Staff Writer
Residents up in arms over arrival of latest tax bills
Majority of increase
attributed to spending
By theresa a. boschen
Staff Writer
Before tax increase The owner of this Marlboro home paid $7,506 in property taxes in 2000-01.
MARLBORO – From biblical times, it seems, tax collectors have been the bearers of bad news.
Despite the acknowledgment by Township Council members on Aug. 9 that they, too, must pay taxes, one resident warned the council that he, and other people he knows, will not tolerate additional taxes that would make it difficult to survive financially.
Concerned about the frustration being expressed by residents, council Vice President Barry Denkensohn and Council-woman Mary R. Singer addressed the overall increase in property taxes and a recent tax error reported by the Marlboro Board of Education.
Denkensohn said he talked with Jody Wishner, a resident who recently wrote to the News Transcript concerning what Wishner called the continual upward spiral of property tax rates in Marlboro.
After tax increase With no change in the assessed value of the home or property, the owner of the same Marlboro home will pay $8,515 in property taxes in 2001-02. The overall tax rate in Marlboro rose from $2.81 to $3.10 per $100 of assessed valuation this year.
In his letter to the editor published Aug. 1, Wishner wrote that he was recently notified that he would have to pay $1,000 more in property taxes this year, compared to a year ago.
A property tax bill for a Marlboro homeowner contains taxes levied by several authorities. These authorities include the Marlboro Township Council, the Monmouth County Board of Freeholders, the Marlboro Board of Education and the Freehold Regional High School District Board of Education. A homeowner’s total property tax is a product of the town’s overall tax rate and the assessed value of the property being taxed.
In this tax year, according to township officials, Marlboro’s overall tax rate is $3.10 per $100 of assessed value. A year ago, the overall tax rate was $2.81 per $100.
What it means is that the owner of a home assessed at $200,000 will pay $6,200 in property taxes this year, up from $5,620 a year ago. The owner of a home assessed at $300,000 will pay $9,300 in property taxes this year, up from $8,430 a year ago.
Residents recently listened to Board of Education members apologize about an error of 4 cents that had been made in an internal reporting of a total debt service amount calculated for the increase in residents’ taxes. The board had explained to the public, at that time, how the information that had been released was inaccurate, reporting that the increase was 10.7 cents, not the actual 14.7 cents.
The entire 23.4-cent school tax increase that residents faced this year is represented by the 14.7-cent increase for debt service and an additional 8.7-cent increase for the general fund budget, according to school district Business Administrator Cindy Barr-Rague.
The total tax increase was approved by a majority of residents who said yes to a recent $42 million referendum to fund the construction of two schools and yes to the board’s 2001-02 school year budget.
The debt service on the referendum is payable over 20 years, beginning this school year, according to a recent News Transcript guest column written by Marlboro Superintendent of Schools Dr. David C. Abbott.
"The sentiment I’m hearing from (residents) is that they feel they were deceived by the school board," Denkensohn said.
However, the councilman noted that on the question of the overall increase of taxes, something must be done to curb the rise that is hitting residents in the pockets and pocketbooks.
"If our taxes continue to increase the way they’ve been increasing, we’re going to have a big problem in this township," Denkensohn said, noting that since he moved to Marlboro 18 years ago, his property tax bill has risen from $1,900 to $6,300.
"I think it’s something we need to talk about in this town," he added. "There’s got to be a balance. I think it’s a matter that has to be discussed; otherwise we’re going to have a tax revolt in this township."
During the public session of the council meeting, however, one resident told the council that he, and others he knows of, are unhappy and will not stand for such financial constraints.
Mitchell Konichowsky, of Jamie Court, addressed the council sternly, claiming that in the last 18 months since he has moved to Marlboro his property taxes have climbed to a total of $16,000 for a home on a 1-acre lot.
Konichowsky said that numerous individuals he has talked to everywhere from his child’s day care center to social barbecues "all say the same thing." He said he and the others continually describe Marlboro as a wonderful place to reside. But, he added, "They all say this is one of the most expensive places to live."
Konichowsky, who told the council he commutes to work in New York City, said, "This is a reality check for everybody in this room. I (travel such a distance to work) because I want a better life for my family. To tell you I feel doomed is an understatement."
Konichowsky’s comments ended in the response of more than a few residents clapping in support.
The tone of Denkensohn’s answer was just as serious. However, he pointed to school taxes as being largely responsible for the majority of the increase in the town’s overall tax rate. The municipal tax rate, he said, is 13 percent of the entire tax rate paid by Marlboro residents, and 65 percent of the tax rate is school taxes.
Denkensohn told Konichowsky the construction of the Marlboro Early Learning Center and a new middle school is responsible for an 8.7-cent increase for the operating budgets of the elementary schools, and more than a 9-cent increase in the operating budget of the Freehold Regional High School District have resulted in higher taxes for residents.
"That’s where the bulk of the increase came from. You need to address your comments to the school board," he said.
Denkensohn reminded Konichowsky that the council earlier this year worked to lower the municipal tax rate that Mayor Matthew V. Scannapieco had originally proposed.
Under the town’s $22.28 million municipal budget for 2001, residents saw the municipal tax rate increase from 38.8 cents to 41.9 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. The mayor had proposed an increase to 42.6 cents per $100 of assessed valuation.
The municipal tax rate of 41.9 cents means the owner of a home assessed at $200,000 will pay about $838 in municipal taxes this year, up from $776 a year ago. The owner of a home assessed at $300,000 will pay about $1,257 in municipal taxes this year, up from $1,164 a year ago.
"I’m very sympathetic. My taxes went up, too," Councilwoman Mary Singer said, noting that her property taxes have increased from $2,400 in 1982 (when she lived in a smaller house) to $8,400 this year.
However, she added, "We want good schools. We want good services."
Singer pointed out that the town’s intended purchase of the former Marlboro State Psychiatric Hospital grounds and the town’s proposed plans for development of the 411-acre tract would bring a substantial tax ratable for the municipality that would help to relieve the tax burden for residents.
While Singer said she is not in favor of continually climbing taxes, she said it is important for people to research tax rates before moving into a town.
"You have to know what your budget is when you move into the township," Singer said, adding, "We still have to tax people based on a formula, and that formula is based on the cost of a person’s home."
She also pointed out that older residents without children, who would still be responsible for paying school taxes, have the option of moving to another community where there are fewer children and school taxes may not be as high as they are in Marlboro.
She also noted that, although school taxes may have increased significantly, residents are getting education for their children without paying the full true value. The Marlboro school district’s annual per-pupil cost to educate a child is $7,548, which is $31 above the minimum state-mandated range, she said.
"Residents are not paying what the full value of education would be," Singer said, noting that she paid $4,500 in school taxes this year and has one child in the Marlboro school district.

