“I am contemplating retirement in a few years. I am not rich, but I saved a few bucks and have no mortgage . I actually like it here and lived in NJ all my life. For those of us who do not have children in public schools (and never did) the biggest expense is the schools portion of the real estate tax. If you want to keep us here to subsidize your kids, you better figure out a way to limit our tax increase. If we leave, you can be certain our home will be purchased by a young family with children requiring an education In the old days, many long time Ridgewood families stayed here for generations (and thanks to them it’s a nice town – before the vinyl siding and and lawn sign crowd moved here from NYC) There has always been a “turnover ” of residents but taxes will chase us out faster, and your taxes will go up exponentially . Residents with no kids in school get NOTHING in return while SUBSIDIZING those who do. “
Ridgewood NJ, according to Garden State Initiative , once the symbol of an affluent America , Greenwich, Connecticut is enduring a collapse of its real estate market as high-earners flee the high-tax state. This was typically preceded by these homeowners establishing residences in Florida or other more fiscally attractive states. This sounds all to familiar, New Jersey? The storm that is currently hitting Connecticut’s real estate market is starting to impact New Jersey. As high end real estate values deflate, as is occurring in Greenwich, the taxes to support local governments and schools will be redistributed to moderate and lower value property owners.
“Well after almost 30 years in town and countless hours of debate we have reluctantly decided to give up on RW. We raised our children here, made some good friends, and enjoy many aspects of the area. But the village has just sucked every bit of tolerance from us. Property taxes north of $40,000 that will never go down, parking rates that are just ridiculous, can’t water the lawn, rampant nepotism and weak selfish leaders, an awful expensive commute to NYC, and a $111,000,000 school budget have combined to drive us out. All of this with NJ state seeming to do everything it can to also drive people out.
Anyone looking for a nice house on the west side let us know. Wish all well”
Ridgewood NJ, The Ridgewood Public Schools is embarking upon a strategic planning initiative to examine its strengths, challenges and opportunities. The public is encouraged to attend a public information session about the initiative, set for 7 p.m. on TUESDAY, April 2 at the Ridgewood High School Campus Center.
In addition, a community survey has been created we are asking all to take by Monday, April 8. We hope you will go to our website to RSVP for the Tuesday, April 2 info session and also access the survey link below.
Ridgewood NJ, Governor Murphy today announced state school aid funding for his Fiscal Year 2020 budget proposal that provides record levels of support for New Jersey schools.
The Governor’s proposed budget would provide $15.4 billion to support schools, a record level for New Jersey education funding.
Ridgewood NJ, Each year, the average American household spends $2,279 on real-estate property taxes plus another $440 for residents of the 27 states with vehicle property taxes. With such high costs, it’s no surprise that more than $14 billion in property taxes go unpaid each year, according to the National Tax Lien Association.
In order to determine who pays the most relative to their state, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its 2019 Property Taxes by State report as well as accompanying videos, which compares home and vehicle taxes across the nation and features insights from a panel of experts.
Property Taxes in New Jersey (1st=Lowest; 25th=Avg.):
Real-Estate Property Tax Rank: 51st
Vehicle Property Tax Rank: 1st
Real-Estate Tax on Median State Home Value: $7,840
“Most parents in Ridgewood have high expectations for their kids, it’s why they’re willing to pay the high property taxes with the expectation of one of the best schools in the tristate area. Our high school just ranked #26 in the Niche survey and we rank #23 in NJ for SAT scores according to NJ.com last fall. This is acceptable to you? Will it improve with the current administrators we have? If the answer is “no”, then we need to attract better administrators.”
