THE
HUNTERDON COUNTY NEWS |
Real Estate Land Use Attorney William Edleston
TITLE: Letter to the editor From Cl Twp Mayoral Candidate - Trenton’s COAH Tax
DESCRIPTION:
Time: 09:40:03
Affordable housing is something you would think we could all embrace and support. It’s ironic then that the greatest threat of being able to afford to live in this part of New Jersey are the new rules adopted by the Council on Affordable Housing (COAH).
Some years back the New Jersey courts determined that all towns have an obligation to provide for affordable housing. COAH is a state agency responsible for coming up with rules that tell each municipality what their “Fair Share” obligation is.
Over two years ago, COAH came up with a fairly rational build-as-you-go approach to address these needs that would be paid for through fees charged to developers. Then earlier this year, Governor Corzine decided that our “need” is much greater so COAH revised its rules which now more than double each municipality’s obligation.
We were told that property tax payers would not have to pay a thing to comply with these new rules. As it turns out that is not true. The problem is that no one in Trenton seems to have given the true cost of this program much consideration. What the Governor and COAH seem to be doing is using a state law to force municipalities to accommodate ridiculous amounts of growth AND pay for a $19 Billion affordable housing program. As a result, over the next ten years Clinton Township property tax payers will get stuck with a bill for more than $10 Million, or $250 per household per year. In times of fiscal austerity it is surprising that the state would propose, much less mandate, such an unfair program on already overburdened taxpayers.
As it turns out property tax payers get hit with this bill twice. Once to supplement the cost of the program because of what’s called a “retroactive obligation.” Is seems that when the Governor and COAH changed the rules to increase a municipality’s obligation, they retroactively increased the cost of the program going back to 2004 but neglected to consider who was going to be on the hook for the additional cost. So if the town, in good faith, collected fees from a developer in 2004 based on the old rules, the town is now on the hook to pay the additional cost to comply with the “new” rules.
Secondly, the rules were supposed to be based on “Smart Growth” but as it turns out they will do little more than promote sprawl. The State assumes that places like Clinton Township can grow seemingly without limitation and without any financial ramifications. What that means to Clinton Township is we would have to build 7 more “Mews” over the next 10 years.
The new rules force Clinton Township to accommodate around 135 new homes each year to meet our “Fair Share.” Consider that on average each house includes slightly more than 1 school-aged child. That means over the next ten years, each year we would add roughly 150 new school children to an already overburdened school system. Consider that just last year, Clinton Township tax payers paid $30 million for a school big enough to educate around 400 kids. You don’t have to be the CFO of a big finance company to do the math and realize the impact of these revised rules on property taxes will be devastating.
In response, Clinton Township has taken a leadership role and gotten 57 towns across NJ to protest the new rules, and we have now joined forces with 18 other towns in Hunterdon, Morris, Middlesex, Somerset and Warren counties that will ask a court to overturn these rules.
Let me be clear that Clinton Township supports affordable housing. We have worked hard to keep our costs low in the hopes of making Clinton Township more affordable, and have taken the necessary steps to comply with COAH. This is not, as some would portray, an issue of ‘class warfare.’ This is an issue of an unfair and unfunded, and as it turns out unlawful state mandate that attempts to pass the burden and cost of a state program on the backs of the local property tax payer.
The time is now for decisive action. If we sit back and do nothing we will be paying the cost for years to come. Clinton Township is and will continue to work for the best interest of all of its residents and will continue to take the appropriate actions to ensure that our residents are not left picking up the tab.
We must stop this enormous “COAH Tax.” That is my commitment to you if I am elected Mayor of Clinton Township. I ask for your vote in the June 3rd Primary. Please remember that because no Democrat is running, Clinton Township will essentially elect its new Mayor on June 3rd. Please vote.
Kevin Cimei
Council President