In a recent “wwcommunitydiscussion” forum at googlegroups.com, our group has been discussing the municipal funding of the firehouse renovation (for Arts Council operation), and the senior center expansion and upgrade. One participant compared this public expense unfavorably to the fact that most kids’ activities in our community are largely self-funded, if you take the schools out of the picture. However, this just isn’t possible.
As a 35-year West Windsor resident/ homeowner with “senior” standing, my perspective is that taxes have always been high here, but have grown increasingly out of proportion to what a long-term resident can reasonably handle. The overwhelming reason for this is our state’s screwball way of funding schools. It has always been astounding to me (a native of small towns in the central United States) that this relatively small town became, and has remained, unaffordable for so many of its senior (and not yet senior) residents who no longer have children in the school system.
I don’t blame us (West Windsor) for that. I blame New Jersey. [In case it hasn’t been noticed, the sporadic New Jersey Homeowners Tax Rebate for seniors which (as I recall) reached $2,000 per year in both 2008 and 2009, has been postponed for at least 18 months and may never again see the light of day.] Carole Carson, and perhaps mayors before her, wrote 12-plus years ago about the spiral our property taxes were causing, with senior residents being replaced by families who could take advantage of the schools’ benefits.
I think the quality, or perceived quality, of our school system was the engine of much of our home price increases (prior to the overheated price run-up in early-mid 2000s). But also the taxes to maintain this highly attractive school system were certainly the engine driving our tax bills, much more so than municipal or county taxes. This duality is not in our future. As New Jersey rolls back or impedes benefits to “wealthy” districts like ours or to seniors school taxes will continue to increase but will no longer be associated with home value increases.
To get to the main point: In discussing our taxes, you just cannot take the schools out of the picture. They have been the constant factor and driver of much of what has happened here in West Windsor since 1975. Nothing in our recent fiscal past can be fairly addressed without considering the enormous tax contribution from West Windsor residents that our schools require. And nothing in the past 35 years that I have seen allows the costs and benefits of our school system to be set aside in a discussion of how our municipal tax dollars are invested in this community. The self-funding of kid soccer and basketball programs is a very minor sacrifice for families with school-age children, who get the enormous school benefit that no other contingent of WW taxpayers can enjoy.
All in all, I am in favor of municipally funded initiatives such as the Arts Council’s management of the firehouse facility, and the senior center expansion. The latter will likely be of greater interest to me a few years from now (or, when an indoor lap pool and door-to-door jitney service is also added).
Meanwhile, I am thrilled this summer to again have the Waterworks facility, astoundingly thorough brush and leaf removal, and twice-weekly trash pickup.
And fine neighbors — I hope they stop moving out. Who knows, if we spend a little more of our municipal taxes on the empty-nesters, that might slow their exodus and help to stabilize the school population and our school taxes.
David Bivins
West Windsor
