New Legislation Proposes Referendum on Consolidation of Taxes and Fees

Senators Bob Smith and Joseph Kyrillos, Jr., have introduced S-458 which would require a binding statewide referendum on whether local property tax assessment and collection services, local animal control services and local public health services should be consolidated at the county level.  The Commissioner of Community Affairs and Director of the Division of Taxation in the Department of the Treasury would prepare a comprehensive master plan which would phase out control at the local level over the course of two years, and establish a county structure for overseeing each action.  The plan would be completed within 90 days of the bill being enacted.

Public opposition to the bill by the Tax Collectors & Treasurers Association of New Jersey can be found here, while an article summarizing of the City of Garfield’s opposition can be found on NorthJersey.com .  The bill would remove two main sources of municipal revenue – assessment and collection – from municipal control, while municipalities would also lose any interest earned from the incremental revenue from added assessments.

The author wishes to acknowledge the assistance of Cory K. Kestner, Esq., of McKirdy & Riskin, PA, in the preparation of this article.