Another Tax Increase For Montclair?

>>"I do believe the board's trying to contain costs, but I think they need to do more, a lot more."

Uh, yeah. And so does everyone in town government. Enough is enough. I'm maxed out on Montclair taxes as it is. This increase may be the tipping point me for and many others.

Wow! What alternate universe is the Board of Ed in? How about this for a could-be-done-but-won't plan?:
1. Freeze ALL capital expenditures other than maintenance.
2. Cut 15%-20% of district-level, non-instructing staff.
3. Cancel the new school. Just cancel it. Replace the fancy new school with additions or supplements to existing schools -- something like 2 free-standing steel buildings at each existing school site (not pretty, but absolutely functional).
4. Move to an elected BOE immediately.

It won't happen. Even suggesting things like the above will result in caterwauling and scare tactics from the government.

On second thought, since the Star Ledger article shows a decrease in the number of students, forget adding extra classroom space at all!

apple t - I agree. Cancelling the new school may be in order. The tax situation is out of control.

And stop with all the little spending - like banners about the town being 100 or new pedestrian paths that could have been painted onto the roads instead of being mason work. The small amounts add up - this is like death by a thousand papercuts.

Call me crazy, but I think the strategy to raise taxes is pure genius. Hear me out: the upcoming tax hike will surely result in hundreds of families fleeing Montclair, resulting in less crowded classrooms and lower expenditures for the school system. With enough tax hikes, in a few years our schools will be so empty we might even be in the position to sell off one of our schools and actually balance the town budget. In fact, I hear the Deron School is looking to expand.

And this is BEFORE new teacher contracts.

This is a joke right? This really, truly must be a joke.

Has the population size of the school changed?

Its nice to spend other peoples money. Hey BOE, why dont you dedicate the $2 million you spent in soil rememdiation for the Woodman field house to offset this increase? Oh yeah, your pals on the council already cut you the check and its gone!
Im SICK of this! Is this a contest to see how fast taxes can rise?

Has the population size of the school changed?

YES. According to the linked article, "The spending plan for a projected enrollment of 6,516 -- 45 fewer students than this year -- represents a 7.2 percent increase in the tax levy."

From the BOE website:

"Residents wishing to receive copies of the draft of the budget book may pick them up at Central Office on Monday, February 25."

Can't ANYONE there learn to make a pdf? It's really not hard.

I agree with appletony, there needs to be drastic cuts.

1. 1. Chinese language-Stop plans to add another language to the system. Many kids in our schools are reading at way below grade level, and cannot speak decent English. Let's focus in these kids first, before we expand our language departments.

2. Central office positions, 2nd Assistant Super-This position is vacant, so why not eliminate it, and save that $150,000

3. Centralize procurement process, Everyone in each school orders their own supplies, this process should be centralized in the BOE, with all requests requiring approval.

4. Freeze all salaries of top administrator positions.

5. Cancel all and any staff bonus.

Why not reduce some of the redundancy between the town and the BOE. There used to be a Joint Capital Budget Review Committee whose job it was to coordinate the capital expenses for the town, the library and the schools. It was done away with by the current manager. Why? The new school was also supposed to contain a community center (since eliminated to contain costs), but there was no input from PRCA as to how it was to be run. Why?

Both the BOE and the town build maintain playgrounds, athletic fields, buildings etc. as well as purchase supplies and other things. I am sure that there are many redundancies that could be eliminated.

Since the mayor appoints the school board, and the manager works for the council, perhaps we should be asking the candidates what they will do to bring about the consolidation and sharing of services.

lone, I would be stunned to learn that any school employee receives a "bonus". There may be an incentive bonus for the superintendent ( I am not familiar with his contract). If so, the Board is obligated to pay it as it is contractual, but they should end the practice as soon as they can.
I am sure that schools now have budgets that are prepared by central office. Principals order based on those prepared budgets, and all expenditures require central office approval.
Administrative personnel work under contracts, and the Board cannot simply freeze salaries if they are required by contract to pay them. When the current contract for administrators expires, then it can be looked at.
If they are doing without that second assistant now then yes, perhaps they don't need to fill that spot. Spread the work among those who are there now.
As far as Chinese goes well, I'm very much in favor of language instruction, but this might be a cost that can't be justified right now. An alternative might be for the school to charge a fee for this instruction, as many schools now do for co-curricular participation. Another possibility might be to offer one or at most two classes, thereby eliminating the need for a full-time teacher with benefits.
It is very hard for me to see how the rate should go up to such an extent when the enrollment is going in the other direction.

