West Milford continues to fight among itself over the re-valuation while Newark and the state sit back and watch our suffering increase.Newark owns more than a third of the acreage in West Milford but pays only 2 percent of the taxes.Homeowners possessing just a fourth of the town's land pay 96 percent.Homeowners and businesses pay an average of $6,018 per acre per year while Newark pays just $94.What's wrong with this picture?
Passaic County and the state of New Jersey have legislated us into a zero-sum fight among ourselves.Lakefront property owners presently building a case can only succeed at the expense of the remainder of the town, i.e., non-lakefront owners.The township must find a way to correct the inequities forced upon us; its residents should commit to assisting and making noise in the correct direction.
It is a crime that West Milford is strapped with the cost of the water for which we are the stewards.
West Milford gets little to nothing in return for collecting and protecting this natural resource while its consumers benefit by forcing us to do so.None of us get our gas tanks filled for free, groceries for which we aren't charged or any other commodity without having to pay for it; what makes water different?Wake up West Milford.
Robert Burr Broker, Realty Executives