Dear Editor: Spring 2000 might have sprung, but New Jersey’s property taxes are staying frozen to help qualified senior citizens and disabled residents on fixed incomes. Indeed, it is one more way my administration has been reaching out to help the many faces of our one New Jersey family–Chelping those burdened by high property tax payments. What does this possibly mean for you? To give you an idea, I signed the Property Tax Reimbursement Program into law in 1998, and in its first year over 34,000 homeowners already enjoyed an average reimbursement check of $109. So what’s keeping you from applying? In case you haven’t yet heard, the Property Tax Reimbursement Program works like this. If you meet the eligibility requirements, you are entitled to a reimbursement check from the state for the difference between what you paid in property taxes the year you became eligible for the program and your current property tax levy. For instance, to qualify for the 1999 reimbursement, an applicant must meet all these requirements: · You must have been age 65 or older or receiving Federal Social Security disability benefits as of December 31, 1998. (You do not qualify if you are receiving Social Security disability benefits on behalf of someone else.) · You must have owned and lived in your home (or have leased a site in a mobile home park on which you have placed a manufactured or mobile home that you own) since before January 1, 1996. · You must have lived in New Jersey continuously since before January 1, 1989 as either a homeowner or a renter. · Your total annual income must be less thanCfor 1998, $17,918 if you are single, or $21,970 (combined income) if married; and for 1999, $18,151 if you are single or $22,256 (combined income) if married. · For both 1998 and 1999 you must have paid the full amount of the property taxes due on your home. As long as you remain eligible for the program and you file an application each year, you will be reimbursed for the difference between your current year property taxes and your base year taxes. And because I don’t want you to miss out on any money to which you are entitled, we have extended the deadline for filing the 1998 Property Tax Reimbursement application in case you missed out. It’s easy to get an application. Just call toll-free 1-800-882-6597 to request the form. I urge you to call today because the deadline for filing the 1998 and 1999 applications is May 1, 2000. It’s that simple. As you are no doubt aware, New Jersey has one of our nation’s largest senior citizen populations. One in seven state residents is 65 years of age or over, and it is anticipated that in the next 30 years, that ratio will reach one in four. That’s why I’ve expanded senior services, protected PAAD, improved on the Homestead Rebate program as well as the Property Tax Freeze for qualified seniors. It’s also why I unveiled a $5 million Independent Living package to help our senior citizens maintain their independence. Included is an array of community-based services from eliminating the waiting list for delivery of in-home meals to extending congregate housing services for the needy. And rest assured this $5 million package supports my three-year $60 million program dedicated to the elderly that was announced last year. It’s all about creating more ways to make New Jersey a better place to live, work and raise a family-and to retire and watch the grandchildren grow. Governor Christine Whitman