Remsen and company should be ashamed. A bunch of crooks they are!

Wow. I moved to Montclair 2.5 years ago. With the reval, tax increases, and sewer charge addback, my taxes have gone up 30% since I got here. This is brutal.

Don' cut Chinese. Our children must learn to be politely submissive to thier economic overlords.

謝謝主席先生，我有另一種

Oops. While my browser supports Chinese characters, the same is not true for this website.

1924

* The stock market begins its spectacular rise. Bears little relation to the rest of the economy.

1925

* The top tax rate is lowered to 25 percent - the lowest top rate in the eight decades since World War I.

* Supreme Court rules that trade organizations do not violate anti-trust laws as long as some competition survives.

1928

* The construction boom is over.

* Farmers' share of the national income has dropped from 15 to 9 percent since 1920.

* Between May 1928 and September 1929, the average prices of stocks will rise 40 percent. Trading will mushroom from 2-3 million shares per day to over 5 million. The boom is largely artificial.

1929

* Herbert Hoover becomes President. Hoover is a staunch individualist but not as committed to laissez-faire ideology as Coolidge.

* More than half of all Americans are living below a minimum subsistence level.

* Annual per-capita income is $750; for farm people, it is only $273.

* Backlog of business inventories grows three times larger than the year before. Public consumption markedly down.

* Freight carloads and manufacturing fall.

* Automobile sales decline by a third in the nine months before the crash.

* Construction down $2 billion since 1926.

* Recession begins in August, two months before the stock market crash. During this two month period, production will decline at an annual rate of 20 percent, wholesale prices at 7.5 percent, and personal income at 5 percent.

* Stock market crash begins October 24. Investors call October 29 "Black Tuesday." Losses for the month will total $16 billion, an astronomical sum in those days.

* Congress passes Agricultural Marketing Act to support farmers until they can get back on their feet.

1930

* By February, the Federal Reserve has cut the prime interest rate from 6 to 4 percent. Expands the money supply with a major purchase of U.S. securities. However, for the next year and a half, the Fed will add very little money to the shrinking economy. (At no time will it actually pull money out of the system.) Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon announces that the Fed will stand by as the market works itself out: "Liquidate labor, liquidate stocks, liquidate real estate� values will be adjusted, and enterprising people will pick up the wreck from less-competent people."

* The Smoot-Hawley Tariff passes on June 17. With imports forming only 6 percent of the GNP, the 40 percent tariffs work out to an effective tax of only 2.4 percent per citizen. Even this is compensated for by the fact that American businesses are no longer investing in Europe, but keeping their money stateside. The consensus of modern economists is that the tariff made only a minor contribution to the Great Depression in the U.S., but a major one in Europe.

* The first bank panic occurs later this year; a public run on banks results in a wave of bankruptcies. Bank failures and deposit losses are responsible for the contracting money supply.

* Supreme Court rules that the monopoly U.S. Steel does not violate anti-trust laws as long as competition exists, no matter how negligible.

* Democrats gain in Congressional elections, but still do not have a majority.

* The GNP falls 9.4 percent from the year before. The unemployment rate climbs from 3.2 to 8.7 percent.

1931

* No major legislation is passed addressing the Depression.

* A second banking panic occurs in the spring.

* The GNP falls another 8.5 percent; unemployment rises to 15.9 percent.

1932

* This and the next year are the worst years of the Great Depression. For 1932, GNP falls a record 13.4 percent; unemployment rises to 23.6 percent.

* Industrial stocks have lost 80 percent of their value since 1930.

* 10,000 banks have failed since 1929, or 40 percent of the 1929 total.

* About $2 billion in deposits have been lost since 1929.

* Money supply has contracted 31 percent since 1929.

* GNP has also fallen 31 percent since 1929.

* Over 13 million Americans have lost their jobs since 1929.

* Capital growth investments have dropped from $16.2 billion to 1/3 of one billion since 1929.

* Farm prices have fallen 53 percent since 1929.

* International trade has fallen by two-thirds since 1929.

* The Fed makes its first major expansion of the money supply since February 1930.
*
* Congress creates the Reconstruction Finance Corporation.

* Congress passes the Federal Home Loan Bank Act and the Glass-Steagall Act of 1932.

* Top tax rate is raised from 25 to 63 percent.

* Popular opinion considers Hoover's measures too little too late. Franklin Roosevelt easily defeats Hoover in the fall election.
* Democrats win control of Congress.

