I have said this all along. Tax revenue is down and as far as the BOE being fiscally prudent nothing could be further from the truth. They are the main reason for the exodus out of town. They spend, spend & spend.

I disagree about the reason for the exodus regarding the shrinking of the tax base. The positive ratables are businesses in Town, not residences. Residential real estate is a negative ratable -- they cost more in services than they provide in taxes.

If the Council weren't so business un-friendly, there would be fewer reasons for businesses to either leave the Town or simply never come here. There are a lot of folks who simply refuse to do business here -- especially architects, engineers, builders and others who must get involved with planning & zoning because this Town has the deserved reputation of being difficult to deal with. Even Christie's office (when he was US Attorney) joined a lawsuit against the Town for religous discrimination in zoning regarding the mosque lawsuit. Then there's the sports dome. Then there's my wind turbine. Now there's the dormitories for the school that wants to relocate from Clifton to Wayne. These are the ones that have gotten some ink in the press -- there are plenty more. So add these up together and put dollars next to them. Guess what? They total millions of dollars in litigation costs and lost tax revenue. And don't forget the big box stores that wanted Rt 23 in Wayne but were pushed into neighboring towns by the powers that be. Mo' money, mo' money, mo' money -- gone.

Its a cop out for the Town leadership to blame the shrinking of the tax base for their tax increases, when they have been the reason for the shrinking.

I believe 475 Valley, the school administrators and teachers are willing to take a voluntary pay cut along with contributing to their health insurance and benefits. That will only begin to bring the budget down. We the people, we the taxpayers are suffocating with the taxes that these entities have created without our approval. Time to cast them out.

The BOE is now in their spinning mode. They will pull anything out of their hat to spin information. This is bullcrap. If thiis is the case, why did they hire a PR firm for 30k a year.Why did they hire a new Ass't Super for about 155-160K/ yr, if things are "SHRINKING" that much, why spend our hard earned tax dollars on these expenses. We haven't had a Ass't Super for about 5 years now and have gotten along just fine without one. Why did the Asst Business Administrator get 2 5K raises in one year? These people are spin artists and need to be defeated at the polls. GET RID OF THEM!

I think the services of an exorcist are in order.

It is hard for me to understand this 4% salary increase of a town employees.
People don't get raises for years since the economy crises, and Wayne is still running business like a blind. Money is being spend like we never had recession, police force is increasing. We keep increasing already very high taxes in Wayne while other towns are decreasing it. More than 25% of citizens here are on the verge of bankruptcy, loosing jobs and and foreclosing their homes.
They think people will pay anyway. But the middle class which represent most of the people in Wayne is broke already. Our government here should finally step down from the clouds and realize that.

They should have to pay for their benefits, just like the rest of us. We should force them to have coverage through their spouses employers. Private industry is doing it already.

Rob, point one regarding the mosque, it would have been tax exempt and thus does not really play into this discussion. Same as this regarding the dormitories, religious school , would have been exempt. National economic factors leading to loss of a couple of car dealerships, shuttered restaurants. Two large shopping malls essentially defunct. The Leased MV building vacant, increasing govt exempt buildings at county and William Paterson , vacant headquarter building on valley road. Those are issues thar the town really can't control. But at the same time there is no effort to control spending, as pointed out by the public relations firm being hired.

Sadly, only Mr. Burke understands the point of this article....maybe the rest of you should not bash the educators, but rather go back to school to learn. The town spends more time and effort driving out businesses than luring them. And at what price? So 10-20 residents keep their neighborhoods unchanged while 50,000 other residents pay for their benefit. The sports dome property should have been paid for by a special tax levy on that neighborhood only. The rest of the town went from lower taxes to higher taxes do they could have a field to play on. I say develop the land with ball fields for our youth then...

Teacher’ salaries and benefits are way out of line because of the union. School vouchers is the only answer.
Another reason why Wayne Taxes are so high is that; it is part of Passaic County. 23 % of your property taxes go to the county and we get virtually nothing tangible back in return.

Rob, Your point is just a little myopic, my point is the broad view. Your point That the town would approach business interest in the way that they handled your application and request in such a reprehensible manner is well made. But we can not ignore things like Wayne Hills Mall and Wayne Town Center and Wayne Dodge and Preakness Chevrolet . I am not arguing (nor did I )your point as invalid, quite the contrary it is most valid, but there are other issues that must be factored in the mix, not the least of which is spending. Hopefully they do not base their collective decisions on the emotionalism you point to, for that would seem to say that the leadership is immature.

