Under pressure from local Democrat orgs, the NJ Lt Gov blinked. Sheila Oliver walked back her appointment of Denny Levinson. The County exec was a perfect choice to head up a task force to helping solve Atlantic City’s financial problems. Political pressure forced Oliver to make a really bad decision.
I must question if there is a genuine interest in finding a solution to Atlantic City’s tax issues or if public perception is your primary focus
Levinson
Stopping Atlantic City tax hike surprises.
With Levinson demoted, Oliver packed the task force with the usual cast of characters. Two of them are AC Council President Marty Small and AC Mayor Frank Gilliam. These two knuckleheads are useless as t*ts on a bull.
According to the Press of Atlantic City: The average Atlantic City home, valued at $150,000, will pay a tax bill of $5,850 this year, an increase of $676.50 from 2018, according to the Atlantic County Board of Taxation.
Atlantic City Council President Marty Small is Clueless
Council President Marty Small serves as chair of Atlantic City’s revenue and finance committee. He has failed miserably in that role.
Atlantic City Taxpayers Association
Atlantic County Executive, Denny Levinson told the DCA: “the state, which is in control of both the city government and local school board, should have been aware of the impending tax increase and could have taken measures to prevent it.”
County Exec Levinson: “You control the functions of city government because you found the mayor and city council lacking and believed you could better manage city government. You also found fault with the management of the school board’s finances and took that under your wing. But somehow, you contend the Atlantic City tax increase is the fault of Atlantic County government that wields no control in this matter and the school system that you control”.
AC resident and council candidate, Geoff Rosenberger, shared his views on the controversial Atlantic City Task Force:
The fact that Atlantic City’s task force met with no immediate results for taxpayers surprised no one, especially the property owners of Atlantic City. The same politicos who drove the taxes up, and plunged Atlantic City into @ $500M in debt should not be those looking for solutions. They didn’t cure the problem the first few times around.
Under state guidance we have watched blight take over sections of town, poverty increase to over 40% of residents, owner occupancy continue to decrease as residents flee a failing town (coincidentally, the same happens on the state wide level), and a crime increase aided by becoming the dumping ground for social problems from throughout the region.
The state continues trying to build it’s way out of the problems, without addressing the underlying socioeconomic problems of poverty, unemployment, drug addiction and crime.
It’s very simple: the state takes too much money from Atlantic City. No matter how many ways we acknowledge this, it will not change until there is a movement to take back some of the money and power from the state who has killed the golden goose, leaving behind nothing but cracked eggs.
I am an independent candidate on the ballot in Column C. I believe it is time to start a class action suit against the state for taking and squandering our financial resources and leaving us without any real representation or civil rights.