"Can't ANYONE there learn to make a pdf? It's really not hard."

My guess is they want getting this information to be inconvenient. After all these are educated, intelligent residents who might be able to see thru BS. I worked for a company like this once. The bookkeeper never had a straight answer and everything was always just a touch disorganized, until the internal audit showed the company had paid for the construction on her house, bought her a new car and all sorts of other perks. The company is gone and she’s behind bars.

Once Montclair does it, Bloomfield & Glen Ridge will follow with West Orange watching & thinking 'bout it, too. Snowball effect. This is going to hurt tens of thousands, with the ripple effect. It does truly suck !

There was a meeting last night. Did anybody go? Did Alvarez say why the proposed budget increase 7.2 percent? (The Star Ledger article didn't.)

I nominate appletony to attend the March 17 meeting to represent us Baristanuts, and ask the tough questions. We'll pay him his usual hourly rate.

Such OUTRAGE here.

But will anyone actually do anything?

I'm pissed, but alas I will simply write a check and go on with my business.... knowing that taxes are high and will only get higher in the great Garden State.

Yes professor, my family is beginning the process of going thru 30 years of childhood and family memories, clearing out the attic, making repairs and soon selling. I get teary every time I think the house I grew up in will be someone else’s home, but I’d like to see my parents retire and not have to eat cat food as a result of paying taxes that rival mortgages in other states.

Stupid question, but here goes...what happened to the state imposed 4% cap? I know last year, through loopholes, they were able to get an increase of 4.7%, but 7.2% is too far above to be a loophole, isn't it?

A few years ago I went to the coffee chats given by the BOE to provide info on the proposed budget. It ended up being a scare tactic by the BOE member on why it was absolutely necessary to pass this budget or see the schools fail. The BOE member was actually giveing advice to the people on what language to use to demand the budget pass. I believe Joyce Michaelson was present at this meeting.

No discussion of the budget itself and what was in it, just advice on how to get it through untouched. Pathetic.

Alvarez is right, these are economically bad times...so why put the screws to us for another 7.2%? Don't we pay him enough to make some hard decisions in terms of the budget?

you guys are lucky. Bloomfield BOE asked for 11%!

hrhppg,

Ummmm, the "eating cat food" comment is curious for folks able to pay taxes as they currently are.....

As for the house, feel good knowing that it will (hopefully) remain to create new memories for someone else.

Otherwise, why don't you buy it?

(And really, after 30 years selling even in this market will provide a huge bit of cash I imagine....)

It's interesting, the people who complain the most about the tax situation have kids in school and are the ones who benefit the most from the amount the town spends on schools.

Cat food is pretty nutritious. Some of it smells pretty good. I think I'd try the Friskies 'Turkey with Cheese' first and after that the 'Sliced Beef w. Gravy'.

It's interesting, the people who complain the most about the tax situation have kids in school and are the ones who benefit the most from the amount the town spends on schools.

That's because the people whose kids have graduated have already left for Clifton or Verona.

"It's interesting, the people who complain the most about the tax situation have kids in school and are the ones who benefit the most from the amount the town spends on schools."

That assumes the more we spend on schools the better they are, not necessarily true.

croiagusanam, wrote, I would be stunned to learn that any school employee receives a "bonus". As I remember it many of the CO senior staff receive a bonus, those include, Dir of Personnel, both Asst Superintendents, Business Administrator, and several others all receive a bonus, which is not part of any contract. While the super, also receives a bonus that is part of his contract, but it is performance based.

jersey,

We all benefit from a good school system. For most it is THE factor when considering a community.

Find the best schools and you will find the best communities.

Still wondering how a person w/o kids benefits? Great schools attract more educated and affluent folks to a town.

More educated and affluent folks (usually) means house prices rise. As housing prices rise, well you get the picture. (And while the market may decline, most folks don't pack up and leave.)

(I'm sure those w/o kids who sold during the last few years enjoyed these benefits.)

lone, I would have to see that to believe it. Where is that documented?
I have never heard of any people in the positions you mentioned, other than the superintendent, getting bonuses in the state of New Jersey. And if it is not in their contracts, how could it possibly be paid out?
Please provide some proof of this.

Prof, I agree with you completely. I have no kids and I have no complaints about tax dollars being spent to improve schools. I just find it interesting that people with children actually using the schools are the ones who are first to have issues with any increases in school budgets.

another reason to move out of Essex County. I don't know where you get off Montclair public schools are good. Livingston, Verona, Caldwell all perform much better and much lower taxes.

