’s 3 percent budget increase is rejected by Christie because it outpaces inflation.
Bam! Christie blocks the School Development Authority from spending another $1.2 million on the construction of Burlington City High School, already $18 million over budget.
Bam! Christie blocks $415,608 in Urban Entreprise Zone Authority spending because $399,608 would pay salaries and benefits for only four employees of the Hillside Clean Team VIII project to keep the downtown area neat.
Christie has taken aim at "the hidden economy," he calls it — largely unregulated agencies that are patronage pits of nepotism, outrageous salaries and excessive spending, often protected by well-connected politicians and well-paid lobbyists. These boards spend tens of millions of dollars without having to answer to voters. Now Christie wants them answerable to him.
The governor has control over some, but not all, of these agencies. That’s why Christie is asking the Legislature to pass a bill, proposed by State Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D-Bergen), that would give him power over the others, like the fiscally reckless Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission. Christie wants the power to veto those agencies’ minutes to block specific spending.
The PVSC has become the whipping boy of waste because it has an executive director making $313,000 a year, 82 employees earning more than $100,000 and spends rate-payer money on Trenton lobbyists. The payroll looks like a family tree of the politically connected.
But that’s peanuts. Weinberg says she uncovered $13 million in legal fees and $3 million spent on public relations over a six-year period. One lobbyist was paid $100,000 to create a coloring book, she said.
Assemblyman Gordon Johnson once described the PVSC’s budget, now $164 million, as "an awful lot of money to push poopy through a pipe."
"We’re going to rein in these authorities and let them know they are answerable to the people who are elected," Christie said.
These boards need a watchdog, so why not the governor — the dog with the biggest bite?

Everyone -

Please copy and paste below into an email and send to all JC residents that you know.
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Please sign the petition to stop the Jersey City property tax increase.

http://www.gopetition.com/online/33870.html

If you haven’t heard, your February 2010 quarterly tax bill is 25% higher than your November bill. Your May bill will be identical to Feb.

We already pay high taxes and the schools and county taxes will be going up too!

That makes for another annual tax increase of almost 14% just for the City with no end in sight. The city has run out of 1 shot gimmicks and has done nothing to cut the annual $40+ million deficit…. the Healy patronage, excessive OT and sweet heart deals are alive & well.

This petition asks Governor Christie to disallow the increase in real estate taxes and refuse to grant Jersey City its pending application to increase real estate taxes above the mandated 4 percent annual ceiling.

The city had its application to raise taxes above the 4 percent ceiling approved last year... stopping the application may make the city to reconsider the proposed tax increases, and potentially reconsider its budget, revenues, expenses and priorities.

The petition is online. Please sign it.

http://www.gopetition.com/online/33870.html

PLEASE PASS THIS EMAIL ON.

I wonder if this will actually work. I would like it too. What are some solutions we have as a city for some cuts we can recommend to our pols to hold their feet to the fire with a viable alternative?

we signed this, and it said "you're number 413 to sign this"... i dont think those kind of numbers are going to impress anyone...

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I would guess that the problem with this and the election get out the vote for anyone but Healy campaign is that more than half of the voters in this city don't own a computer and therefore are not ever going to even see this. If people really wanna get something done I believe that they are gonna have to get out and go door to door in areas of this city that most wouldn't even drive through.
However, this is better than nothing and at least a start.

I second CJ (above). In order for the petition to be taken seriously, we'd need thousands of people to sign and coverage from a major news network. Can we do that? Yes, but we're still a long way to go.

Signed
The hubby & I will be there tomorrow.
Thanks for posting!

Just a reminder especially for people who are home today and haven't seen this.

Thanks for the bump.

Up to 859 now, so anyone who has not signed yet, should do that.

Also, share it with your friends, neighbors, and anyone you know who lives in Jersey City.

Even those who are renting will feel the impact of this tax increase.

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/s ... ey-city-tax-increase.html

I'd sign the petition if it repealed the ol' boy property tax deals that some RE developers got in JC from the .GOV mob over the last 20 years....

P.S. All U.S. gov't. is now officially a scam!

This is how Harrisburg, PA is dealing with the unbalanced municipal budget ...

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE61D27C20100214

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001 ... d=WSJ_Markets_LEFTTopNews

http://www.benzinga.com/124856/harris ... ou-ve-got-bankruptcy-next

they are threating to default and potentially declare bankruptcy, which could force some of the municipal unions to offer wage concessions ....

the petition is up to 899 signatures ... let's try to get it up to 1,000 ....

