>NJ Towns balance books by selling off their assets
For sale: marinas, property lots, paper roads and even used town halls.
You can find them all on municipal property sales lists as some New Jersey towns turn to selling off old assets to help balance their budgets.
Many local officials credit tough economic times for forcing them to explore innovative ways to make up budget deficits and to keep taxes down. The trend has included the sale of municipal assets such as land, marinas, utilities and outsourcing the cost of certain programs.
“It is not only a matter of the bad economy but in towns also trying to keep within the 2 percent property tax cap,’’ said Matthew Weng, a staff attorney for the state League of Municipalities, a voluntary association made up of about 566 municipalities throughout New Jersey. (Vosseller, Gannett)