Good schools benefit all residents, not just those who have kids in the system. This is true on a national level as well -- a well-educated citizenry is going to be more productive, happier and better able to help the country to succeed. That is a basic that all folks, even those in Baristaville, seem to accept.
It is not unreasonable, however, to question the expenditures and to ask for a true accounting. It does not seem unreasonable to me that citizens who have kids AND those who don't should question these expenditures, and all other ones for that matter.

Jersey, I wonder if it has something to do feeling like they have a vested interest and don't want to see waste.

I don't think I'd have a problem if I thought we were getting a great benefit. As it is, Alvarez, like Corzine likes to spend, spend, spend. To which folks say, NO, NO, NO!

(Maybe it's the beard......)

(Waiting for Corzine's budget address today.....)

It's not the size of the increase that bothers me, it is the continued wasteful spending. What is the additional $600 I'm paying going towards. I bet if you ask one of the schools customers (your children), they couldn't tell you. Same goes for the administrators. Until people truly protest the raping of our wealth will continue. There is no impetus for the BOE or the town council to stop wastefully spending our money. Their lack of transparency is maintained with intent. After all, a government job is the greatest gig for the common man. Too bad you have to be related to one to get into the fraternity.

Just a little correction for jrippity - Livingston, Caldwell and Verona are part of Essex county.

I rate the schools in a very simple way: I check the Montclair Times to see where folks are headed after graduation.

From it, I continue to see many MHS grads going to the most elite schools. (Agreed, you will find a wide swath of kids who don't do too much, but that has more to do with the makeup of the community rather than the schools.)

So, somewhere 'round here, kids are getting great educations.

This is the only community I've lived in where each of the elementary and middle schools are completely different from each other.
Maybe that's something that should be looked at in terms of educational cost.
Montclair was also the only place I ever HEARD of that had the city workers drag town people's trash cans out to the curb.
lol
come on...
lol

"Montclair was also the only place I ever HEARD of that had the city workers drag town people's trash cans out to the curb."

Summit does it. Their taxes are cheaper.

"I rate the schools in a very simple way: I check the Montclair Times to see where folks are headed after graduation."

Prof, it is my belief that these kids would have made it into the great universities pretty much anywhere they attended High School.

Montclair High School didn't make these kids smart.

And I have to tell you, after a few months "our" top kids come home and say "Gee, I use to be at the top in Montclair High School, and now I'm in the middle."

They find that other Jersey towns like Princeton, Millburn, and Livingston also generate the really smart kids, and some also find out that small town High Schools in Ohio, and Arkansas, and many other states also generate their share.

I've long believed that most of Montclair's evaluation process consists of looking in the mirror. When you start looking outside, well ..... let's just say there's a different perspective!

"Montclair was also the only place I ever HEARD of that had the city workers drag town people's trash cans out to the curb."

Glen Ridge does it and they put the cans back. Also they don't selectivly throw out your garbage like they do in Montclair. (I lived there before moving to GR. If you had one aluminum can in your garbage they would refuse to take any of it.)

"Montclair was also the only place I ever HEARD of that had the city workers drag town people's trash cans out to the curb."

Glen Ridge does it and they put the cans back. Also they don't selectivly throw out your garbage like they do in Montclair. (I lived there before moving to GR. If you had one aluminum can in your garbage they would refuse to take any of it.)

"Montclair was also the only place I ever HEARD of that had the city workers drag town people's trash cans out to the curb."

Montclair used to do a lot of other services too. Poeple are paying 10 times as much taxes and getting very little in return. Montclair is my hometown, but I would have to be partying with Britney Spears and Linsay Lohan to even think about every moving back into town. What is going on in town with development and taxes is CRACKISH. Clearly, town officials have no clue what to do. As a homeowner, i could be scared sh*tless.

"I rate the schools in a very simple way: I check the Montclair Times to see where folks are headed after graduation."

I check the police blotter in the Times and Star ledger

"Ummmm, the "eating cat food" comment is curious for folks able to pay taxes as they currently are.....

As for the house, feel good knowing that it will (hopefully) remain to create new memories for someone else.

Otherwise, why don't you buy it?

(And really, after 30 years selling even in this market will provide a huge bit of cash I imagine....)
"

Yes - currently able to pay taxes with 2 incomes. But with retirements comes the end of those incomes. Retirement and Montclair living just don't seem to mix. Especially for a family whose main investment is a house.

I'd love for it to gain a new family and have new memories, but I am filled with images of wrecking balls and dumpters. I can't imagine why...

