To the Editor:
The Bayonne Board of Education (BOE) has adopted our operating budget for the upcoming school year that will raise school taxes by two percent for the average property owner. The average home is assessed at $133,000 and pays a property tax of $9,109.17 at a present rate of $68.49 per $1,000 valuation. An increase of two percent will be a tax increase of $1.37. This will raise the property tax to $69.86, increasing taxes by $182.21. This results in a yearly tax of $9,291.38 for a home assessed at $133,000. This is a monthly payment of $774 for city taxes!
When a person buys a home in Bayonne, they have to pay two mortgages: one on the home and one for the taxes. The BOE states the $113.5 million dollar budget represents a slight decrease from the previous year’s budget of $114 million. If the new budget totals less, then why are we getting a tax increase?
It is amazing to me that property owners take or show no interest in their city taxes that increase year after year. This is caused by the city spending more money than it has year after year. Does the city care? No way! They love the taxpayers because no matter how much they increase, they keep on paying. No, this is not a fairy tale, but the sorrowful truth. Nowadays, common sense is an endangered species when people won’t accept that they are being taken for granted (suckers).
Wise up! It’s time to come to your own aid. Get some back bone and speak out against confiscatory taxation! Miracles do happen, maybe even in Bayonne.
LEONARD R. KANTOR