"They couldn’t do that of course, but it was a symbolic gesture," said Montclair State University Economics Professor Phillip LeBel.

But as the economy continues spiraling downward, LeBel predicts another mutiny is on the way.

"It’s like a time bomb waiting to go off," said LeBel.

Montclair Mayor Jerry Fried is not expecting a similar revolt, but the economic debacle and Montclair’s own "fiscal crisis" is prompting local officials to respond.

With a number of residents losing their Wall Street jobs, Fried promises he is not going to let property taxes have more of an impact than they already have.

In 2007, the average Montclair homeowner paid $14,238 in property taxes, up $5,448 since 1998, according to the N.J. Department of Community Affairs.

Last year, the average homeowner saw roughly $2,430 of the tax bill go to Essex County, while about $3,500 went to pay for municipal services, such as fire and police.

But the lion’s share – about $8,300 – nearly 60 percent of homeowners’ bills, went to the Montclair School District.

Back in July, when the 2008 municipal budget was passed, it resulted in an overall property tax increase of 7.02 percent, according to Montclair Chief Financial Officer Gordon Stelter.

"We pledge to have less of a tax increase than we had last time," Fried said. "It means we have some painful choices [to make]… It will mean cutting some services we feel are not essential.

"Everybody is having a huge problem paying the huge property taxes … in Montclair, and that has been going on for a while. The council is going to do whatever we can to create efficiencies," he said.

Stelter said that property taxes had been rising in Montclair between 3 and 5 percent each year from 1999 until 2004.

Taxes leveled off briefly in 2004 and 2005. Yet, since 2006, pension, health insurance costs, utility fees, and reductions in state aid have again agitated the rise in property taxes, Stelter said.

Though the economic crisis may cause some property owners to fall behind on their municipal taxes, Township Manager Joseph Hartnett said that historically people still pay their taxes during economic downturns.

"It’s very rare for a municipality, no matter how bad the economy, to lose significant tax revenue," Hartnett said.

Money is budgeted to cover unpaid taxes, he said.

Township officials are working with Essex County housing officials, as well as Rutgers University, tracking residents’ mortgage situations locally and throughout New Jersey.

"Thus far, there is some activity in Montclair with people late in their mortgage payments," Hartnett said. "It is the first sign that people are struggling financially."

Fried said the local foreclosure situation has him concerned. "There are several houses of lower income residents that have been foreclosed upon. Homeowners are feeling a lot of pain," he said.

The mayor is looking to restrain property tax increases through "smart growth," which will take the form of development on or near Bloomfield Avenue. Keeping Montclair afloat during an economic meltdown means attempting to draw commercial development and small-businessowners to the township, the mayor said.

He is hoping that more shops and attractions, such as the Wellmont Theater, will draw outsiders to Montclair. "It’s going to be very hard for small-businessowners everywhere. But the important thing to look at is that Montclair is a unique community and many residents are looking not just at their property taxes but they are considering the common good.

"We need to pull together to get through it," Fried said.

First Ward Councilman Rich Murnick said he has already seen the financial crisis hit Montclair. "Getting a mortgage, trying to get a car loan, borrowing money from banks, the lending issue. We have to see a trickle-down effect," Murnick said. "Life doesn’t stop because of a financial crisis. It just makes things even that much more difficult."

"People are scared," he said. "They are seeing their 401-K plans, a savings that took years to accumulate, being wiped out in less than three weeks."

Jerry Cantrell, president of the grassroots The New Jersey Taxpayers Association, blames state and local politicians for the crisis, calling the economic turbulence part of the "cancerous culture of deception in this state." The association intends to bring pressure on Trenton to roll back spending at the state and local levels.

"I think the politicians in Trenton and the politicians in our own towns have set us up for disaster," he said.

Contact Tanya Drobness at drobness@montclairtimes.com.