Do you suggest to sit and do nothing at all? Join our group and become the change you want to see!!

http://www.facebook.com/groups/335719726513710/

No, that is silly

SK,

Did you know that the survey they are sending out is going to cost over $7000? That seems that a total waste of money in a time when money is tight.

Also, I would like to point out that the Democrats on the council didn't vote for this budget. They tried to give suggestions on how to cut the 4% increase the Republicans are proposing but they were ignored.

Between us Dems & Reps everything cost money. I have no problem spending $7K to conduct accurate survey before making painful decisions about $43M budget. But I didn't like idea of Ms. Swan to put the same question on town hall meeting that impales limited representation and making complex issue hostage of small crowd.

BTW.
There was a guy from FL, who offered his help with delivering survey. That may be reduce cost.

-SK

If these folks can get 4000 people to vote, they may have something.

@Stuart- sure, but what are they for? To get that number of votes it can't be, 'get rid of everything and gut our excellent school system', it has to be this is how we can cut fixed and other costs and maintain our school's high level of achievement

I'd vote for Stuart again, I would have donated to him too if I knew he was a serious candidate. Too bad he didn't go door to door introducing himself to people he doesn't know. I am convinced that's how Kurt got elected.

You can provide your numbers: Here what we got: Paramus 1.66, Saddle Brook 2.14, Glen rock 2.54, Elmwood Park 2.5, Ridgewood 1.95. FYI. FL now is 3.00%. So yep, FL is the most taxed town around. In general politics steer by activist, because regular folk like you just too lazy. I also don't like spending my time surfing blogs and attending boring meetings.

Sergey,

Those tax rates mean nothing without assessment values. Ridgewood is 1.95, but the homes are assessed at a higher value.

Wow, SK- insulting people for no reason? Very classy... I guess you're just too lazy to be respectful in responding...

David, how many people in your family work for the Boro or Board of Ed?

Dream ON!!!!! my taxes are 20% more now! next year it will be YOU! If I were you I would wait. Have you EVER seen them returning you YOUR money back? Yes? that would make you the one and only! congratulations!

Maria,

Most of the residents complaining about their taxes going up live in 2500+ sq ft houses that were built in the last 8 years. These houses are almost double the size of mine and are 50+ years newer and I'm paying close to 9K. So, for anyone living in a 3500 sq ft house that cost them 900K back in 05 or 06, and paying close to 20K per year in taxes, I really can't feel bad for you. This new assessment levels the playing field between old, new and commercial.

I may also add, since your group is fairly new to the political scene, a lot of these houses were put up as "additions". Basically knock 3 walls down, put up 3 new ones, have the house inspected, knock down the last wall and put up a new one. The town was overloaded and inspectors weren't even looking at footprint or height. The house near mine is over the allowed height. So are the ones on Garrison, Heywood and all the surrounding streets behind me. I stayed on top of the meetings for the one near mine to make sure it stayed within what it was supposed to be. If you compare the plans submitted to the zoning board to what was actually built, they would be very different.

When Baratta and Trawinski early on moved to have the McMansions stopped, REALTORS acting as surrogates for builders came to the Council meetings and complained. Imagine...... Realtors complained. Just them... That's all....

One more Maria, because I think you have a noble cause.

Tax Map of Fair Lawn:

http://www.fairlawn.org/Forms/taxmaps/KEYMAP-Rev%202011.pdf

Fair Lawn Block numbers (find them on the tax map):

http://www.bergendispatch.com/Property/municipal.aspx?mun=0217

@Stuart,
Do you really belief that somebody outside FL will waste time talking about FL schools and taxes? Even most people in FL don't care about BOE and taxes.

FL has good schools? They are just-above-average FL schools. If kids don't make to advance or accelerated classes they don't get even average schooling. I know most kids who got awards this year in my son's school. They have done some additional schooling. Is it great school system?

Yes, and you can google anyone these days, if you are really curious...:)

YES!!!! We all live here, we are friends and neighbors! Join our group and become the change you want to see!!

http://www.facebook.com/groups/335719726513710/

Every one here who does not mind the tax raise, forgets that if your property taxes went up( and if not today, next time) it will be VERY hard for you to sell your house when you will need to sell it. So good luck to all.

OXOXOXO

Why would people from "majotirty of the people who live in the apartments near the post office" be concern about taxes? I can tell who we are: We bunch of people who moved here over last 12 yrs, with kids at FL school leaving in recently renovated houses and see our taxes went up 100% (my went up %175 over last 10yrs). Most of us spend extra on schooling our kids because FL school don't meet our expectations. There bunch of funny comments in my group like everywhere else on internet. They most important thing that people along the way learn how community works, so they will come in force for elections including BOE.

Just in case you haven't noticed, we do have a large Russian population in Fair Lawn. And no, they are not confined to just an apartment complex. They are a part of our community. And they own houses too!!!!

You can come to any of our meetings, and see we are real blood and flesh people, and not all of us are Russians. We are ALL from Fair Lawn. Join our group and become the change you want to see!!

http://www.facebook.com/groups/335719726513710/

There are a number of long time resident who think they know all 32,000+ residents in town. Many of them feel because they were born here, or went to school here, they are entitled to more of an opinion some how. There are even some who have been here for generations who feel even more entitled. To quote one of our deputy mayors out of context, "that's pure poppycock".

