Manville property taxes are high enough

Richard M. Onderko, Borough Councilman, Manville 
Manville property taxes
are high enough
To the editor:
I couldn’t agree more with Councilman Komoroski’s recent letter. If you want more of the same in Manville, vote Democrat. If you want any chance at lower taxes, less spending, less town debt and a hiring freeze, then please vote Republican. It is that simple.
   Let’s discuss some facts so you clearly see the difference in our policies, Democrat vs. Republican. Manville is losing tax revenues ever since Hurricane Irene devastated our town. Commercial and residential resale values are the worst in Somerset County out of all 21 towns. A town wide revaluation is long overdue for everyone to pay their fair share but council Democrats and our mayor were against it.
   We lost well over $1 million of tax revenue with recent appeals and that is three times the cost of a town wide reval. We will lose more when 165 homes are bought out and knocked down. However Councilman Komoroski recently spoke out against any future buyouts since they would hurt our revenue collection and raise taxes on everyone else. He obviously has a direct conflict of interest since he is a real estate agent in town. Here’s what he said from the Courier News article from Aug. 9, 2013:
   ”Borough Council President Ed Komoroski said he doesn’t want to see any more buyouts because every lost home is another $7,000 or so less in property tax revenue that the town can collect each year.”
   How could an elected official and owner of a real estate business make such a statement and not see a conflict of interest? Does he have the people’s best interest in mind or only his own? If the council needs to vote on additional buyouts next year, lets hope Councilman Komoroski doesnt have the chance to vote against more buyouts. Republicans will seek additional buyouts for those who want out.
   Councilman Komoroski was even afraid to support my council motion to simply apply for extra-ordinary aid from our governor’s office since it would cramp his free-spending ways. For some, its all about what they put in their pockets and not for the common good of all taxpayers.
   I appealed my property taxes since it is the only way to get lower taxes in Manville with Democrats in control and so did Councilman Komoroski and Mayor Corradino. However, I donated the entire savings to the Manville Rescue Squad, which really need our help as charitable contributions are down. Councilman Komoroski appealed his taxes and I wonder what he did with the savings.
   I got involved because I feel our property taxes are high enough. Let’s look for ideas to lower them. I ran for council not for the free health insurance or the council salary, but to give back to my hometown. I will continue to do so in a positive way.
Richard M. Onderko
Borough Councilman
Manville 