Local leaders are still pushing for changes to a regional tax formula that some officials believe is a burden on Secaucus taxpayers.
Mayor Richard Steffens and Mayor-elect Michael Gonnelli attended the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission (NJMC) Mayors’ Committee on Dec. 7. At that meeting the state’s controversial tax-sharing formula was discussed.
As one of 14 towns included in the Meadowlands District, Secaucus comes under the jurisdiction of the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission (NJMC), a state agency founded to plan and oversee regional development in the Meadowlands.
“The revenue sharing bills have been languishing down in Trenton, especially since Gov. Jon Corzine was not reelected.” – Richard Steffens
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The NJMC describes the program as meant “to create a fair and equitable method of distributing the benefits and costs of economic development and land use decisions made by the NJMC amongst the 14 Meadowlands District municipalities.”
Although the NJMC serves as a conduit for the money collected, the agency does not keep it. It is distributed to the eight receiving communities.
Since the 1960s, some municipalities in the Meadowlands District have been zoned for uses that do not generate much tax revenue – such as parks – while others, like Secaucus, were zoned for office space, which can generate a lot of revenue. State legislators believed it was necessary to spread the financial benefits of development evenly throughout the Meadowlands District.
Secaucus taxpayers currently contribute $3.2 million annually to the Meadowlands tax-sharing pool, and the town is the largest contributor. According to former Mayor Dennis Elwell, Secaucus has paid $63 million into the pool since 1973, when the tax-sharing formula went into effect.
North Bergen, Carlstadt, Lyndhurst, Moonachie, East Rutherford, Little Ferry, and South Hackensack are the other municipalities that contribute.
Jersey City, Kearny, Rutherford, North Arlington, Ridgefield, and Teterboro are the towns that receive money. In total, $7 million is transferred to the six receiving communities.
Because of the burden placed on the communities that contribute to the fund, some state leaders have initiated efforts to end the formula without penalizing the towns that benefit.
State Sen. Paul Sarlo (D-36th Dist.) has introduced a bill in the state Senate that would place a tax on tickets sold at the Meadowlands Sports Complex. A portion of this tax would go to the six towns that currently receive money from the tax-sharing pool, and this would allow the contributing towns to stop paying.
Push for passage before Corzine leaves
Assemblyman Vincent Prieto (D-32nd Dist.) has introduced a similar bill in the state Assembly.
Although the lame duck administration of Gov. Jon Corzine is in its last two weeks in office, local officials continue to push for changes to tax sharing. Most observers believe incoming Governor Chris Christie won’t support any changes to the formula that are dependent on new taxes or tax increases.
“The revenue-sharing bills have been languishing down in Trenton, especially since Gov. Jon Corzine was not reelected,” said Steffens. “But [State Sen. Nick] Sacco was [at the mayors’ committee meeting] and he was telling us that there’s now a big push to try to have it passed before the end of the year.”
At the Dec. 8 Town Council meeting the governing body passed a resolution to support Sarlo’s bill.
E-mail E. Assata Wright at awright@hudsonreporter.com.