The list is out, and according to Gloucester Township, I’m a tax deadbeat.
This, despite the fact that I was still in the process of making payments for my county sewer bill, the most recent payment being 25 percent of the outstanding balance.
For many, getting a little behind on bills has become the rule rather than the exception. In most cases, if you make payments in good faith, your electricity won’t be shut off, your cable TV won’t be cut. But that’s not the case here.
In its holiday gift to more than 3,500 residents, the Township has scheduled a tax sale for exactly one week before Christmas. Ho ho ho! Many of the amounts in arrears are less than $100, and some are for $60 or less. Yet our tax office in all its wisdom has determined a tax sale is needed for these homeowners (and some businesses) lest they won’t get their payments with accumulated interest fast enough. Not to mention arbitrary “costs” – which nobody bothered to warn us about prior to the delinquent notice.
I’ve owned three homes in three different municipalities before moving here in 2011. I’ve gotten behind on some utilities bills here and there, but have never been threatened with a tax sale before. The term was new to me. Accumulating interest charges and escalating statements in the mail were always enough to inspire payment in as timely a manner as possible. I’m by no means a deadbeat.
From what I’ve read here, this is an “accelerated tax sale,” so basically, even if we had every intention of paying off our nut by Dec. 17—one business day prior—we’re still in tax sale status, which means this can’t be paid like any other debt.
At a time when many homeowners are struggling and maybe living paycheck-to-paycheck, shelling out several hundred or a few thousand dollars at once can mean taking food off the table, or more likely fewer presents for the kids under the Christmas tree. Happy Holidays!
So why didn’t we simply pay the sewer bill, or the property tax when it was due? No doubt everybody on this 102-page list planned to. But life probably intervened—a cut in work shifts or overtime, competing priorities like an unexpected car repair or a child needing braces. Sandy may have caused roof damage, or some felled trees that needed to be removed. In some cases, bills may have simply gotten misplaced, or misdelivered. For 10 months after moving here, I didn’t get a single South Jersey Gas bill because they had the wrong zip code. These things happen.
For the Township to go into “accelerated tax sale” mode and publicly embarrass people into paying their taxes when some of them are already making payments is reprehensible. And definitely not what I’d expect from a town that proclaims it’s "a great place to live, work and play."
So, allow me to make the effort now, Mr. Mayer, Mr. Cardis, Mr. Palumbo, Mr. Carlamere, and all of Township Council...Merry Christmas; I'm sure you've all made it the happiest time of year for the 3500 people on you list. And on behalf of our township leadership and administration, to heck with you, Mr. Frisch...pay your taxes.
I encourage anyone who is either on the list, or knows someone on the list get more people on our elected officials who think that this is ok. Let us not allow this issue to die out, or go away as our Mayor and Council hope will happen. Keep on Blogging about it. KEEP people aware. Great job Gary.
Do any of you know the state law requires the municipality to sell any unpaid tax debt to private lien holders after the 2nd quarter taxes and prior to years end because our town is on a calendar year? Do any of you know who forced the municipality to go to a calendar year or risk loosing special tax credits we receive, totaling over $750,000? If any of you answered Governor Chris Christie you would be correct. If you want to start blaming people there are two at fault here. One is Mr Frisch PAY YOUR TAXES! Nobody except you called you a deadbeat but you certainly are a delinquent. Second Governor Chris Christie insisted the municipality go to a calendar year instead of staying on a fiscal year or the tax sale would have been in May instead of December. Now read your tax bill it clearly says if your taxes and sewer bills are not paid November 11 you will go into tax sale. The bill was mailed in January, how much more notice does anyone need.
Your modus operandi and lack of intelligence seem quite familiar. For whom do you shill because your comments don't impress one enough to think you speak for yourself?
1. "Who's bright idea was it to accelerate the schedule, Christie?" YES because he mandated the sale to be by years end as part of the change to a calendar year fiscal structure. 2. "And did Christie mandate that someone overdue on a $50 MUA bill should pay a fine along with 18% interest?" Not it is not a mandate, its the LAW. Tax sale includes all delinquent tax's and county and municipal sewer bills as to not have to make the delinquent bare the expense of separate liens. As to your comment of a fine? There is no such thing, the allowable fees in the sale are the delinquency, interest and cost of the sale as mandated by state law. 3. "I don't remember the State paying interest when it held back Homestead Rebates for months." Obviously you don't remember that because Governor Christie not only failed to pay interest on what he deemed to be overpayments in property taxes he decided that you would only be returned 25% of what the average tax payer overpaid and then put further restrictions on that return by saying if you made more then $75,000 a year you are not entitled to have your overpaid property taxes returned to you. 4. "Your modus operandi and lack of intelligence seem quite familiar. For whom do you shill because your comments don't impress one enough to think you speak for yourself?" Right back at you, Paul, next time research before you blog. Don't filibuster your comments like Senator McConnell.
