By HARRY HURLEY
Political Columnist
In an exclusive, major breaking news report, Atlantic County Executive Dennis Levinson confirmed live on-the-air on the “Hurley in the Morning” program on WPG Talk Radio 95.5 FM & 1450 AM for the first time (on Thursday, August 1, 2019 at 7:04 a.m.) that Atlantic City property taxpayers will be facing a massive tax increase, following several years of no increases.
Levinson has demonstrated his usual high degree of transparency to the public, spending the past four years advising that a day of reckoning was soon-to-be upon us. That day has now arrived.
The preliminary tax increase is 46 cents per-$100 of assessed property value. In simple terms, this means that if you own a home in Atlantic City worth $ 150,000, your taxes will increase by about $ 700 per-year.
I have heard from many many taxpayers who are fearful that they will have to sell their homes and move out of Atlantic City, because they cannot afford this huge tax increase.
The breakdown of the pending tax increase is as follows:
Atlantic County taxes will go up by 26 cents per-$ 100 of property assessed value; a detailed explanation about the County portion will follow.
Local/School/Library taxes will go up by 20 cents per-$ 100 of property assessed value.
As you can imagine, once we broke this news, Atlantic City resident taxpayer anger has hit fever pitch. For a few years, Atlantic City taxpayers had grown to enjoy no tax increases after experiencing high property tax increases year-after-year.
All during the Atlantic City “no tax increase” years, it was artificial. Atlantic County government had been providing an average of $ 7 million dollars per-year in rebates. This was the byproduct of the many successful property tax appeals that were filed by the Atlantic City casinos.
Last year, Atlantic County provided Atlantic City with a $ 7 million dollar rebate. This year, the rebate will only be $ 300,000. During one recent past year, Atlantic County provided Atlantic City with a $ 16 million rebate.
This all started with the state of New Jersey PILOT (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) law that will provide tax stability for our leading (Atlantic City Casino) industry for a total of 10 years; six years remain. The Atlantic City casinos followed with successful tax appeals, (going back a number of years). In fairness, they were entitled to the tax relief, because they had been overtaxed for years.
This resulted in Atlantic County owing Atlantic City tax rebates over several recent years. Contributing to this year’s tax shortfall is also the fact that property valuation in Atlantic City is down by another $ 350 million. When a city loses valuation, it loses on the incoming property taxes to be paid.
Regarding the Atlantic County portion of the upcoming Atlantic City property tax increase, the truth is self-evident. The County is no longer responsible to pay millions of dollars in rebates.
Levinson was honest about it and he warned everyone that this day would come.
This leaves Atlantic City with a substantial revenue shortfall, however, it’s one that should come as no surprise. The Atlantic County provided rebates were properly scheduled to begin and end on a set time table, which has now expired.
Regarding the upcoming 20 cent Atlantic City local purpose tax increase that’s coming; that’s another story. The only way out of this is by dramatically reducing overall spending, or, the state of New Jersey stepping up with additional transitional aid.
The state has already been providing millions of dollars each year in transitional aid to Atlantic City. Let me float a third idea which should be taken under serious advisement by the local, county and state officials. By every legal state definition, the Atlantic City Public Schools District should be formally considered to be an Abbott School District.
It is only because of the uniqueness of the Atlantic City Casino Industry that has resulted in the Atlantic City public schools system not being included as an Abbott district. However, now that the casinos make payments in lieu of taxes, there is no legitimate reason to keep the Atlantic City Public Schools System out of Abbott District designation.
I have tried to make the case for years, that (even despite our gaming industry) Atlantic City always should have been provided with Abbott district designation status.
In New Jersey, Abbott school districts are given state assistance to make certain that students receive a “thorough and efficient” education as is required by the New Jersey state constitution.
Abbott districts were created in 1985, as a direct result of the Abbott vs. Burke case. This decision was in response to a determination that urban cities throughout the state were receiving substandard primary and secondary education.
In 1990, the Abbott II decision was even more far-reaching. It requires that designated Abbott districts must be state-funded at the average level of New Jersey’s wealthiest school districts.
Finally, in 2007, the Abbott district system was replaced by the New Jersey Schools Development Authority. It should come as no surprise that this state bureaucracy has been a disaster. This entity still must honor the requirements Abbott I and II.
There are currently 31 Abbott districts in New Jersey, which are now called “SDA Districts.” This is a very important status to achieve, because the state is required to pay all costs for school building and renovation projects for all Abbott districts.
There are 691 school districts in New Jersey. This means that 660 school districts are not Abbott districts. Yet, 60% of all New Jersey state education dollars goes to these 31 districts. That is astounding. It has resulted in about 25% more in state funding (per-pupil) for each of these Abbott school districts vs. non-Abbott districts.
Atlantic City’s next door neighbor, Pleasantville is an Abbott district. Atlantic City is not. It’s not fair. It’s not right. Atlantic City should file litigation and demand inclusion to be an Abbott district. Atlantic City meets each and every requirement.
Atlantic City should demand equal treatment, which is required under our state and United States Constitutions.
They get a bad rap, however, Atlantic City Superintendent of Pubic Schools Barry Caldwell and the Board of Education have done a credible job over the past several years. I know that many will instantly disagree with this statement. However, let me share with you the unambiguous facts and then let them speak for themselves.
This will be a direct example of perception vs. reality vs. the truth!
The Atlantic City Pubic Schools tax levy has been flat at $ 81 million dollars per-year for the last four years. You won’t find this accomplishment in many other school districts, where costs routinely keep going up year-after-year.
Three years ago, the Atlantic City Board of Education reduced its budget by $ 23 million dollars. They eliminated more than 250 positions and now only hire through attrition with state of New Jersey approval.
The ACBOE is also presently preparing to implement these additional cost savings: Move the ACBOE from a $ 650,000 yearly rental expense for board offices to a “free” arrangement with the New Jersey Casino Reinvestment Development Authority.
Additionally, the ACBOE has placed the New Jersey Avenue School and other buildings up for sale. This will save in reducing regular maintenance and upkeep costs and generate revenue by the sale of the properties.
If you think this year’s tax increase is bad news … Atlantic City Council President Marty Small confirmed to me on Friday, August 2, 2019 that the city faces a substantial multi-million dollar shortfall for the following year.
Stay tuned and please hold your wallet tight.
Harry Hurley is the president of Harry Hurley Consulting and Communications, LLC. He hosts the daily talk radio program “Hurley in the Morning” 6-10 a.m., weekdays on Townsquare Media, WPG Talk Radio 104.1 FM & 1450 AM, where he also serves as the senior programming consultant. Harry was elected to both the Philadelphia (2013) and New Jersey (2015) Radio Broadcasting Hall of Fame. Harry Hurley has also been selected (2015-2019) as one of the Top 100 Most Important Talk Radio Hosts in America by Talkers Magazine. Hurley is the inaugural recipient of the New Jersey Broadcasters Association “Broadcaster of the Year” (2019). Hurley was also selected by The Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia as the Broadcaster/Person of The Year for Philadelphia (2019). Hurley is performing national fill-in, on-air talent work for FOX News Radio on their nationally syndicated platforms. He has hosted various television programs in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware and is the editor and publisher of his news and information website,www.harryhurley.com. Send comments to HarryHurley@aol.com
