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July 9, 2010
GREETINGS AND SAL-UTATIONS!
Dear NJGCA Member:
REFORMING PROPERTY TAXES: CAP 2.0 & THE LOCAL TOOL KIT
AND
PRIVITIZATION TASK FORCE RECOMMENDS NJGCA PROPOSAL TO CLOSE & SELL THE PARSONS RUN CENTRAL INSPECTION FACILITIES!
Wow – What a weekend!.....NO….Wow – What a week!
This time last Friday, I was recapping a very eventful week, wishing you a Happy Fourth of July, and set out to enjoy time with my family.
However, while I was enjoying a backyard barbeque, the powers that be in Trenton were trying to come to an agreement on a property tax cap, AND… I learned late yesterday from an email sent to me from Governor Christie’s Policy Team, that today the Governor would release the recommendations of his Privatization Task Force.
FINALLY! I mentioned to you several times since the end of May that I knew this report was on the Governor’s desk. I knew it contained all of my recommendations and I was frustrated because it was not being released publicly. I was not able to reveal what I suspected because what I knew was told to me in confidence.
Anyway, the report was released late last night and I have not had a chance to read it thoroughly, and I wanted to share at least some of the news in today’s Road Warrior. I even asked Nick to hold up sending the RW out yesterday so I could squeeze this news in today. At first glance, it appears as if all of the data, statistics, and calculations that I presented to the task force in a 3 hour marathon session on April 5th were used to make the task force recommendations. I will keep you posted.
OK…on to other stuff.
As we’ve previously reported, the Governor has proposed a 2.5% “hard” property tax cap that would eliminate the unbelievable number of exemptions that the current 4% “soft” property tax cap permits. Meanwhile, the Democratic Majority in the Senate had offered a 2.9% property tax cap that allowed FOURTEEN different exemptions. After the budget was passed last week, the Governor, using his constitutional powers, planned to call the Legislature into session every day over the Fourth of July weekend until his proposal was adopted.
What was the outcome? A compromise was struck on Saturday morning. Rather than a constitutional amendment which would create 2.5% cap, the Governor and Senate President Sweeney agreed to a statutory 2% property tax cap. The deal reduces the number of exemptions from FOURTEEN to FOUR. The only exemptions allowed are for 1). Capital expenditures and pay required debt service, 2). Pension benefits, 3). Health benefits, and 4). Funds used during natural disasters or states of emergency. If the local governing authorities want to exceed the cap, they can only do so with voter approval.
So is this a good thing? While I am still a bit dazed and confused – scratch that, I’m outright PISSED – that the Governor rejected our plan to save Safety Inspections, I have to support the Governor in this initiative. And though I know many of you are rightfully angry at the elimination of Safety Inspections, you should support this as well.
Why?
First of all, a great deal of what hampers and hinders the state’s economy stems from the out of control property tax increases we have experienced in the last 15 years. For far too long, business owners have gotten slammed on their property taxes to pay for local schools, municipal services and any number of other projects. Every time local officials are looking to hike their revenue to support their poor spending habits, they typically look to business owners FIRST. How come? Simple - many business owners have an establishment in town, but they don’t live in that particular municipality. That means that they can disproportionately hike your property taxes, but they won’t have to face you at the voting booth!
Secondly, your patrons are equally burdened by the situation here in New Jersey. For every dollar that a local government taxes your customers, it’s another dollar that they CANNOT use to patronize your business. That means that we’re all getting bled dry together – and if property tax hikes continue like they have over the last 15 years, no one will be left in state to frequent your establishment.
Thirdly, those property tax monies are siphoning funds from all aspect of your business. Think about it: The more they take from you, the less money you have to pay your rent, or if you own your location, to pay your business mortgage. Presently, many oil companies are having their dealers make direct payments to municipalities to pay the property taxes as part of their new leases.
However, the property tax cap – Cap 2.0 for short – is only one part of what is needed to fix what’s wrong with the local property tax system. In order to fully make use of the cap, local officials need the proper instruments necessary to curtail excessive spending. That means work rules, civil service regulations, collective bargaining procedures, healthcare contributions, and other measures MUST be revised to truly reign in costs.
Christie has proposed a ‘tool kit’ of 33 bills which would address all these issues, which the Legislature promises to take up during the summer. We will update you on this, and the progress of Cap 2.0, as more information becomes available.
