By:Laura Fasano
To the editor:
I am a renter in Hightstown and am extremely concerned about the new ordinance the borough is discussing regarding rental properties.
The council would like to have access to my home, charge my landlord every two years for this privilege, have me register as a renter in their town and generally overly concern themselves with my private life.
After living in the same property for three years, I am beginning to feel criminalized for this never mind that I shop downtown, patronize local businesses whenever possible, pay rent that covers extraordinary property taxes, maintain my property in keeping with my neighbors and have always supported community concerns, such as last year’s push to enforce the 25 mph speed limit on Stockton Street.
If I register with the borough, will they then begin to treat the property I live in as part of the community? Will they finally pick up the yard waste that has been sitting on my curb since August? If I register, will they finally pick up the leaves that have been sitting on my curb since the beginning of October? If I register, will they finally cut down the dead tree that hangs over my fence, shedding it’s limbs in every storm (contributing to the growing pile of neglected yard waste on my curb)? Will they replace the sidewalk on the east side of Church Street so that it is, in fact, walkable?
It is obvious to me that the borough treats it’s renters and those of us who do not own fancy Victorian houses on Stockton Street as second class citizens ignoring appearances and "public safety" in the less desirable parts of town.
If the council is so willing to neglect us, why don’t they continue to do so until they are prepared to do more then ineffectual (and expensive) meddling. I appreciate the borough’s concern for renters who live in substandard housing and who make easy targets for "slum lords," but currently, the borough itself resembles the worst kind of absentee landlord.
The existing laws concerning inspections after a tenancy is completed are adequate, and landlords should indeed register, perhaps disclosing how many renters per unit, but not who; and they should definitely not have to pay $35 every two years (sounds like an additional tax on landlords, how about another tax on home owners as well, just to make things even?).
The borough does not need more power to inspect or enforce or judge, it needs to consider more carefully it’s mismanagement of existing responsibilities and act accordingly.
Hightstown