Property Tax Crisis in New Jersey!

"Government is instituted for the protection, security, and benefit of the people, and they have the right at all times to alter or reform the same, whenever the public good may require it."  
  New Jersey State Consitution

The City of Orange is the “perfect storm” of the realities of the property tax crisis now being debated by the NJ Legislature’s Special Session on Property Tax Reform. The recently completed property revaluation in Orange has resulted in individual homeowner tax bills going up 40-100% on top of the previous year’s 12% general tax increase. Unlike other municipal tax upheavals (like the recent Newark revaluation), there is no phase in of the tax increases or tax relief programs to soften the economic impact of these increases. Payments are due this quarter. Homeowners are faced with yearly tax bills sometimes exceeding $6000 over what they had previously been paying. $500/month increases in mortgage tax escrow payments and escrow payments that exceed principle and interest payments are not uncommon. 

Orange is not a wealthy municipality. Many of the homeowners, who have lived years in the older homes that are bearing the brunt of the tax increases, are living on fixed income. It is one thing to debate the merits of the NJ Constitution’s Uniformity Rule and its impact on business taxes, it is quite another to see the tax bill of the White Castle burger restaurant down the street decrease by $30,000 while a homeowner’s personal property tax increases by $6000 in one tax year! 

The Uniformity Rule in the New Jersey Constitution was put in place in 1875 to protect the residential homeowner and make sure that businesses and special interest entities paid their fair share. Times have changed. It is not “uniform,” nor is it fair, that a business cost (that is passed on to consumers anyway) of an income producing property be compared to a non income producing property that provides primary shelter to a citizen. Loss of profits can not be fairly compared to loss of one’s home. 

The Responsible Citizens for Orange was formed by Orange, NJ residents as an organization to protest these property tax increases. Our members do not object to paying taxes as long as the money is raised fairly and spent wisely. We are pro business and support reforms that will encourage economic development in Orange and in the State of New Jersey– but not at the expense of losing our homes, our retirement savings and our family's security. 

We represent a wide range of ages, professions, races, and  religions. We are all citizens who now understand that in order to make our voices heard, we must work together and actively participate in our government. We are the government and our elected officials work for us.  

Responsible Citizens for Orange members have initiated our involvement in government at the local level by studying the 2007 budget presented by the Mayor of Orange, Mims Hackett Jr. Our members have attended Council meetings, studied documents, and listened to City Department Heads present their spending proposals.  What we found is this: unless there are fundimental changed made to the way the City of Orange operates;