“The ONLY way to keep property taxes from rising exponentially is to encourage long time residents with no children in the schools to stay put. We do not ask for anything other than basic services such as police, fire, and plowing the snow and picking up leaves. Many of us spend time at our summer or winter homes, in order to meet the 181 day requirement to be a resident of a more tax friendly state so we don’t even vote here . Of the 14 homes on my block, only 6 have school age children. If you chase the other 8 homeowners out with higher taxes, chances are about 100% that the purchasers of these homes will have children, so add 12-15 students to the roster. Due to cheap interest rates the homes are more affordable to more buyers who struggle with a big mortgage for 10 years while their kids are in school, then bail out as soon as they graduate . I grew up here and historically empty nesters would stay since it is a nice place to live. The trend of turnover has been accelerated by these people who are “marginal” by financial qualifications who need to bail out and go back to cheaper living such as a small condo in mahwah or renting in NYC. The old timers ask for very little. Do us a favor and keep the charm of the village. Keep your dumb lawn signs off the property , rake your leaves so they don’t blow in my yard ,fix the peeling paint on your house, and keep your rubbish barrels in the back yard. Or chase us out and your kids will be on split sessions unless you want a huge tax increase to expand the school”
Hackenasck NJ , Tuesday’s Hackensack school bond referendum was crushed by an overwhelming majority. The $170 million referendum was voted down to defeat by a 2225 to 638 margin on Tuesday . School officials put out the following information on the district website :
1st in the nation for highest property taxes 3rd most expensive state to live in 5th in the nation for highest per student school spending 5th in the nation for highest state income tax 6th most expensive state to purchase a home #1 most densely populated state in the nation with 1,216 people per square mile
Land is at a premium and developers want to cash in and develop every last inch
FACT: Renting or owning a home should be affordable to NJ residents who qualify, but not at the expense of local ordinance that is contrary to NJ municipal land use law. FACT: NJ’s affordable housing (AH) mandates are not working and our government is not listening to the voice of the people – who support AH but want it to be implemented fairly, honestly and sensibly. FACT: The current pace of proposed AH development is not reasonable or sustainable and will be catastrophic to towns, schools, volunteer emergency services, infrastructure and to NJ’s natural resources, ecosystems, waterways and environment.
What We Want 1) We believe municipal AH obligations should not be determined by the courts and that there should be clear, statewide guidelines to follow. 2) “Builder’s remedy” lawsuits should be eliminated as a mechanism used to satisfy a municipality’s AH obligations. 3) We believe the laws governing AH must consider the impact on our schools, roads, traffic and congestion, emergency services and the preservation of open space and our quality of life. 4) NJ’s environment must be protected from sprawl and overdevelopment; AH should not be built on environmentally-sensitive land or land that has been remediated from contamination. 5) AH that is built should not “expire” and should count towards all future AH rounds and obligations. 6) We, the residents of NJ, seek to disband the Fair Share Housing Center (FSHC) who takes our hard-earned tax dollars to enrich the wallets of lawyers and developers at the expense of NJ’s future. 7) We, the people, demand a bi-partisan review of AH and legislative reform to make NJ’s affordable housing fair.
We are calling for reasonable ways to address the current problems to enact clear legislative guidelines that will: 1) ensure that AH benefits those in need; 2) implement a regional or statewide approach; 3) expand the ways in which municipalities can address their fair share of affordable housing—FAIRLY!
“With the declining tax base, who is going to pay for all of these excessive salaries and benefits (platinum health care, very generous pension & unused sick leave payouts) negotiated in bad faith by the public sector unions ?”
“States with lower state & local taxes make much more sense for businesses to invest given the SALT deduction limits of $10,000 on their employees hurt them in high tax states like NJ.”
“The average residential property tax in Ridgewood is actually now $18,000 as of 2018/19 tax year… just as state & local tax deductions are limited to $10,000. What are the BOE and Village Council doing to help Ridgewood families keep food on their tables and gas in their cars given higher commuter pass costs, tolls, higher parking permit fees, higher Graydon and tennis pass fees, etc? And where are the vaunted schools & Village services those taxes are paying for ? In the tank.”
Paramus NJ, Assemblyman Kevin J. Rooney was at Bergen Community College attending the NJ Economic and Fiscal Policy Workgroup for Bergen County with Senator Kristin M. Corrado and several other legislators. Our state faces a fiscal crisis of unsustainable legacy pension and benefit costs that suppress economic growth and competitiveness by crowding out needed investments in infrastructure, higher education, and economic development that other states are making. The legislature created the Workgroup to identify ways to address soaring pension and benefit costs, hold down property taxes, make state and local government and school districts more efficient, leverage the value of our assets, and mitigate the negative impact of the federal tax laws that target high-cost states.
Deliver subpar services at extraordinary costs long enough and the masses will accept that normal and attack those who expect excellence. At 40k a year taxes I expect more. As an example it is actually now cheaper for us to get a non resident glen rock train station sticker and park there
In what has become an unfortunate annual occurrence, New Jersey was ranked 50th in terms of overall tax climate by the Tax Foundation – solidifying the Garden State’s “worst in the nation” status yet again as the State limps across the fiscal finish line towards the new year.