Property is only worth what some-one is willing to pay for it, but this projected increase isn't about "worth" it's about "support". 80% of the budget is going to salaries and benefits with a 4% increase attached. That means 117 million of the 130 million sticker price is going to funding the employees of the corporation that has done nothing towards promoting it advancement. In addition to some new vacancies, the town is still plagued by the same "out of business" virus from years and years of continued neglect and abuse.
Petty's plea that "the show must go on" can't be justified when all the public sees are the township's corporate leaders demoting themselves.

We added some context to the story this morning that probably should have been included last night: "While the number may seem large, it only represents a small portion of Wayne's $5.2 billion tax base."

Wayne is OUT OF CONTROL!!!!! I think that sums it all up, and most of what has been said here is very true. This is what will happen when you have fools who don"t know what they are doing in control of the money. And what is being said about doing business here is right, all the contractors I know tell me its impossible to get things done in town hall. Home owners also have a hard time with the building department causing people to jump through hoops to get permits approved.
And the worst of them all, THE BOE , they have ALWAYS run wild with spending, giving themselves BIG salaries and increases while the school buildings look like antiques held together with spit and wax. The taxes will never stop going up, and people will continue to leave this town, I am just one person, who knows 8 people who already got out, how many others are there who are already looking to, or have??. I know that I will as soon as the housing market gets better!!

I don't need to go back to school. I have degrees and certifications that did not come from "teachers". I will continue to request that the so-called "profession" give up something. Furthermore, a profession that needs the cover of a union is not a profession. Unions are/were created for the working class' protection, not for the bastardization that it has become as respects to teachers and government workers.

I have come across many people in my business dealings who purposely forgoe health benefits on their employer's plans and select their partner's plans who work for the government. They do so because it is cheaper and more coverage on the government plans than on their employer's private plans. Whereas I cannot fault their economic decisions, I resent having to pay taxes for someone else's household to be better positioned economically than I am in my household. This is true for all the small businesses who have to pay for their own benefits or risk financial devastation in case of illness.

Health benefits - getting back to my earlier point, many Fortune 500 companies are now requiring affidavits/signed statements from their employees as respects to spouse's/partner's coverage. This is smart as it is saving a fortune. Many people foolishly waste the company's money by still carrying insurance on themselves when they are covered by the spouse, especially in cases where the employee pays zero premium. Let's get REAL affidavits from town employees/teachers/administrators and watch how many rats run.

@Rob, If in fact that garden center wanted to operate from Preakness Chevrolet and was thwarted in the effort by the town that is awful, I had not heard anything of any attempt to place anything there, but that would not be unusual. It can just as easily be a situation where the size and the scope did not make sense when it came down to the plan. But certainly the town should not be standing in the way of business attempting to do something with the tract. I sometimes believe that the over the top requirements, i.e. traffic studies, engineering escrows, environmental impact studies are nothing more than a means to help contibutors. Your points vis a vis your own situation are well made and well understood as being entirely inappropriate to the town.

If I'm not mistaken, the budget must be voted on because it is over cap.

Perhaps the most far-reaching consequence is districts that switch their elections to November are no longer compelled to put their budgets before voters for approval, provided they stay within the 2 percent tax levy cap. Any requests for spending above the cap would be presented to the voters in November.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/02/scores_of_nj_school_districts.html

This town is buisness un-friendly. The Mayor & Council have done nothing to attract ratables. State Farm Building vacant almost 20 years etc etc. They hassle buisness's and homeowners. The BOE hands out six figure jobs all the time and keeps creating new positions all the time. The 35 million dollar loss is not counting the ton of tax appeals they are getting this year and most will be won. They need to learn the meaning of zero increase until things get better. Over 300 homes in foreclosure and people moving out all the time. # 1 reason? Taxes in Wayne are driving them out. Do we need to promote Pandolfi and hire another Principle for Anthony Wayne? No not really they are creating a position for someone. Taxpayers should attend every BOE meeting and demand spending cuts. The recently hired PR firm? Just hired to do damage control for the BOE's bad publicity. The amount of cover up in this town is amazing and the taxpayers foot the bill.