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/s ... ey-city-tax-increase.html

If you are curious about how your tax dollars are spent, check out the various municipalities including JC payroll data, it's all available online:

http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=data

Gov't employees are getting far more compensation than the private sector despite plummeting tax revenue in the recession (not even even including the generous pensions and health benefits)

http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/ ... .htm?loc=interstitialskip

I support having JC go bankrupt and renegotiate some of the contracts, whether it be union related or not. Also, some of the private contracts need to be scrutinized for fraud and potentially take Healy down once and for all (I don't believe that he's clean when the court was able to charge his deputy mayor, there was just not enough slam dunk evidence).

924 Signatures

Keep it going

The city has put the Property Tax Appeal Petition form online: JC Petition of Appeal. If anyone has gone through this process before, some advice would be appreciated!

The petition is up to 974 right after 6 pm this evening. At 1:25 pm, it was 924; so in almost 5 hours, 50 people signed the appeal.

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/s ... ey-city-tax-increase.html

Even if you are a renter, you should sign the petition, because the potential tax increase may increase your rent, or your landlord might delay maintenance. So, this tax appeal is not a homeowner - landlord problem: this is a problem that impacts everyone living in Jersey City: from Greenville to the Heights. And it does not matter whether you rent or own, and do not listen to whatever people tell you: this proposed tax increase will hurt you financially.

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There is a thread somewhere on JCLIST that discusses the process and how to get through. The advice therein is excellent.

Nice articles on PA, o73o2, esp. the last one.

mvm, have you gone through the payrolls, can you summarize the pay increases, and pension increases, if any?

I'm comparing the 2009 budget to 2010. Small % increase of CAP'd line items, that's $5mm. I guess labor contract prevent the govt from making that 0%, but you'd think with these extraordinary times...

But the real kicker is non CAP's going from $83MM to $112MM, almost $30MM increase! That's what we really need to dig into.

expected non tax revenues down $10MM. So a total $45MM INCREASE has to come from property taxes.

I'm going to ask for a sit down with Fulop before the 24th council meeting. Publicly he's only been pushing for symbolic gestures. We need to find out what they are afraid to cut and make it public.

I'm pretty new at this, so anyone want to join me?

Good analysis: the budget raises a lot of unanswerable questions. There must be other ways to balance the budget than those token actions that city hall and mayor propose. This entitlement that the municipal unions have become accustomed to must end. There are thousands of private employees who have seen salary freezes, cuts and loss of jobs in the last two years. Why is that so that the unions cannot take the right step and offer wage and other concessions as many others have had to do?

By the way, the petition is the 10 most active petition on www.gopetitiion.com!

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/s ... ey-city-tax-increase.html

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Right now, there are 1,028 signatures on the petition. Thank you to everyone who has signed and shared the petition.

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/s ... ey-city-tax-increase.html

If you have not signed the petition, please do. There are 1,179 signatures ! Link ----- http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/s ... ey-city-tax-increase.html Stop the Jersey City Tax Increase Dear Governor Christie, In the waning days of your predecessor's administration, the City Council of Jersey City hastily proposed a budget that included a substantial tax increase (http://www.nj.com/news/jjournal/jerse ... 94245760.xml&coll=3). Additionally, the Council on January 27, 2010 passed a resolution on a 5 - 3 vote to petition the State of New Jersey to allow the city to raise property taxes above the legal maximum of 4%; N.J.S.A. 40A:4-45.15a). The city has not followed the example of other states and municipalities and adjusted its expenses to the revenues it can raise. In fact, the city has not made a concerted effort to reduce its overall expenses, with the exception of cosmetic cuts such as furloughs, closing 4 fire stations and reassigning personnel, and requesting department to reduce costs. Petition: We, the residents and property owners of Jersey City, do not believe the elected government of our city should be permitted to increase real estate taxes beyond the state mandated maximum of 4 percent. Such a tax increase--which for many would range between 18 - 25 percent (http://www.jerseycityindependent.com/ ... ook-at-the-city-budget/). First, the proposed tax increase will very severely impact residents who are retired, living on fixed incomes, and the unemployed. For those who are on Social Security, there were no COLA increases this year. During this recession, Hudson County's unemployment rate of 12 percent is higher than that of nation or the state (http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2009/11/post_42.html). Those who are unemployed or are on fixed income already have had to make painful choices, prioritizing life's necessities to adjust their expenses to their lower income. For these already suffering groups, the effect of a significant tax increase will cause them to further marginalize. Second, if property taxes increase, real estate values will decline as a result. Already, 1 in every 381 residential units received foreclosure notices in Jersey City (http://www.realtytrac.com/trendcenter ... spx?address=Jersey%20City,%20NJ%20&parsed=1&ct=Jersey%20City&cn=Hudson%20county&stc=NJ). The proposed tax increase would cost an additional 800 dollars in taxes for each 100,000 dollars in property tax assessment. The net effect on real estate values will be significant. With Zillow's real estate home value index at 285,000 dollars for Jersey City as of November 30, 2009, the tax increase would further reduce property values by at least 5 percent leading many homeowners to having negative equity in their homes causing them to either walk away from their mortgages or to enter the foreclosure process. Third, as the monthly expenses increase substantially as a result of these unprecedented tax increases, many taxpayers will have less money available to spend in the community. This will further exacerbate local business’s struggles during the recession as their expenses are increasing and sales are decreasing, particularly in those areas that are already marginalized. We, the undersigned taxpayers and property owners of Jersey City, petition our newly elected Governor Christie to deny the request of Jersey City to raise property taxes above the 4% ceiling. http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/s ... ey-city-tax-increase.html

