Local apathy, especially now, hard to fathom
By: Vic Monaco
The saying, as adjusted for the borough of Hightstown, goes something like this:
"If a governing body decides to raise the local tax rate by more than 30 cents over two years and no one is there to witness it, do inflated tax bills still get sent?"
The answer is much simpler than when applied to the tree in the forest. It goes like this:
"You bet your bottom dollar."
For the second year in a row, the Borough Council is looking at a hefty tax hike while looking at empty, or virtually empty, council chambers.
Borough leaders can be fairly criticized for several things. But being anything but open in their budget process and willing to listen to input isn’t one of them. They hold several public budget sessions and hold very little back when commenting on line items that, at times, seem miniscule when compared to the borough’s big financial problems.
Recently, local resident Phil LoBianco told the council (mind you, not at a budget hearing but rather during critical comments about neighboring East Windsor) that Hightstown’s taxes are "not out of line."
"We have something special here," he said in a reference to the services provided by the borough.
But we wonder if most homeowners in the borough are in the same tax bracket as the former East Windsor businessman.
Quite frankly, we just don’t understand the seeming lack of interest on the part of borough residents at a time when the very existence of their town is being questioned by several folks, including some local leaders, due to financial problems.
The apparent disinterest isn’t limited to Hightstown or taxes. The Herald posted a question on its Web site several weeks ago seeking opinions on the war in Iraq, and not one reader responded.
Perhaps that would be different if there were a draft. And perhaps the apparent apathy over the local tax rate would change if the state stops giving the borough extraordinary state aid, which amounted to $200,000 for 2006, or close to 10 cents on the local tax rate.
In the meantime, we’ll give kudos to those Borough Council members who continue to show their concern by asking many questions at budget sessions, in the face of what appears to be little or no concern from many of their constituents.
And we’ll hope that they and borough staff can see the forest, not just the trees, when making tough budget decisions.

