abatements a minus for taxpayers

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300 TOWNHOMES ON OLD JFK STADIUM TOTAL ACTUAL TAXES $2.1 MILLION WITH PROPOSED ABATEMENT $210,000. WHY? BECAUSE OF THE MAYOR AN PETE HIGGINS BUDDY RELATIONSHIP WITH DEVELOPERS. PARKING DECK FOR HUDSON COUNTY $69,000 WHILE FORFIETING PROBABLY ABOUT $300,000 IN TAXES AND PARKING LOT FEES AND METERS. WHY? BECAUSE WE HAVE BECOME A DISTRESSED CITY UNDER MAYOR MCDONOUGHS REIGN AS LEADER OF HARRISON AND MUST RELY ON THE COUNTYS' HELP FOR A $40 MILLION BOND FOR A STADIUM THAT MOST TAXPAYERS DO NOT WANT. IT'S TIME FOR THE PEOPLE OF HARRISON TO STAND UP AND LET THE MAYOR KNOW WE WANT A NEW AND MORE PROFITABLE FUTURE FOR OUR TOWN. NOT ALL OF US HAVE PROPERTY IN OTHER TOWNS TO RUN TO.

[Guest I trust Harrison officials did g]

NEIGHBORS SEEK AN EVEN (TAX) BREAKLegal settlement creating different assessments causes tension and confusion

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

BY STEVE CHAMBERS

Star-Ledger Staff

For seven years, Jacob's Ferry at Port Imperial in West New York has epitomized Hudson County's Gold Coast, a townhouse complex with breathtaking Manhattan views and rapidly escalating values.

But a legal squabble last year between the town and about 100 of the development's 250 residents sowed confusion over lucrative tax breaks offered to first-time buyers and raised questions about the use of these abatements throughout the region...

...Because the PILOTs differ from town to town, it is difficult to gauge whether similar situations exist across the Gold Coast. But it is not the first time they have caused controversy.

In the late 1990s, some inland Hudson County towns complained that those using PILOTs were contributing less to county coffers and sued. The lawsuit was resolved with legislation -- pushed by Hudson County lawmakers -- that kept the PILOTs legal but required towns to make a county contribution...