I can't buy it - I'd love to, but my childfree lifestyle doesn't mix with the big house, high taxes for good schools type of spending.

Did any of the above commenters/complainers actually go to the budget meeting? Have you gone to ANY BoE or Town Council meetings? I picked up a copy of the budget yesterday after work, went to the meeting, listened to the presentations, signed up to speak, hung around to talk to the Board members during the break. I plan to go to more meetings and encourage as many people as I can to get involved.

Less time on Baristanet, more time trying to do something. It's not rocket science, people!

What about introducing fees for extra-ciricular activities? Those unable to pay to play on sports teams or participate in dance, drama, robotics, etc. could have fees paid for by True Blue Spirit or similar booster groups.

What about simply auditing. Wouldn't it be nice to know where our money is going? Is that really asking too much?

So back to my comment about Montclair hauling out the garbage....
Yes, Glen Ridge does it, and Summit..
but they are both in NEW JERSEY, within close proximity to teach other (Summit is not even Essex county, that's the reason it's cheaper), and are also all wealthy communities.
jeez...do I have to spell it out
How about another state..and how about my comment about all the schools being different, thus more expensive?
(and you guys choose to focus in on the garbage comment...priceless)

I'm Jersey-ed out. No one can stop the hemmoraging and I am of the opinion what I get for the enormous amount I pay ain't damn worth it.

Can anyone recommend a nice hotel in a walkable area of Dublin for someone who does not intend to spend a ton of time in the room?

Earth to Alvarez::::

Get out the chainsaw and start cutting! Really, get serious.

BOE will crush this town if they don't get a reality check.

Cancel the new school! Over $35MM to benefit less than 200 kids, huh?

The real estate market is crumbling, we just had the reval, we don't know what taxes will be after all the appeals, and now this?

Election year is coming. Look for an end to Appointed School Board ..... soon.

ackme, Jury's, The Fitzwilliam, and Brown's are all in good spots and were reasonable before the dollar went south.
You might look in Howth to the north or Dalkey or Bray to the south, and take the DART in. Cheaper maybe.
Ireland is so expensive for Americans now that it almost makes you want to sleep under a bridge.

Look for an end to Appointed School Board ..... soon.

HA! I'll believe that when I'm reading all the complaints on B-Net about the candidates.

There are great B&Bs a little East of downtown, where the embassies are located. It may not be walkable to the downtown, so if you like to stay out late it may not work. The area is on a bus line, but that did not run late; taxis at night were in high demand.

I stayed at the Morrison, which is in a great location - across the Liffey from Temple Bar, right on the river. This was before Ireland went on the Euro, so it wasn't that expensive at the time.

Hey googleaddict, what did you learn?

I recommend the Jury's Inn at Christ Church in Dublin. It's walkable to just about everything: Temple Bar, Trinity College, St James Gate and a lot more. It's equivalent to an American "budget" hotel, like Fairfield Inn or Hampton Inn. It served as a great home-base for our day trips around Dublin.

"...as a result of paying taxes that rival mortgages in other states. "

We pay more in tax each month then we pay for our mortgage.

"Did any of the above commenters/complainers actually go to the budget meeting? Have you gone to ANY BoE or Town Council meetings? I picked up a copy of the budget yesterday after work, went to the meeting, listened to the presentations, signed up to speak, hung around to talk to the Board members during the break. I plan to go to more meetings and encourage as many people as I can to get involved."

I have been to many BOE and BOSE meetings. Let me tell you what google addict learned. Top line items that they wanted you to know. The budgeting report (from my memory) were made up of line items like "maintenance" and all questions that tried to get beyond a superficial level were given a vague non commited answer. Alvarez could have his bonus fall under the "maintenance" line item and you would never know and have no way to find out. I found the BOSE meetings to be worthless. I found the BOE meetings openly hostile to suggestions.
The reality is there is no accountability with the BOE and that is the first thing the new council should address when elected. I am not sure whether an elected board is better, but I do know that the machine is broken as it is.

Thanks for the suggestions.

Stop your bitching! We can afford it! Yes we can!

Remember: Most of us clawed our way into Montclair because it is a fine place! We overbid, outpaid, out smarted and NOW we pay!

Got to love it! Open your purse sister and toss your coins to the tax collector!

Stop your bitching! We can afford it! Yes we can!

Remember: Most of us clawed our way into Montclair because it is a fine place! We overbid, outpaid, out smarted and NOW we pay!

Got to love it! Open your purse sister and toss your coins to the tax collector!