@PAD, I remember the lobby that the residents behind the State Farm building formed to prevent Lowe's from developing there. It is ashamed that the energy and fundraising done to prevent ratables isn't being done to keep the property taxes in check. Conveniently, the current Mayor of Wayne lives in that area at the present time.

Residential, Business, Industrial, and Open Space uses are part of a Master Plan the Township has approved and used as a model to insure adequate, enjoyable and appropriate use of the lands within the township. The Master Plan of Wayne since the build up in the late forties and early fifties has ALWAYS included a mix of all uses to ensure the ratables were present to offset the Residential uses that actually cost the same if not more than they pay.
This township under its Planning and Zoning Departments, the Board of Adjustment and Council have over the last 20 years aborted that mix in an attempt to ensure voting favor with the residents.
Obviously no one wants to live next to a Box store, an industrial use, a car wash, etc, but thats what happens when you buy property on the edge of a residential zone near those uses. And yes, there is traffic on Rt 23. Its a highway people!
The damage done over the last 20 years by spot-zoning and exclusionary zoning will never be undone, and the same residents that want to see the town revert to its agricultural past and complain about very nominal non residential uses are going to pay for their shortsightedness and NIMBY attitudes.

Based on this major discrepancy as regards salary increases, we need the name of the town auditors who are supposed to be doing unbiased, independent audits of this township

You wanna do an audit. The fianances and spending of taxpayers money by the BOE should be examined by State auditors. There should be a full disclosure. Sooner or later the BS in this town is going to come to light and many will have a lot of explaining to do. This can't go on any longer. The Township will be in deep fianancial trouble. Taxable income down, increased BOE spending and hiring = fianancial disaster. 35 million loss as of now with a bigger loss to come with all the tax appeals and more vacant and foreclosed properties. What don't they get?

part of the problem here is continued 1 party rule !!!!!! we need some competition. lets not forget the flooding. 1 more major and we will lose more ratables which have already been threatened. and now mayor ostrich announces a major road repair project while nothing is allocated to flooding. this will accomplish more in the long run than some pot hole repairs at an enormous cost. flooding costs affects everyone i.e. declining real estate sales in the prone areas affects all sales in town.

One party rule deprives taxpayers from checks and balances against corruption. However, since Murphy finally drove a stake through Vampire Rumana's heart, the prospect of County republican unification increases the likelihood of sustained one party rule, like it or not. That one party rule breeds corruption is well established here in Wayne. Just look at what's already been publicized:

1 -- Rumana gets caught self dealing and breaking the public bidiing laws by snatching the $2.3 MM grant from the State to the Town to buy solar panels, and the entire Council sits silently, doing nothing to remedy our loss.

2 -- The Town wins judgments against former Town Attorney Cavaliere and allows him to escape without paying a dime, doesn't even try to collect. Instead, hires his son to represent the planning board for more than a decade. Huh??? You can't make this stuff up.

3 -- Nadine Bello's husband -- a convicted felon, forever barred from holding public office -- is nevertheless appointed by Rumana and reappointed by Vergano, to Chair the Wayne Environmental Commission. Bello's conviction involved kickbacks, and these folks put him in a post where he touches every single land use application in Town! Meanwhile, Counciwoman Bello married the crook while he was doing time and yet stayed silent on the Council while her husband illegally held office in Wayne.

What response from the one-party Council? Same old, same old -- silence.

Wake up and smell the coffee

Frankly, I don't know who is worse, out town council or our BOE. Ironically, the common denominator is that both boards are ruled by Rumana republicans. If there isn't change in this town, things will stay the same and taxes will continue to rise. I'm a republican, but I am not a Rumana republican. I don't subsribe to the way these guys run our government and educational system. In education, our test scores are going down and our taxes are going up! And we continue to hire people at exorbitant salaries! Are we going to reward our trustees by re-electing them? I certainly hope not. With all the questionable things going on in our town government, and the ethical questions raised, I think our town government is about a half step above the Messercola government we had back in the Eighties!

The BOE also needs to have pay to play for sports. I resent having to pay for any sports at these schools; when education is blatantly ignored along with the arts. This is not Texas where football reigns. This is metropolitan New York where the arts reign. The BOE is not in touch; they cater to the footballites whose primary objective is to have their descendants obtain obscene scholarships, not available to the student who prefers the arts. Again, this is not Texas, where oil and football seem to go hand in hand.

