November 3, 2013
Dear Atlantic Highlands
Taxpayer,
Local taxes in Atlantic Highlands are going up 9.04% this
year. This is on top of a 2% rise last
year, and that does not include the $120 flat fee added to your water
bill. So, Atlantic Highlands’ take has
risen between 13% and 16% (depending on the value of your house) in just the
last two years. Why?
There are two answers.
The first is that, while some people say that there are two parties in
Atlantic Highlands, the Republicans and Democrats, the truth is that there is
only one party, the Soak the Taxpayers for the Benefit of the Harbor
Party. Every year, every major party
candidate says, “The harbor returns money to the borough.” This fact is true, but the reality is
false. It contributes nothing to the
schools. It contributes less than it
should to the borough. It is
mismanaged. It is a pork barrel for the
politicians.
If the harbor is returning so much to the borough, why is
the municipal tax rate the 13th highest of the 53 communities in
Monmouth County? And because the harbor
contributes nothing to the schools, Atlantic Highlands’ overall tax rate is the
9th highest in the county.
In the wake of hurricane Sandy, the harbor was
destroyed. The borough council, with
alacrity, bonded money and combined with federal disaster aid, spent $22
million to rebuild the harbor; but it did virtually nothing to reopen the
Bayshore Trail, which is still closed to local residents.
This year, the borough will take more than 30% of all the
real estate taxes. Including the elementary
school, it will be almost 60%. Highlands
has the 15th highest, Union Beach has the 2nd highest,
Keansburg has the 4th highest local tax rate. The small Bayshore towns are
unaffordable. Consolidation is the only
way to achieve economies of scale.
No matter which Democrat or Republican you elect, for
council or mayor, taxes will keep rising, regardless of what they say. The problem is systemic.
The
Real Problem
Until 1988, voters in New Jersey filled vacancies in the
legislature through Special Elections.
When an assemblyman or woman, or state senator left office before the
end of her or his term, a special election was held to fill the vacancy. In 1988, an amendment was put on the ballot
that took the right to fill vacancies away from the voters and gave it to the
political party committee of the person who held the office.
How did this happen?
The legislature lied to the voters about the meaning of the
amendment. The Explanatory Statement on
the ballot said the amendment “requires the county committee to fill the
vacancy within 30 days,” as if the then current law allowed it to delay. In fact, this amendment gave the county
committee the right to fill the vacancy; voters were never told they were
losing their right to elect a replacement in the initial instance. The local newspapers (supported with your tax
dollars as official notice publications) and the League of Women Voters
colluded with the Republican and Democratic parties to keep the voters
uninformed of the real meaning of this amendment. If the voters had been told
the truth, the amendment would have lost in a landslide.
So, what has happened in the last 25 years is that the
voters have basically been excluded from influencing state policy (isn’t that
obvious?) Now, legislators regularly
resign before the end of their terms.
The county committees appoint a new legislator who then stands in the
November election as an incumbent.
Because the legislative districts are gerrymandered to favor one party
over another, the party committee, not the voters, have become the most
important constituency for legislators.
Local office holders like borough councilwomen and men,
many of whom would like to run for higher office, know that the next rung on
the ladder of elective office is controlled, not by the voters, but by the
party officials (who in the last primary were elected by 3% of the voters.) So, basically, voters do not count anymore,
which is why fewer and fewer people are bothering to go to the polls in each
succeeding election.
The
Rigged Races for Governor
The situation is just as bad in the Governor’s race. New Jersey has “public financing” of
Governor’s races. Most people think that
this makes the race fairer by giving poor candidates an equal chance. In fact, the opposite is true. Public financing is used to exclude
independent and underfunded candidates from the race.
Public money goes only to candidates who already have
access to large amounts of private donations.
New Jersey’s system is not public funding, but a public subsidy that
goes only to candidates who already have collected over $300,000 in private
contributions.
In exchange for receiving public funds, gubernatorial
candidates are required to participate in two sponsored debates. This requirement has been twisted around to
exclude candidates who do not get public funds.
So, not only do independent and poor candidates not get public
subsidies, they are not allowed to participate in the publicly mandated
debates.
This year, an already bad situation was made worse by the
scheduling of the Governor’s debates before the Special Senate election in
October. The last of the two debates was
on the night before the Senate race, when the federal government was shut-down,
and when people were and should have been thinking about the Senate race.
Elections have a purpose.
They are supposed to let the voters determine the direction of
government policy. If there are no
debates about issues, or if they are invisible, the voters are excluded from
the process.
I’m asking you to support Barbara Buono for Governor. Governor Christie went to Highlands this
summer to accept a $4.5 million contribution from the United Arab Emirates for
Sandy relief. This is a bribe to get his
support for war with Iran. It will be
repaid in the blood of Americans fighting Iran.
Barbara is far from perfect, but at least she supports investing in the
future, like the new rail tunnel under the Hudson River. China has bullet trains, but under Christie,
New Jersey is supposed to prosper with a century old train tunnel.
Christie and the local Republicans have taken millions of
tax dollars to rebuild the municipal harbor, and then turn right around and
support the Senate candidate who shut down the government and was opposed to
Sandy aid. This is the worst kind of hypocrisy. They are happy to spend your
money on their pet projects, and then claim that food stamps or other people’s
projects are unaffordable.
What
you can do
The Republicans and Democrats have created a political
system as expensive as possible with as few voters as possible. We need to take back the political system from
the national media and the special interest donors without having to compete by
raising and spending money we do not have.
We need to take back the governorship from the national
media that has made our representatives celebrities while our taxes go through
the roof. Only by electing candidates
who do not need a fortune to run and who are beholden to the voters after
winning can the line be held on taxes.
Let’s surprise everyone by showing just how smart New
Jersey (even the Jersey Shore) can be.
This letter is going to everyone in Atlantic
Highlands. It will be posted on my
website at: http://www.leinsdorf.com/2013/atlantichighlands.htm
Copy this link to all your friends in New Jersey and ask them to read this
letter.
Thanks for your
attention.
Josh Leinsdorf, 60 Bayside Drive, Atlantic Highlands, New
Jersey
(732) 291-0126, (609) 658-8919 email:
jleinsdorf@monmouth.com