The current count is 1313 ...


Can we make 1500 by the council meeting on Wednesday night?

We only need 187 more signatures ...

Your help is essential to make the city listen to us and reconsider the tax increase.

So if you know anyone who has not signed yet, or is not aware of the tax increases, make sure that you send them the link so that they can sign

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/s ... ey-city-tax-increase.html

Also spread the word to homeowners whose taxes are paid by their mortgage company. They may not realize that an increase has occurred, until they get an escrow statement.

to bring it to 1,500!

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/s ... ey-city-tax-increase.html

ask your friends, neighbors, frenemies, everyone .... even mayor healy

we only need 63 more signatures .... we can do it!

and thanks to everyone who has signed!

I'll try to find a few more. See you tomorrow. Thanks for doing this.

We have a long haul ahead of us, let's keep up the pressure.

The petition is at 1,455, and needs 45 additional signatures.

We're up to 1479, so close. Let's do it people.
Demi2261

The chickens will come home to roost! JC politicians stop the Bull now!

1499 we only need 1 more ...

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/s ... ey-city-tax-increase.html

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Bingo.

1500

1500.... thats cute. Less then 1% of the population of the city cares. You need to get to the streets if you want anything to happen.

WOW over 200,000 residents in the city and you got a whole 1500 signatures. Yeah this is going to be successful.

Quote:Yes, agreed. Do you want to help?

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Will someone enlighten these cynics as to the percentage of of persons who voted in the last local election that this petition represents? I believe that it was around 10,000 voter which would be 15%. That is damn good! Please correct me if I'm wrong.

i certainly dont want my taxes to go up, and signed this petition, but there sure are a ton of "anonymous" names there... that doesnt look good damnit!

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In April 2009, for the Board of Education, there were 15,500 voters. http://www.hudsoncountyclerk.org/elections/090421.htm
With 2,000 votes, you got elected.

There are roughly 120,000 registered voters in the city; the election participation is very low. In the last general election, 32% of the registered voters voted.

I moved out of the city because the taxes were too high, but I still work there. So it doesn't matter to me if they go up.

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I understand your concern. When you sign the petition, you have the option to select your name to be displayed publicly or not; if you wish, you can select the cloak of anonymity. Many have done that and it is understandable. However, the actual information will be available to those who are organizing the petition, so in the final format, it will list names.

Furthermore, the current count displayed on the website, and shared on jclist, excludes the number of signatories on the paper petitions that volunteers have been circulating in the city. They have been very effective and raised several hundred additional signatures.

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/s ... ey-city-tax-increase.html

Every signature makes a difference.

The final tally on the on-line petition is 1,557.

I still do not know what the final count is as there are paper petitions, and there are volunteers at the council meeting asking for additional signatures.

So there is still the opportunity to sign.

I am very excited about the turn-out and the response. Certainly, in a city where there has been a voter apathy for long, seeing such a great response from all parts of the city (not only in the Downtown area, but also from the Heights, West Side, Greenville, Lafayette, etc) makes it clear to me and others actively working on the petition that the anger, disappointment, and frustration is felt everywhere.

We are now in the process of sending the petition to governor Christie and hope for the best.

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/s ... ey-city-tax-increase.html

We sent the petition to Governor Christie today. Together with the signed paper petitions, there were more than 2,000 signatures. Thanks to everyone who signed.

We certainly hope the Governor will consider the merits of the petition.

And yes, you can still sign the petition.

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/s ... -increase/signatures.html

It is up to 1.606 on the internet.

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/s ... ey-city-tax-increase.html

Spread the word!

And sign the petition.