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The Invisible Government

As I collected names for my petition to be placed on the ballot as a Union County Freeholder candidate, I found that many people do not know what a Freeholder is. It bothered me some, because county government has such a profound impact on our property tax and very few know how the money is being spent.

Everyone complains about how high their property tax is but few ever look at their bill. Only three government agencies are funded through property tax. They are the municipalities, the schools and the County. On the average, half of your property tax goes to the school system, a quarter goes to the municipality and a quarter goes to the County. Our property tax contribution to the County is substantial, knowing what the County does with the money demands more attention.

The County has raised their portion of the property tax almost 10% for the past three years in a row. If the municipality or school board did that, there would be an uproar. When the County does it. it is barley even noticed. Because County government is so invisible they can get away with running slipshod with their budget.

These increases have cost hundreds if not thousands of dollars to some property owners over the past three years. For families and businesses that rent, this increase is passed down. Municipalities and schools also suffer. The property tax pool is finite there is just so much that can be drawn out. Every dollar that the County takes is less that could have gone to the municipal or school budgets. Every town works hard to reign in their budget. I saw mayors and councils work to save a few thousand dollars here and there. They try everything in order not to raise taxes. The last resort are cutbacks in safety and education. Police and teachers are the largest draw on our property tax, as they should be. The County cuts into the property tax with that same force except that a tremendous amount of their budget is used for wasteful and exorbitant expenditures.

Excessive taxation and runaway spending is a symptom of a Freeholder board that has no checks or balance system. The nine member board made up of all Democrats has been in power too long. Without balanced representation on the board, people can expect another round of increased taxes and incessant spending.