Dear Editor:
Recently, Mayor Fulop was quoted in the newspaper stating affordable housing should be in every ward. But his comments do not explain who will pay for this affordable housing. When new residents come to Jersey City they expect services, so who will pay for the extra police, fire services, and parks? Who will pay the school taxes since low income housing contributes nothing to the local school system? In the past ten years local Board of Education taxes have risen from $72 million to $112 million, an increase of $40 million, so school costs are important.
After a low income tax housing tax abatement is near the end of its life, will it be renewed as it was for Salem Lafayette which now has a 66 year tax abatement or will it start to pay full taxes?
In 2013, over 2,300 property owners went into tax lien, an acknowledgement that taxpayers are not enjoying affordable housing that Mayor Fulop wants to give to others.
The budget show more than half of the tax abated properties are low income housing probably consisting of tens of thousands of residents. If a small homeowner loses his/her home due to rising taxes because they must provide services to others, then that taxpayer is also denied affordable housing. The public needs to know the true cost of affordable housing because they are the ones picking up the bill.
Yvonne Balcer