Did Andover Township violate ethics rules?

Today's New Jersey Herald carries a story that raises some legal and ethical questions surrounding the governing body of Andover Township.  In today's story, those members of the Andover Township Committee do a good job persuading the Herald that the resolution they passed at their June 27th meeting was aimed at a proposal by Senator Steve Oroho called S-2411. 

Senator Oroho's S-2411 phased out the Estate Tax, eliminated the tax on retirement income for over 90 percent of retirees, provided an earned income tax credit for the working poor, and provided for a charitable deduction on the state income tax.  It also raised the tax on gasoline by 23 cents -- bringing it close (37.5 cents) to its inflation adjusted level of 39 cents a gallon. 

A brief explanation:  Since 1988, New Jersey has charged drivers just 14 1/2 cents a gallon of gasoline to maintain and improve its roads and bridges. States like Pennsylvania need to charge drivers over 50 cents a gallon to maintain their roads and bridges.  Instead of adjusting its gas tax for inflation, New Jersey borrowed to repair its roads and bridges.  Because of this borrowing, the first 10 cents of any gas tax increase will be needed just to pay interest on that debt.

In today's story, members of Andover Township's governing committee try to convince the Herald that their resolution was directed at S-2411.  Explicit mention is made of Senator Oroho in the newspaper article.

In fact, S-2411 never made it to the floor for a vote.  Instead, around the time the Andover Committee convened on Monday evening, June 27th, Governor Chris Christie was meeting with Speaker Vincent Prieto to discuss the specifics of a new proposal.  According to newspaper reports and wire services, "just before midnight" the two emerged from the Governor's office with a new piece of legislation called A-12. 

Governor Christie's A-12 still raised the gas tax by 23 cents a gallon.  The Republican Governor said there was no way around it if we wanted to keep roads and bridges safe and maintained.  The Estate Tax phase out was gone, as were the other tax cuts negotiated by Senator Oroho -- with the exception of the elimination of the tax on retirement income.  Oroho had negotiated an elimination of the tax for over 90 percent of New Jersey retirees.  The Governor's plan lowered that to 80 percent.  The big change was the cut in the state sales tax to 6 percent.  A half-cent in January and another half-cent by the end of 2017.  The Governor's numbers show that whereas the gas tax increase will cost the average household $200 a year, the sales tax cut will save that household $400 a year.

A-12 wasn't introduced until after midnight on Tuesday, June 28th, when it was voted on and passed by a bi-partisan majority.  And that's the curious thing about the Andover Township resolution, it addresses something that hadn't happened yet.

The resolution doesn't appear on the agenda of the Township Committee meeting for Monday, June 27th, and yet the people we spoke to claim that it was prepared by the Township Attorney.  The resolution makes explicit reference to the "Governor's proposal to increase the gas tax by $0.23 per gallon."  But the Governor didn't have a "proposal to increase the gas tax by $0.23 per gallon" until shortly before midnight on June 27th -- well after the Andover Township Committee had adjourned and gone home.

So how did the governing committee of Andover Township pass a resolution to oppose something that had not yet happened? 

The resolution that passed the Andover Township Committee is signed but undated.  That is what they sent out to the legislators and the governing bodies of the other Sussex County municipalities.  Why isn't the resolution dated?

Is it possible that the resolution was discussed at the township meeting, but prepared and passed after the meeting?  The resolution certainly reads like something someone would have written on Tuesday, June 28th, or after.

Of course, holding a backroom meeting, without notice to the public, could be viewed as a violation of the state's Open Public Meetings Act -- also known as the Sunshine Law.  Look, it is bad enough that they didn't give the public notice that they were going to discuss such a resolution, but to actually pass it outside a public meeting would be much worse.

If this is the case, it is no wonder they were at pains to make the Herald story about Senator Steve Oroho, despite the fact that the resolution doesn't mention his name or his legislation.  That would be an effective ruse to cover up the fact that the resolution is about Governor Christie and his proposal, A-12, which the Township Committee couldn't have known about because it hadn't happened yet.

Where's the beef? Show us your TTF plan.

Remember that famous commercial from the mid-1980's that asked, "Where's the beef?" 

That's what we'd like to know too?  There have been too many uniformed comments and too many snarky politicians trying to get over by riding a wave of popular, anti-tax sentiment, without putting up a plan of their own.  To them we ask:  Where's the god darn beef!

