Dear Mayor:

Here is an update on some developments on our efforts to secure property tax relief and reform.

At our third annual property tax summit, earlier today, Assembly Speaker Joe Roberts briefed us on a package of initiatives that he will push, in an effort to promote some “CORE” property tax related reforms. The acronym stands for:

1. Clearing hurdles to shared services. This will include: the creation of a single, uniform, modern law authorizing consolidation and shared services between and among municipalities, municipalities and school districts, and local units and counties; the removal of civil service barriers to consolidations and shared services; and the withholding of Per Capita Aid from inefficient municipalities.
2. Overriding waste in schools. This would involve: the creation of “super” County Superintendents with powers to control school administrative spending and to promote joint purchasing and shared services; and the convening of a bi-partisan “School Aid Reform and Accountability Task Force.” The Task Force would meet over the Summer to adopt recommendations for a new school aid formula, to be submitted to the Legislature this Fall.
3. Reining in pension abuses, by having the Assembly Appropriations Committee meet, over the Summer, to act on substantial public pension reforms.
4. Empowering Citizens. This would include: moving school board elections to November and eliminating the referendum on school budgets under cap; moving Fire District elections to November, eliminating the referendum on fire district budgets, but subjecting fire districts to the cap and to DCA oversight; requiring more openness in and access to school and municipal budgets and contracts; and allowing for binding referendums on consolidations and shared services.

Pending a thorough review of the specific bills that will implements this initiative, we commend Speaker Roberts for his consistent attention to the property tax crisis. We will, most likely, support much of this package. We may object to other components of the plan. But we are at least happy to hear that the Assembly intends to use the Summer months to try to advance the cause of property tax relief.

Speaker Roberts also announced that, though he could not make any promises, the first place he would restore funding to the Governor’s proposed budget would be to the Extraordinary Aid program, which is slated to be cut by $13 million.

Finally, Speaker Roberts also reiterated his willingness to accepted rational amendments to the Citizens’ Property Tax Reform Convention bills, if that is what is needed to advance the cause of meaningful and sustainable property tax reform.

Other good news was the announced by Senate Minority Leader Leonard Lance and by Assemblymembers Jennifer Beck and Kevin O’Toole, who indicated that all of the members of the Republican Caucuses in both the Senate and the General Assembly would welcome the opportunity to meet this Summer, in a special session for property tax reform.

We will soon provide you with a detailed analysis of the individual components of the “CORE” Reform Plan. And we will keep you updated on any property tax relief and reform developments.

For further information, contact Jon Moran at 609-695-3481, ext. 21.