Actually, things were better during the Messercola mess. Taxes were much lower, proportionally speaking. The school system was rated one of the highest in the state. The missing factors were Olsen, BOE, Council, one-party dictatorship. Sports were given the same emphasis as the arts had. It was healthy.

Wayne Parent......What I want along with I think all taxpayers is to have our town gov't run efficiently, cost wise and to have honest and open government. Is that too much to ask for? There are too many things that are politically tainted where it is clear that party and power come before the people. Many of them have been posted over the last year or so. As far as our BOE goes, I want the best possible education given to our children at the most reasonable cost. Is that too much to ask for. I run my own business and have to sacrifice when things are not good. I just can't assess thousands of taxpayers to pay up for what I want or feel I need. I have to be prudent and efficient. I expect them to do the same.

@Wayne Parent, what you are stating does not make sense. Private sector employees have worked long hours without additional pay and often without incentives. I have yet to see evidence of public employees working an extra minute without some form of incentive, whether is financial or favors. Show me, a side by side comparison of hours, benefits etc. since the early 80's when the United States business environment became globally influenced. Again, show me the money.

As respects to the quality of teachers today. It is unfortunate that the best teachers have continued to take their skills to the "private sector" since the mid-seventies, when it became obvious that the only way to get a teaching job in the public school system, was to know someone on a BOE. Show me how many teachers in the suburban school districts actually live in the towns they teach in and didn't receive a "favor" for their jobs. SHOW ME. Show me the number of teachers who become tenured in a suburban school system who have had no "favors" from the BOE. Get me affidavits, anything that exemplifies that these people are the true, wholesome individuals who are influencing our children's minds. The mere fact that most students cannot reiterate current events or geography is not on individuals who want to reign in outlandish salaries and benefits; but on the school systems that are teaching them. It is very convenient to forget about the constitution, etc. when teaching the young minds. History has examples of what happens when mob-thinking is taught and the individual is stifled. Does Germany in the mid-thirties mean anything to you?

@Wayne Parent, once again what credentials do you have to call someone delusional and paranoid? You are taking things very personal which leads me to believe that we have hit a nerve with you and you have much to gain from not wanting financial accountabilities. In the future, keep your personal remarks to yourself as they are very telling of the quality of the generation that thinks they know everything and are not open to a fair discussion for accountability.

@Wayne Parent, obviously, you have much time on your hands and to much to gain from the high property taxes. Who are you talking to? What qualifies you to state that someone has paranoid ramblings when all they want is a financial accountability for what they have to pay.
What string pulling are you referring to? Obviously, you know more than what you are letting on.

Justice....you said the following:

"Show me how many teachers in the suburban school districts actually live in the towns they teach in and didn't receive a "favor" for their jobs. SHOW ME. Show me the number of teachers who become tenured in a suburban school system who have had no "favors" from the BOE."

@Wayne Parent, take your status quo rhetoric, pay the high taxes without complaining, call people who disagree with your mindset psychological names and do what you feel is necessary to get what you want. You will further prove how self-centered some of the people of your generation are. I have reason to believe that you are actually a teacher who claims to be working in the private sector. While you are at it, you can pay my property taxes since you are totally happy with the education system. As far as teachers are concerned, you clock in for 180 days a year, making 80,000 plus benefits (per your statement). You neglected to state if the other teachers in question had the sought after certifications of Math, Science or Special Ed. Wayne Parent, take your nonsense elsewhere.

I complain about my taxes all the time. I challenged my assessment this year (and won). I have no problem with calling for fiscal accountability. But the hyperbolic Nazi fear mongering...you crossed the line there.

$80,000 is the TOP of the scale. Not what most teachers make. My statement was that they "max out at around $80K a year...after 30 years on the job." The point is...unlike the private sector employees, there is not the possibility of unlimited riches. Again...you dodged my question...if teachers were willing to take cuts now because you think they should be treated like private sector employees, if the market turns around and property values and stock market rise rapidly...will you raise teacher salaries to keep up with increases in the private sector? Or do you just want them to share in the pain without letting them share in the gains?

Also...I am NOT a teacher. But teachers played a large role in allowing me to be where I am today. And I value their work. I value their commitment. I value what they do. And I am willing to pay for that value.