Ultimately, while I’m still fuming over the elimination of Safety Inspections, we can agree that his property tax proposal will only help your bottom line. Besides which, even if the Governor didn’t agree with us on saving Safety Inspections, we can still hope to have his support on equally important issues – LIKE MOVING NEW JERSEY TO AN ALL PIF INSPECTION SYSTEM!!
Remember, every Governor elected since Brendan Byrne in 1974 has vowed to tackle the state’s property tax problem – and either failed to do so or made the problem worse! In fact, it was Governor Byrne himself who instituted New Jersey’s first Income Tax in order to help offset property taxes. When it was finally implemented, proponents promised it would be a minimal tax and help alleviate spending shortfalls. Instead, today we have both high property taxes AND high incomes taxes!!
As such, even with our gripe about Safety Inspections still very fresh, you have to give the Governor credit for trying to get this mess resolved!
Last week, we told you that one great aspect of the new budget was how the Governor addressed the dwindling Unemployment Insurance (UI) fund. As we’ve reported many times, this fund has been continually pillaged by members of the Legislature for decades to balance past budgets. With funds drying up further due to the poor economy the UI fund was set up to automatically trigger a huge payroll tax increases. Leaders in the business community have anticipated that the increase would have amounted to a $400+ per employee increase every year.
Thankfully the Governor vetoed the original bill, which included those workers fired for misconduct. The revised bill also creates a task force charged with identifying ways in which the UI fund can be saved from its current $1 Billion deficit.
Most importantly, however, the revised measure will only raise the increase to about $130 per employee rather than the anticipated $400+ increase.
That’s great news for any small business owner.
Thanks for reading and see you next week!!
Regards,
Sal Risalvato
Executive Director
IN THIS WEEK’S NJGCA ROAD WARRIOR
UPDATE: NEW PIF CLASSES ADDED!!
•SEE DETAILS BELOW!!
POLITICAL PARTICIPATON: THE NJGCA PAC
•Participate in the NJGCA PAC today and help us keep our Agenda rolling in Trenton!
NEWS AROUND THE STATE
•Cap 2.0 will tighten property taxes, curtail school budgets
•New Jersey to borrow $1.4 billion for transportation projects
•Massachusetts approves Right to Repair
•NJ jobless claims outpace the rest of the nation
ON THE NJGCA HOMEPAGE
MEMBER SAVINGS PAGE
Check out all of our MBPs and Programs designed to SAVE YOU MONEY!
HELPFUL LINKS
Looking for something? Take a look at our list of useful links!
NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE
Find all our communications and search for old e-newsletters. Take a look!
NEWS AROUND THE STATE ARCHIVE
Need to catch up on events? Want to see what's going on? Find out here!
KNOW YOUR TERRITORY MANAGER!
Henry Darden: Territory Manager for Middlesex, Union, Part of Essex (Southern Half)
Cell: 973-477-0057
Email: henry@njgca.org
Jack Leli: Territory Manager for Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Ocean, Salem
Cell: 732-995-1637
Email: jack@njgca.org
Bob Quirk: Territory Manager for Bergen, Hudson, Part of Essex (Northern Half)
Cell: 201-214-8836
E-mail: bob@njgca.org
Frank Stewart: Territory Manager for Morris, Sussex, Warren, Hunterdon, Passaic
Cell: 973-234-7403
Email: frank@njgca.org
Don Stohrer: Territory Manager for Monmouth, Mercer, Somerset
Cell: 732-539-2955
Email: don@njgca.org
UPDATE: NEW PIF CLASSES ADDED!!
CALL FOR FUTURE CLASS SCHEDULE INFORMATION
THREE CLASS OPTIONS!!
1). NJ EMISSION INSPECTOR TRAINING CLASS
***SPECIAL NOTICE: All PIF & DIESEL INSPECTORS ***
ALL Private Inspectors and ALL Diesel Inspectors must be licensed as a Motor Vehicle Inspector and take the state approved training program.
NJGCA is offering a SPECIAL ONE DAY Emissions Inspector Class & Final MVC Test.
LOCATION:
Springfield - Union County
Class to be held at NJGCA Headquarters
66 Morris Ave.
Springfield, NJ 07081
CLASS DATE: 07/13/2010 OR 07/20/2010
ARRIVAL TIME: 7:30am
CLASS COST (INCLUDING MANUALS):
• Member - $299
• Non-member - $329
We will serve coffee/donuts in the morning and lunch at 12:00pm. You will take the MVC test at 1:00pm
NOTE: FUTURE DATES WILL BE ADDED UPON REQUEST – CALL DEBBIE AND LET HER KNOW YOU ARE INTERESTED IN TAKING THE CLASS!!