Do you read much? Are you that challenged that you couldn't get my name right? Therefore, don't attempt to lecture me on name calling. There is nothing in the Patch report on the accelerated sale that informs me that the accelerated tax sale is a requirement. From my search on the term it appears to be optional. Normal tax sales are sales that bid out the previous year's delinquent taxes. An accelerated tax sale bids out current year delinquent taxes. It appears to be a scheme on the part of any township in question to get the money faster. Nor can I find anything that mandates conversion to a calendar year from a fiscal year; it appears to be an option not a mandate. As for my Homestead Rebate comment, that was self-explanatory. The fact that you didn't get it gives me all the more reason not to waste any more time trying to explain it. Finally, I'll say it again...your technique is so familiar that it's not too hard to guess who you might be.
1. "There is nothing in the Patch report on the accelerated sale that informs me that the accelerated tax sale is a requirement." That explains why you are so misguided on the law. Patch is a newspaper not a source of law. Are you intelligent enough to know the difference? 2. "Normal tax sales are sales that bid out the previous year's delinquent taxes." Not true law requires a tax sale to occur at the end of one tax year and prior to the next tax year GT is a calendar town. November ends the billing year. Period! 3. "It appears to be a scheme on the part of any township in question to get the money faster." Many things seem different to the uneducated your proving that with your post. 4. "Nor can I find anything that mandates conversion to a calendar year from a fiscal year; it appears to be an option not a mandate." So because you don't want to do research you feel Governor Christies mandate to change to a calendar year or lose funding doesn't apply?
BTW, I hope you enjoy reading your own gibberish because I didn't get past the first couple sentences and it's highly doubtful anyone else read it either unless maybe your friends, if you have any, over at the municipal building have the stomach for it.
Also, there's that mailing fee. State law prescribes that the city can charge "up to $25" per mailing, regardless of whether it's certified, regular or some other form of mail. The wording clearly gives discretion to the city. When I questioned Sandra Ferguson, the tax collector, about why the cost was $40 when the state allows only 2% (min. $15), her response was, "I chose to add $25 for mailing costs." She didn't say "I'm required to add" or "the law says I must add," but "I chose to add." She could've chosen to add $2 or $3 if she weren't a typical bureaucrat looking to simply enrich the city's coffers. Case closed, as far as I'm concerned. And both Paul and I have given you far too much credibility and consideration for someone who's hiding behind a pseudonym. A newspaper wouldn't so much as publish your letter to the editor.
Gloucester Township is sitting on plenty of revenue to cover that temporary shortfall of the residents. Red light camera revenues alone could do that. Mostly everyone catches up. The "key word" is catches up. It should be interesting to see who buys the liens. December 18th is coming. Don't let this get swept under the rug.
Gloucester Township likes to tout that GT is "a great place to live, work, and play." What with all the businesses that are shuttered that middle ideal is questionable. As for it being a great place to live...I love my property for the same reason I purchased it 18 years ago. I spent some of my high school years in Blackwood but consider my reasons for buying here naive. If I had known then what I know now I would have looked elsewhere. I guess the most one could say now is that GT is a great place to be a Democrat but I'm not sure if even that is worth being part of the "walking dead."
Ray Polidoro as the chairman on the Republican Party in town please explain to us why the as a representative of Shelly Lovett, Cindy Rau Hatton and the rest of the GTGOP you believe the taxpayers should cover Gary Frisch's delinquent tax bill? He owns his own business, (Not in GT but in Voorhees) He certainly has the funds to pay. After all I am not sure how many other people on the tax sale list could have afforded to go on a trip with strippers but not pay thier taxes. Talk about having screwed up priorities. That in itself is wrong, but then for him to argue and lie about his financial ability to pay, that is insulting. Then to write a blog pretending he could not pay because he was having "Hard Times" one only wonders what was giving him such "Hard Times" on that stripper trip he was on November 8, 2012.
Explain to us why if you feel so strongly you don't step up to the plate and pay his taxes for him? After all you seem to have had a revelation about tax delinquencies now that it's one of your friends that is late. It seems your a bit hypocritical here.