You know who you are.  You've been having fun with others but not putting out any ideas of your own.  That's going to change.  Watchdog is going to follow you into your burrows and pull you out by the tail.  You're going to tell us how you intend to fix this thing BEFORE we pull a school bus full of drowned kids out of a river.  Then, it will be too late. 

Right now there are four plans.

(1) The Democrat Plan.  This is the plan pushed by Democrats like Senator Ray Lesniak and Assemblyman John Wisniewski.  It recognizes that the TTF has not been funded properly for decades.  That since 1988, New Jersey has charged drivers just 14 1/2 cents a gallon of gasoline to maintain and repair our state's roads and bridges -- whereas states like Pennsylvania have had to charge their drivers over 50 cents a gallon.  Instead of pay as you go, New Jersey has been running up the state's credit card to pay for roads and bridges.  That's why the first dime (10 cents) of any tax increase will have to be used just to pay the interest on the debt.  The Democrat plan is to raise the Gas Tax to pay for the TTF.  Period.  No tax cuts.

What stands in the way of the Democrat Plan is Republican Governor Chris Christie.  Of course, after the Democrats take back the Governor's office in 2017, they and their overwhelming majorities in BOTH chambers of the Legislature will enable them to easily pass a gas tax of any amount they choose WITHOUT any tax cuts.  That is 18 months away and counting.

(2) The Oroho Plan.  Economists have long believed that one of the main reasons New Jersey ranks 49th out 50th for business environment is its high Estate Tax.  Where most states have got rid of the Estate Tax and few have an inheritance tax, New Jersey has both.  The Estate Tax kills job creation and results in the flight of capital and people from the state.  New Jersey's tax on retirement income is another major factor in driving away people from the state.

Knowing that the Democrats don't need the GOP to pass a gas tax after 2017, Republican leaders gave Senator Steve Oroho the nod to negotiate a compromise with the Democrats that would address TTF funding in 2016 in return for tax cuts.  Oroho did his job well and ended up with an economic recovery plan that not only phased out the Estate Tax and eliminated the tax on retirement income for over 90 percent of retirees, but cut four other taxes as well.  It was an incredible accomplishment that few expected to happen.  Unfortunately, the thinking within the GOP Senate leadership had changed by then.  Now they were looking for a political angle.

(3) The Beck Plan.  While Senator Oroho was negotiating in good faith, Republican leaders in the Senate decided to launch a political plan, on which they believed they could build a statewide campaign for the majority in 2017.  This plan was sponsored by a member of leadership, Senator Jennifer Beck, who claimed that it could fund the TTF without an increase in the gas tax by borrowing $4.4 billion and freezing aid to municipalities and school districts (K-12) at the current level for seven years.

In addition, property tax relief was to be frozen for seven years -- along with tuition aid grants, NJ Stars, student financial assistance, higher education funding, hospital funding, and the State Police -- all frozen at the current level for seven years.  The Beck plan also raided the state's Clean Energy Fund. 

The Beck plan's numbers were seriously flawed and entirely reliant on economic growth.  The plan would have bankrupted the TTF in the event of an economic downturn.  Beck's rosy estimate of 3.15 percent growth was more than double the current year revenue growth of 1.5 percent.  And her plan depended on the Democrats to enact $1.4 billion in health plan savings and on timely savings from the mergers of departments and agencies. 

While Beck's plan did look at spending, she undercut her own argument when she voted for over $7 million in new spending for Planned Parenthood, the operators of abortion centers across the country. 

There are no tax cuts in the Beck plan, no attempt is made to address the out-migration of income and capital.  But the real risk to taxpayers represented by the Beck plan was two-part.  First, that by freezing aid for seven years, it would force local governments and school boards to raise property taxes. Second, that the plan's flawed numbers would send the TTF into bankruptcy and result in a property tax explosion.

(4) The Christie Plan.  On Monday, June 27th, the Governor entered into negotiations with Assembly Democrats on his own compromise plan.  Throughout the day, the Governor's office ran the numbers in an attempt to reduce the amount of the tax increase on gasoline, but with the first 10 cents going to cover debt service, there was little he could do.  Just before midnight, Governor Chris Christie and Speaker Vincent Prieto emerged from the Governor's office to announce their compromise.

The gas tax would still be raised 23 cents a gallon, the Republican Governor said there was no way around it if we wanted to keep roads and bridges safe and maintained.  The Estate Tax phase out was gone, as were the other tax cuts negotiated by Senator Oroho -- with the exception of the elimination of the tax on retirement income.  Oroho had negotiated an elimination of the tax for over 90 percent of New Jersey retirees.  The Governor's plan lowered that to 80 percent.

