This is the amount that Retired Judge Paul Porecca's lawsuit has cost the Millville Taxpayer..SO FAR!!
Lets see, that could pay for the the $24,000 for Summer fun for kids for the Terrific Tuesdays program, which entertained hundreds of kids a week at Corson Park for six consecutive Tuesday afternoons. The city will cut down this program due to budget cuts. This is just not right and nobody from the press has said a peep. Well, this lawsuit has cost the TAXPAYER of Millville 33,000 and the odomiter is STILL running.
Also the city is raising rental fees to pay for increased code enforcement. Kudos to Commissioner Dale Finch for proposing it. Nice job Dale!! Also he handled the retired Judge's questioning with poise. See the video below for yourself. It is very obvious that code enforcement is a problem I know I live in Center City and I participate in Dottie's Walk on Monday nights at 6pm. The city must stay vigilent on this issue to improve the quality of life in Millville. If the judge is so concerned with higher taxes and fees, he ought to drop his lawsuit. Also Steve Durst defended the tax abatements that Union Lake Crossing receives. Another blogger R.D Owens covers this issue well. I would state in response that the Union Lake Crossing has done pretty good considering how severe this recession is presently.
Lets see, that could pay for the the $24,000 for Summer fun for kids for the Terrific Tuesdays program, which entertained hundreds of kids a week at Corson Park for six consecutive Tuesday afternoons. The city will cut down this program due to budget cuts. This is just not right and nobody from the press has said a peep. Well, this lawsuit has cost the TAXPAYER of Millville 33,000 and the odomiter is STILL running.
Also the city is raising rental fees to pay for increased code enforcement. Kudos to Commissioner Dale Finch for proposing it. Nice job Dale!! Also he handled the retired Judge's questioning with poise. See the video below for yourself. It is very obvious that code enforcement is a problem I know I live in Center City and I participate in Dottie's Walk on Monday nights at 6pm. The city must stay vigilent on this issue to improve the quality of life in Millville. If the judge is so concerned with higher taxes and fees, he ought to drop his lawsuit. Also Steve Durst defended the tax abatements that Union Lake Crossing receives. Another blogger R.D Owens covers this issue well. I would state in response that the Union Lake Crossing has done pretty good considering how severe this recession is presently.
5 comments:
I always find it interesting that two people can view the same thing and come to completely opposite opinions.
Finch did not respond well at all. He repeated "enhanced" over and over. The gist of it is that that the money raised for the increased fees/tax (~$300,000) will be used to plug budget holes in other areas. Finch kept saying it would enhance the operations of the inspectors. This is nonsensical given no new inspectors will be hired.
Other than Derek Leary, who works directly for Weed & Seed, and not code enforcement, there has been virtually no code enforcement on existing properties in center city and the Third Ward. As Krull noted, anyone taking the time to walk through these areas will see hundreds of violations. So I suppose doing some enforcement instead of ignoring these areas is "enhanced" enforcement.
The cited figure of $300K is not the additional amount that will be raised through increased registration fees for rentals. It is closer to the total revenue raised from these landlord fees. There are about 3,000 rental units in Millville. As I read it, the ordinance will increase the fee by $50 after September 1. This will raise an additional $150K. Previously, $225,000 was raised from registration fees, so the new total will be $375K.
It makes sense that revenue for Buildings and Inspections has decreased because of declining construction permits. If the hole has to be plugged, raising rental registration fees is one way to do it. Better yet might be seriously going after bad landlords who rent to criminals and nuisance tenants through the new "excessive use of municipal services" ordinance. This ordinance will require landlords to pay for the actual cost of services if the city has to visit the rental unit four times in one month. Some rental units have dozens of police calls in one month! The landlords need to be held responsible.
These are not landlord fees. These fines are passed onto the renter. Fee increases are taxes plain and simple.
Raising the fees in one area to cover shortages in another is bad politics. If there were a boon in construction (unlikely, I know), would the inspection fees be reduced? Of course not. Once instituted, taxes do not
decline.
In the time of a recession, does it make sense to raise taxes?
The lack of code enforcement has degraded a sizeable area of center city Millville. The cost of doing the same feeble code enforcement would in time cost more to the taxpayer in less ratables and therefore more taxes that the rest of us would have to pay to make up for the properties that are allowed to decay.
The lack of enforcement is not due to the lack of funds. Raising the fee does not produce more enforcement.
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