Our View
Problems with property taxes continue to grow

There are probably quite a few residents of Little Silver ready to add their voices to the growing chorus calling for a change in the way public schools are funded.

Earlier this month several Little Silver residents went to a Borough Council meeting to protest their new property tax bills, at least one of which exceeded $40,000.

To have such a tax bill, of course you do need a pretty nice home, and that person shouldn’t be first on any list of people who need a break, but that doesn’t mean his tax bill doesn’t cause him some problems.

Think about it, that homeowner is now paying more than $100 a day to live in a home he "owns." And if residents like him wish to continue owning their houses, they have no choice but to continue paying.

By just about any standard, that has to be viewed as an unfair situation.

While property values have skyrocketed, incomes have not kept pace, and it is certain that there will be homes sold in Little Silver, and probably some of the other communities that have recently revalued, solely because the owner can no longer afford the taxes.

While those people may walk away with a nice payoff, it is important to remember that it is not a walk they were anxious to take.

As happy as they might be with their home as an investment, very few people likely viewed that investment along the same lines as buying a stock or mutual fund shares.

So far, state officials have been unwilling to confront the inequities built into using property taxes to fund schools, but it is impossible to deny that the system is breaking down.

The further property values get out of line with incomes, the greater the need to deal with this situation will become.

There may not be a solution that makes anybody happy, but there has to be one that is more fair. It is past time for the state to come up with it.