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Residents need to be more cognizant of township spending
(by SANFORD SORKIN - October 16, 2008)
The headline in the Oct. 9 paper is frightening. The statement that we will have another tax increase next year is even more so. Why? If we acknowledge that the country is facing difficult times, people are losing jobs, the economy is in a downturn, houses aren’t selling as in the past, why can’t we reduce taxes and not increase the burden on everyone year after year?
If we can’t reduce municipal services or debt reduction costs in any possible way, if hiring freezes are impossible, if we literally have no control over our own spending, then we have no choice but to look to the other two areas we fund. This means that if we have no say in our contributions to Essex County, then the only means of reducing the tax burden to residents is to reduce the funding directed to the public schools. I love art, music, sports and plain old everyday education, but if we can’t afford it all, we can’t have it all.
I also am once again requesting that The Montclair Times participate in the program of monitoring the town spending by publishing the town checkbook every week. We need to see exactly where our taxes are going.
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