Well, the Point Pleasant Borough Council is again taxing homeowners.
Let's take a look at the record...
Two years ago the Council admitted it lost control of the Borough finances. The responsibility for the malfeasance was never actually pinpointed. The Democrats blamed it on the Republicans. The Republicans were mostly silent.The final numbers were always very fuzzy, but about a million dollars of red ink seemed to be the agreed upon number.
During the intervening election everyone running for office claimed "they would clean it up". They also ran on platforms of fiscal responsibility.
There was a "war" over garbage collection. To outsource or not to outsource, that was the question. Finally, a magic agreement appeared...one that would save hundreds of thousands of dollars. But, the Council decided it wouldn't be a good idea to stabilize taxes, or even reduce them. Instead, they decided that taxes would actually be raised (more on that later) and they would add the "savings" obtained to the Borough reserve funds. Lest we forget, part of the savings was obtained through a reduction of services...the summer garbage collection schedule was abandoned. Residents get the hoards of maggots from the superheated incubators called garbage cans and the Council gets more money to spend.
The Council announced this year that finances were back under control, and it appeared there would even be a surplus. Former Councilman Remig was the lone voice of "caution" about the news. That caution made good sense...after all how could a mountain of debt just simply disappear. During the same year the Council members took credit for carefully husbanding the Borough's finances. In fact, the Council was reported as saying that they "had saved the day". Not one of them mentioned that the primary reason finances may have been recovering was because they voted to raise property taxes in the middle of the most devastating recession in generations...something most economists agree is a terrible idea.
Let's not forget the special assessment for water use. That was blamed on another set of calculations errors. No one took responsibility for that "mistake" either.
Now, here we are again at budget time and what has the Council proposed? You guessed it...another tax increase! You may be wondering why the budget was so late before being presented. Oh, that is an easy question to answer. As it turns out, there was no surplus. In fact, the Borough's finances are still a mess, and a special session of the Council was convened to discuss presenting to the voters a proposition to EXCEED the State mandated cap. That meeting was abruptly cancelled. Why? Because there was not enough votes for such a proposition! Under legal pressure to present a budget, there was no choice...raise taxes or go further in debt.
So where is the Borough now? Well, two financial people have quit in the last year. That's probably a clear indication of where the Borough is financially. Despite protestations to the contrary, the last financial person probably quit because the finances are a mess, and felt she would be "thrown under the bus"...a usual tactic of this Council, after all, someone has to take the blame except the chief administrator or any sitting Council member. You have to ask yourself, what politician would vote for unpopular tax increases two years in a row? The answer to that question is also simple. Because, the "surplus announcement" was premature and did not turn out as expected, and the magic disappearance of the debt was just that...magic! The truth is that there is still a mountain of debt, and huge deficits. But, our Council kept on spending. When the Mayor announced the hiring of two new cops, he proclaimed, "this is an indication that the Borough is back on a good financial footing". He forgot to mention that the Council's spending would be accompanied by a tax increase to pay for them.
Have you ever met a Democrat that doesn't like a tax increase? Or, a Republican that doesn't lie about taxes? You know that "temporary" water surcharge to correct "miscalculations". Well, now it's permanent! Another hidden tax in the middle of a recession.
As residents are learning to re prioritize their personal finances to cope with this financial disaster we all find ourselves in...while Borough residents have to cope with the "new norm" of $3.00+ plus per gallon of gas, with grocery bills skyrocketing, and with electricity charges literally going through the roof...what does the Borough Council do? Add to the burden with a tax increase!
This Council, particularly the ones who ran on a platform of fiscal responsibility, have once again betrayed the Borough residents.
You have to ask what the Borough Council is doing for the residents? You may be very impressed that the Borough is now protected by the scourge of "puppy mills! What a great accomplishment! Was there a problem with "puppy farms" in the Borough? Most people know you are taking a chance buying a puppy from irreputable businesses. But, our Council thought the public needed specific government protection...by the way, the same issue is playing out on the national stage...should our government adopt regulation after regulation to protect us, even from ourselves?
There is not an innovative bone in any body on the current Council. There has not been ONE meaningful new idea proposed by this Council. There has not been one idea to assist the unemployed. Not one idea to assist businesses in the Borough. Not one new idea to increase property values. Not one new idea to stabilize the Borough's finances and provide for tax relief. And, what's worse is that the absence of ideas is not because they have not been offered...in this Blog alone there have been a dozen ideas proposed.
What do the citizens get from this Council? Sure, we get a failed Wine Festival...most people are still trying to figure out what that was supposed to do! Oh yes, we have a "puppy mill" protection. Yes, we have even more cops for a little town with little crime. But the important stuff, encouraging businesses to hire, increasing property values, even fixing the street sign problem go unanswered. It is hard to figure out whether the Council is lazy, dull or just incompetent.
But, there may be another reason. Next time you see Councilman Leitner ask him who REALLY runs the Borough. On occasion of presenting several of his ideas he was told by Borough employees that, "we have seen zealous Council members come and go, but rarely do they get anything we don't approve of done"...talk about the patients running the asylum. Of one thing you can be absolutely certain, there is not a single innovative bone in the body of any employee of the Borough, starting at the top! They are invested either in the status quo or empire building. And why wouldn't they be...they have good salaries, incredible benefits, massive pensions and let's not forget union and state civil service protection that makes them unable to be evaluated on performance, disciplined in any way and certainly never fired no matter how incompetent.
Towns around the nation are falling into bankruptcy like flies! Are you sure that Point Pleasant Borough might not be next? Well maybe not...they can just tax the residents every year to cover up their mistakes, miscues and fiscal irresponsibility.
Early in his term the Mayor suggested that the reason the Borough was in such horrible financial condition was because there was no strategic plan adopted by the Council...one that would be well known, and one that was adopted on a basis of consensus. That made good governance sense and was very encouraging. If you see the Mayor ask him where the "plan" is. There is no plan...shame on him...he is a failed leader.
What do you think?