As for your complaint about teachers not living in Wayne. While the 2 I know do live in Wayne, they are both married to someone who makes much more than a teacher. A starting teacher does not make enough money to buy a home in our town. Despite all of your claims about how teachers are rolling in money, there is no way a family could buy in Wayne if the primary earner was a teacher in our town.

You call it Nazi fear mongering. I call it for what it is. Remove the will to complain, accept the status quo and what is the difference between Germany in the mid-thirties and the current economic politically apathetic climate? Furthermore, I had relatives who suffered immensely in the German concentration camps. So, please do not accuse me of fear mongering.

Hey Wayne Parent,
The average worker professional & non professional works alot more then 180 days a year, they don't have LIFETIME family health payments for thier entire lifetime, enjoy the amount of sick days that teachers have and cash in when they retire. Now the cash in is capped so they just go out sick in the end. Plus they don't have tenure also. Look at the salaries paid in Wayne, many teachers exceed $80k a year. As taxpayers we pay for these lifetime health benefits, the abused sick day's and the bad teacher they can't get rid of due to tenure. On the outside you don't produce your out. Many salaried people put in many extra hours, work at home for no extra pay. Let there be a cloud in the sky and half the teachers call in sick when school is open. In the real world they have absentee policies, out too much and your let go. The waste in Wayne is unbelievable. Jobs are created for certain people at the BOE and thats for sure. OPEN YOUR EYES!

Wayne Parent.....my wife is a teacher in a public school system. You don't have to convince me how hard she works. She leaves home a little after 7am and does not leave school until at least 4:15 or so. She teaches here in Wayne. Many a night, at least 4 nights a week, she is sitting in the family room marking papers or doing something related to lesson plans. When not doing that she is on the internet exploring things she could use in her teaching. Hers is certainly not a 40 hr work week. I can assure you, teaching is not easy today. Our children are enabled, parents demanding and she has less resources to work with each year due to budget cuts. A good teacher is worth their weight in gold! The teaching is done in the trenches, the classroom. Give our children and teachers more resources and stop the wasteful spending on top such as the hiring of a PR firm. I'll continue below!

Did you know that our BOE took Mrs Pandolfi out of Anthony Wayne as Principal this school year, so she could shadow our then Super and intern so to speak for her hours required to get her certificate. That nesessitated us hiring an acting principal and Asst Principal, while still paying Mrs Pandolfi's salary, which I believe was in the 140k range. Stop this kind of bullcrap, and give that $ to the kids or put it back in the budget for supplies. Did we ever do this for any other principal in town? NO! Why?....Ask Don Pavlak why! Some people are fair haired here in town and others not! Yup, the good old boy system is alive and well in our school system.

Teachers are not the enemy nor are they the problem with property taxes. The property tax problem is driven by the bloated municipal budgets and the ridiculous redundancy fueled by the need to dole out patronage positions on the backs of taxpayers. You want to see the further decline of America? Now the schools will be required to administer four standardized tests a year to determine whether the students are being adequately prepared for standardized tests. Somehow that will tell us if we have good teachers, and the students won't actually be learning much more than how to take a test. At least it won't matter to folks like Christie, who send their kids to private school....

@ Wayne Parent, the shame on you is on you, not me for continuing this ridiculous discourse with bashing and unfounded labels of paranoia and such. Obviously, you are a control freak who goes off topic and has to have the last word. All of a sudden you had family in Germany (after I disclosed my own situation). You are transparent with too much time on your hands.

@Rob Burke. I do not disagree at all. I am telling you to preach on against people like Justice who think (and I am using their words) "Furthermore, a profession that needs the cover of a union is not a profession. Unions are/were created for the working class' protection, not for the bastardization that it has become as respects to teachers and government workers."

The utter disdain for teachers is amazing. We need more people like you to show everyone that teachers are not the problem.

@Rob, Just curious. Is your wife/significant other a teacher?

@ Rob, Please do not be sorry for what you state. You are a genuine individual and I happen to agree with you as respects to family being off limits and I am glad that you made that stand public. Concerning your personal address, the location is totally irrelevant. Business owners, who are often major taxpayers, absolutely have a right and a say to financial accountability. As stated in the past, many citizens and business owners are very concerned about repercussions from the town. The fact that you and a few others actually use their real name is commendable. I, for one, applaud you and someday, I may decide to come out of the closet, (i.e.the broom closet).