Passing the Budget: Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Of the 51 municipalities in the state of New Jersey operating on a fiscal year (July 1st – June 30th), only seven have already passed their budgets as of last week; the others are awaiting a decision on the pension deferral legislation and extraordinary aid. The reason most, if not all, the other 44 municipalities have not adopted their budgets is because they all have levy cap problems, and municipalities with levy cap problems have to apply to the Local Finance Board (LFB) for a waiver. If a waiver is not granted, municipalities would have to reduce their budgets by the amount by which the budget exceeds the levy cap. In the case of Plainfield, that number is just over $3 million. Currently, the LFB will not hear any applications for waivers until a decision is made on the pension deferral legislation and on extraordinary aid.

Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs has been urging the council to accept the 50% pension deferral, suggesting that this is the only feasible way to ease the property tax burden on our residents. This "urging" is misplaced, however, because based on the way the legislation is currently written, municipalities will not have a choice to defer or not to defer--deferral will be mandatory.

A 50% deferral for Plainfield will equate to $2.7 million, leaving Plainfield with a need for approximately $300,000 to get below the levy cap and avoid the need to go before the LFB for a waiver. It is likely that Plainfield will receive extraordinary aid to the tune of at least $300,000.

So, as it stands, Plainfield and other municipalities are between a rock and a hard place: they are over the levy cap and they need a waiver from the LFB. They can’t get a hearing for a waiver from the LFB because of the pending pension deferral legislation and a decision on extraordinary aid. Therefore, Plainfield cannot adopt its budget in its present form; the budget would have to be cut by a minimum of the amount by which it exceeds the levy cap, which is just over $3 million.

Between a rock and a hard place is not a good place to be, especially in these harsh economic times. However, tough times call for tough decisions and tough love.

It’s time for the mayor and council to make the tough decisions.

Regards,
Adrian

Plainfield Homeowners Need Help Now

The current mortgage crisis has affected homeowners in Plainfield in much the same way it has affected homeowners in every other part of the country. A significant number of homeowners in Plainfield are in crisis, struggling to keep up with their mortgages, utility bills, and other household expenses. As many as 1,200 homeowners in Plainfield are in a pre-foreclosure state. Our community residents need help and they need it now.

Recently, Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs held a community forum during which she announced that her administration will be organizing bus tours for local realtors and interested outside investors to preview Plainfield’s foreclosed properties. Although this might seem like a good idea to some, it is not the answer to the crisis homeowners are facing. Families are interested in finding ways to protect their biggest investment; they want to stay in their homes and remain a part of our diverse community.

Instead of conducting bus tours for realtors to look at foreclosed properties, thus compunding misery with indignity, the mayor and council need to organize homeownership retention seminars to provide struggling homeowners with every available resource that could help them to survive the mortgage crisis.

These seminars must be run by thoroughly vetted organizations approved by the government so that desperate homeowners do not fall victim to predatory lending scams. I call upon Mayor Robinson-Briggs and the city council to reach out to local banks as well as our local real estate brokers for sponsorship of such seminars. These seminars can occur over the next six months, providing information and opportunities for struggling homeowners who are in danger of losing their homes to find solutions before it becomes too late.

So, to the mayor, I say: hold off on those bus tours of foreclosed properties! Let’s work together to bring homeownership retention seminars to struggling Plainfield homeowners. This is the kind of assistance homeowners need in these very harsh economic times.

Regards, Adrian