Tax increase being used to fight L.B. residents

(Letter to the mayor of Long Branch, City Council and residents)

The New Jersey State Superior Court Appellate Division made its decision: The government of Long Branch did not clearly define "infill" to the residents involved nor to the public or developers.

This is the understatement of our time. The court also said the city did not have "substantial evidence" that this area was "blighted" at the outset. Finally the truth is told. Our nationally infamous mayor keeps claiming: a) these plans were set from the beginning, and b) to have gotten "great input from the community" from the beginning. Where? When? How could you have "great input" when your notices of the times and places of the meetings are sent to only one newspaper, and in its weekday issues? (Especially when we've had two other local weekly papers.)

The panel clearly stated that this council and mayor's original plans did indeed "evolve" over time. Another understatement. As late as Feb. 22, 2007, the Atlanticville reported yet another "revision of the plan" to the developers, giving them 22 units instead of the original eight, and moving 123 parking spaces slated to be underground to the MTOTSA (Marine and Ocean terraces and Seaview Avenue) area, with more parking to come, ad nauseam. The developer "couldn't be contacted" at the time to explain why those changes were made, while city officials said the changes were "minimal" ones. In light of all the many other "evolving revisions" from first draft to today, these minimal changes are monumental ones. This evolution has significantly impacted our infrastructure and every resident's lifestyle.

Back in the day, I supported the mayor and his consorts. Had I or other supporters thought that Mayor Adam Schneider and the gang would acquiesce to the developers — "to blight" perfectly good homes in order to use eminent domain to steal residents' homes, or that "infill" meant giving all these oceanfront properties to the developers rather than fill in vacant lots only — I doubt they would have been elected. I certainly would not have voted for them! The first impression given by the mayor and council to residents of the development project was just that, to develop those truly "blighted" properties and leave those areas where residents' homes were not blighted alone. The greed of the developers changed that. Case in point, nowhere in these plans was the closing of Chelsea Avenue and condemning properties to open up Garfield Avenue. This was done for the developer's convenience, not for the citizenry. This has created a huge bottleneck of traffic from Joline to downtown Broadway, and Bath.

On Feb. 22, 2006, a local daily newspaper showed the "growth" (home price trends of from 2000- 06) of all Monmouth County communities. Long Branch home values increased from $134,000 to $397,000, an increase of 166 percent — the greatest increase since Long Branch was incorporated. After the reassessment, which was to lower our tax rates (they went down by 1 cent), but then city hall raised our tax base another 7 percent, while the developer still gets a 10-year tax abatement! Our director of finance, Ronald Mehlhorn, had this response to that increase: "It's only $50 a week" for the average homeowner. That is hardly a small sum for the "average homeowner" or renter for that matter, especially in this economy when most residents' incomes have remained stagnant since 2000.

The New Jersey public advocate was put in place to speak for average homeowners because of the policies of the "Friendly City" and governments like ours — toward its citizenry. Now this Long Branch government is planning yet another round of expensive legal action. So I ask our council and mayor, is this why we needed that 7 percent tax increase — to pay your legal fees so you can continue fighting against our citizens? Why not get a true reading of the public "input" on the development/ eminent domain issue. Stop wasting our hard-earned money on legal fees and give the public a chance to settle this issue. Put it on the November ballot. Let the citizens really tell you what they think and want for our city.
Kathleen E. Lo Pinto
Vignolini
Long Branch