Finnerty, Curcio and Russo for Freeholder

Atlantic GOP Freeholders Call for Substantial Property Tax Relief for Growth Zones
FINNERTY, CURCIO AND RUSSO FOR FREEHOLDER

RELEASE: Immediate, CONTACT: Atlantic County
Aug. 15, 2006 Republican Hdqs.
609-677-0707

Three Atlantic County Republican Freeholders said today that “any reforms in the state’s school funding formula must include substantive, meaningful and long term property tax relief� to residents of communities designated as growth zones in the Pinelands preservation area in Atlantic County.

With one of four special legislative committees considering revisions in the formula used to calculate state aid to local school districts, Freeholders Frank Finnerty, Jim Curcio and Tom Russo urged the committee members to “pay special attention to the heavy and growing property tax burden placed on homeowners in municipalities designated growth zones by the Pinelands Commission.�

The three --- seeking re-election this Fall --- said that Galloway, Hamilton and Egg Harbor townships “have experienced property tax increases which were, in effect, mandated by a state agency and are clearly deserving of relief from the state.�

“The population growth in these communities has placed crushing demands on the education system as well as municipal services,� Finnerty, Curcio and Russo said. “This growth, coupled with a five-year long freeze on state aid, has inflicted serious financial punishment on residents and taxpayers.�

The Freeholders pointed out that student enrollment in Egg Harbor Township has increased an average of 350 students per year for the past five years, while Galloway Township officials have been thwarted and frustrated by the Pinelands Commission as the board sought to purchase land to construct a new school to house some 650 students.

“The explosive growth in these communities and the resulting steady and substantial increases in student enrollments are a direct consequence of the growth zone designation which permits developers to build at higher densities in the designated growth communities,� they said. “It cannot be over-emphasized --- action by a state agency fueled the growth and the property tax increases necessary to cope with it and it is imperative that state action be taken to provide relief.�

The Freeholders suggested that the committee give serious consideration to permitting the growth zone municipalities to impose impact fees on developers for each new housing unit and to enact timed growth ordinances to slow the rate of development to a more responsible level.

“We are well aware that the committee’s mandate involves developing a statewide system of aid to public education which is fair and equitable to students and taxpayers alike,� they said. “The situation faced by the growth zone communities in Atlantic County is so acute and so serious that it warrants priority consideration as well.