On April 9, I received in the mail my mail-in ballot for the April 27 school election. The ballot is very deceiving and for the public it is not telling the complete story about the increase in taxes.
Question 1 – Plumsted School District. They are asking for $9,711,151 and they are not stating that thisisa2percenttaxlevyincrease.
Question 2 – Plumsted Township 2011 Municipal Levy Cap Referendum. They are asking for $97,311.47, which equals a 6.937 percent increase over the 2 percent cap; this is in addition to increases that are allowed by law for health care coverage, pension, debt service and other expenses that qualified outside the cap. The total tax increase for Plumsted will be about 10 percent, give or take one- or twotenths.
I feel the public has the right to know the exact amount and percent they are voting on. One-third of our community are seniors on fixed income such as Social Security, and they have not had an increase in over two years. Last year the school budget was voted down. Mayor Ron Dancer approved it anyway. In a public meeting which I attended, he explained that because the school district is on a fiscal year and the municipality is on a calendar year, he can and did move the tax sales from January 2011 to December 2010. This would allow him to have the funds needed for the school budget to be paid in January 2011.
If my memory serves me correct, that amount was $233,000. We would not be having this problem today ifMayor Dancer had been frugal. At this meeting, I told the Township Committee and the Board of Education that they were borrowing from Peter to pay Paul and this will come back to bite them, and here it is, biting them.
Luisa D. Erich-Carr Plumsted