I saw this sign posted at the corner of Holland Hill and Crestwood Roads yesterday morning. Unfortunately, it was gone about 2 hours later. I don’t know who put it there, but I love the guerilla initiative.
In time the since 2002, our property taxes on our house have risen 11.5%. So a one-year jump of 3% seems very extreme. Especially since the value of my house has dropped, not to mention my lack of income. However the town’s expenses don’t rise and fall with the value of properties and people’s incomes. Everywhere I turn it seems budgets are thin. There has to be some waste. I’d love for somebody to comment below where the town is wasting money.
Oh, if you know anything about this sign and it’s maker, please share!
As one of the members of the RTM, which gets last crack at the budget,I think you hit the nail on the head: While house values have dropped and, for many of us, income has disappeared or, at best, stagnated, the cost of delivering everything Fairfielders have come to expect– the various excellent services from police and fire to parks & rec and the stellar school system– has indeed only gone up.
Yes, waste should be ferreted out and efficiency sought wherever possible in the town government and the school administration.
But I respectfully suggest that, in the end, we must all be careful not to cut so close to the bone in any given area that we end up having to pay more later to fix long-term damage inflicted by a short-sighted reaction to the present situation.
–David Cullen
Representative Town Meeting, District 7
…be glad you aren’t here in Hoboken, NJ, where property taxes are going to be up ~35-40% this year… Glad we rent in a tax-abated building!