Living here for a year, ten, all your life even if your family goes back to the civil war and David Acker is an ancestor, means nothing. We are all forced to pay taxes, we are entitled to question every bit of spending.

Hello Stuart, -SK my initials. My full name is Sergey Karpov, It was stated in one of top post.

For last 10 years I commute to NYC every morning by bus and train. I recognize at least half of these people.
Pls. Concentrate on economy, not faces.

With flat economy tax increase depresses property values and chases businesses out. Next tax revenue will fall short from what was collected this year, Without reduction in spending we are going to have another tax increase. Don't you see that we are entering cycle here? There is no more housing bubble to push our properties up. We have to adjust spending or we will fall from financial cliff like ... lemmings.
Do research, with current mortgage rate 3% $1000 in taxes takes away about $20,000 in property values.

-SK

I use my real name,
Maria Farber

Good luck Sergey. You got my support.

Have to agree with Deleted here.You're not going to go and cut, then see your taxes go down by a couple of thousand. There are a lot of factors. The first 3 are: 1. Police union. 2. Teachers union. 3. Municipal workers union. Those are the three biggest costs to the Boro. When you start factoring in other salaries and costs, lights, heat, maintenance.... It all adds up. Even if you did cut the pool, what would it really save in terms of tax dollars on your part? Not even 100 bucks per year. Rec Center? Maybe 100. So, close the pool and the Rec Center and will all save maybe 15 bucks a month.

Want to really make a dent in your taxes? Revamp education. Partner up with other towns. There are services out there with lessons by professors that use teleconference and e-mail. Same way online colleges do it. Why should we pay for teachers that teach advanced courses when we could split one with 5 towns? And these are the kids that would require the least amount of help. Need to think outside the box on education. We may be second in the country, but we're not even top 10 in the world. Sad, because we're number 2 in the world in cost per student overall.

Boro: 40M per year (approx)
BOE: 100M per year (approx)

We are attending all the board meetings exactly because we want to find out and learn how our government works. And not just take it laying down, they need money, here is my open pocket. You are ok with that-- I am not.

The large new houses already paying more for everything, don't you think? So lets punish the "Success" why not. Lets take money from the "reach" (who actually earned i-- I believe most people with money work, invest and have earned every penny by not being lazy) and give it to everyone who sat around with no ambitions.

Maria,

Now you sound like you using a Republican talking point to argue home values. That talking point works for income taxes and entitlement, not real estate values. You can't have real estate social justice in this. Your house is bigger and newer than mine. Why should I pay more or you pay less. Would you improve your house and not expect to sell it for more money?

@Antonelli
Here are accurate numbers. Except sq footage they fit the original picture.
My property listed at 2224 sq.ft and 2314 sq.ft depends on public record :). Sorry I was wrong about 1800 sq.ft thank you for improving my living conditions.

Today assessed value is 429900 and tax 12509.00
Assessed value on 2001 was 176900 and tax rate 2.5% area 1400 sq.ft tax was $4422.00.

Here is benchmark, similar house without improvements: 19-15 HALSTEAD TER: 1479. sq.ft and tax is $9460.18

It doesn't matter if Sergey's numbers are a bit off. Most of us know taxes are much higher then the used to be. When compared to CPI, they are way up.

We know where the problem is, spending. Be it Metzler's 7% pay increase to $140,000+benefits or a clerk that makes over $140,000+benefits, Bruce Watson's salary was $200,000+benefits not including his bloated administration all add to the problem.

If a politician needs to play gotcha over a small amount, they need to be removed from office.

Everything except salaries went up in this last decade.

By that kind of logic, the people that own residential real estate in Manhatten must pay almost no taxes at all.

It's one thing to claim to be in revolt, and another to have no factual basis for the revolt. You don't like the taxes here? You already know all the answers to that - but making demands to be included in the process becomes a lot less valid when you make comments that have no true knowledge behind them. Paramus had a vast amount of real estate that was undeveloped as of the 1960's. Fair Lawn has not had that since about 1946, when the Industrial Park was developed. Fair Lawn Commons ate up the last large tract when the McBrides sold their last parcel of farmland (the industrial park being almost entire farm as late as it's development) to build the Commons. The transformation of dedicated parkland in Daly Field and Archery Plaza is the last ditch effort to cash in on something that is almost non-existent in Bergen - a large tract of open land. Paramus still has several large parcels of land, but none of it contiguous to a highway and most of it dubiously of any use because it is wetlands.

The planners of our communities chose ways to keep taxes low for their residents. Paramus chose retail. Towns like Fair Lawn and Saddle Brook chose industrial. Business was supposed to bear the load for benefit of the resident. It wasn't until recently that we started this race to the bottom to lower taxes for Business and have the People bear the cost.

And yes, NYC does have very low residential property taxes. A friend who owns a multimillion dollar brownstone in Park Slope pays half the property taxes that I pay in Fair Lawn.