By Lynn Petrovich
Here’s a little known fact about me that you probably could live without: I was conceived in New Jersey but born in LA, which means I toured the nation in the fetal position.
And of course like most products of conception, I started out likeable enough, endearing (and tolerable despite the occasional noxious fumes) but as time passed, grew larger, more demanding, with an insatiable appetite. Some would say now I’m too big for my britches.
Concepts can be good, like free education, or bad, like Agent Orange. They develop over years of input, and changes are often gradual; sometimes so obtuse they defy observation. And, occasionally when the process is complete, the result is a monster (like high property taxes) no one has the (political) courage to tame.
Except the very few.
Two weeks before the election, in his opinion column entitled “Christie, the man with no plan, blew his big chance”, Jeff Edelstein of The Trentonian, complained that Chris Christie would lose the governor’s race because he didn’t assert himself by explaining how he was going to reduce our property taxes:
“If Christie had done that - and nothing else – he would have cakewalked to victory in less than two weeks. Instead, this is what Christie has been pretty much saying and I paraphrase: ‘Uh, duh. Blippity blippity duh. Property taxes.”
Despite Mr. Edelstein’s rant, Christie is our next governor, so what better time to reduce “blippity blippity duh” to a plan of action (expecially because I’m sure Mr. Christie has no idea what he got into). For the past few years, I’ve been researching NJ’s 605 individual school districts, 566 municipalities, hundreds of local Authorities, and 21 County governments as a part my forthcoming book, NJ’s Naked Numbers.
So, Mr. Christie, listen up, below is my E-Z-Bake-Oven 12-step plan to reduce property taxes. It’s so easy a child could do it.
I call it: “P.S. 101: Whatever happened to Public Service?”
(1) FREEZE IT: Freeze salary increases for school superintendents and municipal finance officers (the highest paid) whose salaries are often $150,000 to $200,000. Some make as much as $233,500 (Long Branch).
Annual Savings: $14 million
(2) PLUG IT. Immobilize salaries for assistant superintendents, principals, assistant principals, business managers, assistant business managers, financial officers, assistant finance officers and all other top 15% wage earners.
Annual Savings: $25 million
(3) TIE IT. Tie salaries of the top 15% to no more than 2 times (Supers/CFOs) or 1.65 times (others) the median family income of that municipality. Carteret’s median family income at $41,994 would translate a maximum superintendent’s salary of $83,988. (Oh we’re talking big savings here).
Annual Savings: $316 million
(4) PARK IT. Eliminate the free cars. We no longer have to pinch ourselves imagining the highest paid actually using their own vehicles to drive around town.
Annual Savings: $16 million
(5) CUT IT. Reduce vacation days from 25 to 10, which would still leave a very generous package of 14 holidays, 4 personal days, and unlimited “seminar” days.
Annual Savings: $50 million
(6) CAP IT. Cap accrued sick and vacation time at amounts not to exceed a cumulative total of $15,000.
Annual Savings: $231 million in addition to (5) above.
(7) SHARE IT. Mandate 15% co-pay for insurance premiums for top 15% wage earners. Why are the highest compensated exempt from contributing to medical, vision, and dental plans? That’s regressive.
Annual Savings: $12 million
(8) MERGE IT. Any school district with less than 1,000 students should have shared services. Monmouth Beach has 300 students and is projected to spend over $5 million next year.
Annual Savings: $315 million
(9) LEGISLATE IT. NJ should be at the forefront of insisting that our representatives demand the State’s right to enact Universal Single-Payer Health Care. Congressman Frank Pallone (Democrat NJ-6th) said last August “When single-payer comes to the floor, I’ll vote for it.” Great!
Annual Savings $2.2 Billion
(10) ADVOCATE IT. Get us out of Iraq and Afghanistan. Return tax dollars to our communities! We are paying for a war that the majority of Americans do not want. Advocate for withdrawal from W-A-R.
Annual Savings for NJ: $3.4 Billion
(11) VOTE IT. Vote for independent candidates. Give the Republican-Democrat Duopoly a boot.
Annual Savings: No more paid empty offices.
(12) SCREW IT. Any Party boss or election contributor that does not advocate for these twelve very simple steps, we can say: Screw it, you’re out.
Annual Savings: Priceless
Disclaimer/Side Effects
This 12-step plan may lower blood pressure and increase family enjoyment. It’s not recommended for use by squeamish politicians who make promises they fail to keep (see definition of Republican or Democrat). It’s safe for use by pregnant women, those who used to be pregnant, are thinking about becoming pregnant, or were the result of someone’s pregnancy.
Total annual savings for this plan $6.6 Billion per year.
The day I learn Governor-elect Christie has the courage to positively address these ideas, I’ll shake my head and think to myself “And it isn’t even my birthday!”
Lynn M. Petrovich, Copyright 2009
0 comments:
Post a Comment