The big change was the cut in the state sales tax to 6 percent.  A half-cent in January and another half-cent by the end of 2017.  The Governor's numbers show that whereas the gas tax increase will cost the average household $200 a year, the sales tax cut will save that household $400 a year.

* * *

So these are the four plans before us.  Responsible leaders will have to choose which plan to support or will roll up their sleeves, do the hard work, crunch the numbers, and get ready for some math.  If you don't like what's on offer, responsible leaders can come up with their own plan that funds the TTF so that we can have safe, maintained roads and bridges.

As of this moment, the process is on pause.  Rather than let the last of the fund drip away, the Governor has suspended all TTF-funded work on roads, bridges, and other infrastructure in New Jersey.  The usual festered bungholes complained loudly when he did so, but would it have been responsible of him to allow every cent to flow out -- with hurricane season approaching?  Better to leave nothing for an emergency?  Thinking ahead is why he's Governor and they're festered bungholes.

Speaking of which, there's this crew of so-called "officials" in Andover Township (the ancestral home of National Socialism in America) who have decided that they dislike one aspect of three of these plans, the gas tax increase, to the point that two of them are threat-facing and sounding-off like a couple of loudmouths in a bar (beer hall?).   The issue here is finding a way to fund the continued upkeep of our roads and bridges -- and of those infrastructure projects like the Lackawanna Cut-off. 

If you want to lead, you need to do more than gripe.  Griping is what privates do.  You are not privates, you are leaders.  Leaders find a way.  Roll up your sleeves, get to work, do the math, and come up with a plan that balances out and works.  Or you can get behind one of the plans outlined here. 

It is cowardly to leave it at griping about one aspect of a plan.  Have the sack to be leaders.  Show us the beef!  Show us your TTF plan.

Doherty bill makes Sussex schoolchildren suffer

A "fair school funding" bill backed by Senator Mike Doherty (R-23) would cut funding to some of Sussex County's biggest school districts, causing property taxes to explode. This is according to the bill's own website.

If you live in one of Sussex County's populous suburban municipalities -- like Vernon or Hopatcong -- you will see a decrease in the amount of your income tax dollars returned to you by Trenton.  The same goes if you live in one of the county's older boroughs -- like Franklin, Ogdensburg, Sussex, and Hamburg.  Even if you live in a farming community like Wantage, you will see the money for your children's education slashed by Doherty and replaced with the need for higher property taxes.

According to the website put up with the Doherty bill, the best towns like these can look forward to is this:  "The Fairness Formula may not result in a decrease of property taxes for your town, however there are other solutions to lowering municipal government costs."

 

What does cutting the cost of municipal government have to do with school funding?  They are two different things.  Now if we are talking about finding ways to lower education costs or the costs associated with school boards, that is more to the point, but this is just out and out b.s. 

 

But it is typical Doherty.

 

Senator Doherty talks cost cutting when what he really means to do is to cut our children's school money and force us to raise property taxes to make up for it.

The "real fair school funding" bills are ACR46 and SCR35.  Senator Steve Oroho (R-24), Assemblyman Parker Space (R-24), and Assemblywoman Gail Phoebus (R-24) are all co-sponsors of this legislation.  Senator Doherty once championed these bills too, before he decided to go with legislation he thought had a better chance of success. Unfortunately, what Doherty went with hurts the children of Sussex County.

Is Senator Doherty a "bad" man?  No.  What Senator Doherty is doing is called compromising.  In return for a general perceived good, some are being harmed.  

For example.  In 2009, Mike Doherty ran on a ticket that advocated replacing New Jersey's progressive income tax with a flat tax.  Like President Reagan's user fees, the flat tax is a very conservative idea.  But some Republicans objected and claimed that it would only help the rich.  They said that it would raise taxes on 70 percent of New Jerseyeans. Others said it would save the average New Jerseyean $1,000 a year and would help to grow the economy.  There were good, honest advocates in both camps.  Of course, the argument could be made that Mike Doherty wanted to raise taxes on 70 percent of New Jerseyeans -- doubling the taxes for some.

 Let us know.  We are always interested in your thoughts and ideas.  Write to us at: info@sussexcountywatchdog.com

Gas stations say yes to Oroho bill

Many of you asked what the gas stations of New Jersey thought about Senator Steve Oroho's efforts to continue to pay for road and bridge maintenance and repairs while avoiding a property tax explosion.  We found out for you and present it here:

The Media wants Higher Taxes on YOU

Tom Moran, editor of the state's biggest paper -- the Newark Star-Ledger -- owned by union-busting, out-of-state billionaires, has gave away the Establishment's game plan for New Jersey.  It is this:  A big gas tax increase with no accompanying tax cuts.

Editorializing in Sunday's Star-Ledger, Moran wrote that the majority Democrats should just borrow for now and wait until after 2017 -- when they elect a Democrat Governor and Chris Christie leaves office.  Then they will be able to raise the gas tax.  Period.

That is why the Establishment is so big on killing the Oroho plan.  Unlike some of his more delusional colleagues, Sussex County's Steve Oroho recognized the FACT that the Democrats control BOTH chambers of the Legislature.  Knowing that, he put together a plan WITH them -- a plan that now has the chance of passing.  Oroho's plan (officially, the Oroho-Sarlo plan after his Democrat co-sponsor) will raise the user tax on gasoline, but link that tax increase to a series of tax cuts.

The Oroho plan will allow retirees to deduct up to $100,000 of retirement income on their state income taxes. This will annually save retirees $1,200 on average.  90% of state retirees will see their income tax bill completely eliminated, allowing them to afford to stay in New Jersey near their children and grandchildren keeping families together. 

For those currently working or looking for a job, the Oroho plan will phase out New Jersey’s estate tax – the nation’s most expensive.  This will prevent many small to medium businesses from being forced to leave the state for friendlier tax climates.  Too many jobs have gone south.  The Oroho plan will make our state more competitive, and help keep jobs in New Jersey. 

The Oroho plan creates a new state income tax deduction for giving to New Jersey-based charities that provide safety-net services to our communities, and increases the Earned Income Tax Credit to help low-income workers keep more of their paychecks.  Sussex County charities like Project Self-Sufficiency, local food pantries like Champions for Charity, Ginnie's House, and Birth Haven will all be primary beneficiaries of the Oroho plan. 

The Oroho plan will provide property tax relief by sending more state aid to local municipalities for the maintenance and repair of roads and bridges -- without which, property taxes would have to be increased to pay for it. 

In choosing a user tax on gasoline to pay for New Jersey's roads and bridges, rather than a broader tax like the property tax, Senator Steve Oroho is following the principle set by President Ronald Reagan.  It was Reagan who said:  "Good tax policy decrees that wherever possible a fee for a service should be assessed against those who directly benefit from that service."  Reagan himself raised the gas tax to pay for the road improvement projects of the 1980's.  President Reagan noted:  "Our highways were built largely with such a user fee - the gasoline tax. I think it makes sense to follow that principle in restoring them to the condition we all want them to be in." 

Sussex County taxpayers recognize a good deal when they see it.  In return for an average $180 expenditure at the pump, retirees and those looking forward to retirement will get an annual savings of $1,200 on average.  Nine out of every ten retirees will from now on pay NOTHING.

Recent polling data bears out just how popular this idea is:

T14. Would you support or oppose a proposal that would increase the state gas tax and

eliminate other taxes, like the state tax on retirement income? 

Total Support .......................................................... 67%

Total Oppose .......................................................... 19%

Strongly Support ...................................................... 47%

Somewhat Support .................................................. 20%

Strongly Oppose ..................................................... 12%

Somewhat Oppose .................................................... 7% 

Unsure, No Opinion ............................................... 14%

T15. A proposed increase in the state gas tax would cost the average driver an extra 200 dollars each year. Eliminating the state tax on retirement income would save the average retiree more than twelve hundred dollars each year. Knowing this information, would you support or oppose a proposal that would increase the state gas tax and eliminate the state tax on retirement income at the same time?

Total Support .......................................................... 74%

Total Oppose .......................................................... 14%

Strongly Support ...................................................... 58%

Somewhat Support .................................................. 16%

Strongly Oppose ..................................................... 12%

Somewhat Oppose .................................................... 2%

Unsure, No Opinion ............................................... 12%

Those are some numbers.  So stay tuned as this debate heats up and make your voices heard.  If people like the media's Tom Moran get their way, you will be stuck with a gas tax increase... PERIOD!  If politicians like Senator Jennifer Beck and groups like NJEA, AFP, and the Socialist Party USA get their way... your property taxes are going to EXPLODE! 

The responsible way forward, based on Reagan's principle, is to raise the user tax to avoid a property tax hike, while cutting taxes on retirees, making New Jersey better for small businesses and job creation, and by providing relief for property taxpayers and the working poor.   That's the Oroho plan.