2). EMISSION REPAIR TECHNICIAN RE-CERTIFICATION CLASS
New Jersey Gasoline C-Store Automotive Association (NJGCA) is offering the ETEP course that your ERTs need in order to recertify their license.
Our Course includes:
• New Jersey State Specific Information Course
• ETEP Section 6 “OBDII Monitoring Failures”
• Section 7 “Light-Duty Diesel Vehicle Technologies and Testing”.
Everything your technician needs to Re-Certify his ERT license!!!
CLASS COST (INCLUDING MANUALS):
• NJGCA Member rates: $489.00
• NON-Member rates: $629.00
TWO LOCATIONS – NIGHT & DAY CLASSES
Springfield - Union County (TWO DAY CLASS)
Class to be held at NJGCA Headquarters
66 Morris Ave.
Springfield, NJ 07081
August 12th & 19th
8:00am to 4:00pm
Rumson – Monmouth County (FOUR EVENING CLASSES)
Class to be held at Junior League of Monmouth County
July 20th, 22nd, 27th & 29th
Tuesday and Thursdays
6:00pm to 10:00pm
3). INITIAL EMISSION REPAIR TECHNICIAN CERTIFICATION CLASS
New Jersey Gasoline C-Store Automotive Association (NJGCA) is offering an INITIAL ETEP Certification course. This is the entire program, section 1 – 7. This is everything you need to become a licensed Emission Repair Technician.
Our Course includes:
• New Jersey State Specific Information Course
• ETEP Sections 1-7 – THE ENTIRE ETEP CIRRICULUM
• Section 7 “Light-Duty Diesel Vehicle Technologies and Testing”.
• EIGHT DAY CLASS
Everything to become an Emission Repair Technician!!
LOCATION:
Springfield - Union County (EIGHT FULL-DAY CLASSES)
Class to be held at NJGCA Headquarters
66 Morris Ave.
Springfield, NJ 07081
September 16th – November 4th (Every Thursday for 8 weeks!)
8:00am to 4:00pm
CLASS COST (INCLUDING MANUALS):
• NJGCA Member rates: $1,495.00
• NON-Member rates: $1,695.00
CALL FOR CLASS INFORMATION
PLEASE NOTE: We are always in the process of putting together additional classes. If you are interested in taking classes in this time period, please call NJGCA and let us know so we can add you to the list.
Call Debbie Hill to enroll in the classes at debbie@njgca.org or call 973-376-0066.
POLITICAL PARTICIPATON: THE NJGCA PAC
Ensuring our friends in the legislature are re-elected and advocating for our agenda in Trenton are of utmost importance to the agenda of NJGCA.
It is for this reason that your Association has established the NJGCA PAC.
For too long, the weight of funding our Political Action Committee, the arm of the Association responsible for political donations, has rested upon the shoulders of a few. This is not fair to them, and it is not fair to many of you who are relying on the benefits of good legislation being passed in Trenton.
To truly understand the importance of fundraising for our allies, let’s look back upon the overwhelming successes of the last year:
NJGCA successfully lobbied against BELOW COST SELLING. If approved, BELOW COST SELLING would have cost each of you thousands of dollars and put many of you out of businesses. NJGCA leaned on some of our friends in the Assembly and literally had the bill pulled off the floor on the day it was scheduled to be voted on. Our friends in the Legislature helped us get this accomplished.
NJGCA made history and led the charge to pass the most comprehensive protection of franchisees in decades with FIRST RIGHT OF REFUSAL legislation. FIRST RIGHT OF REFUSAL passed only because NJGCA and dealers throughout the state were able to lean on several friends in the Assembly and the Senate.
NJGCA has been rallying support for RIGHT TO REPAIR over the last two years among key legislators. This would end the practice of car manufacturers denying you the codes necessary to complete the repairs you make on your customers cars. Every state has tried to pass RIGHT TO REPAIR and no state has even been able to get the legislation out of committee. Because of our friends in the Legislature, NJGCA has been successful in getting this bill passed by the Assembly and now awaits a vote in the Senate.
I am asking some of you as individuals to make a contribution and attend a fundraising event sponsored by one of our friends in the Assembly.
However, we will not be able to host events for all of our friends, so the NJGCA PAC will have to make contributions. You will be receiving letters soon from the NJGCA PAC asking you to make contributions.
If every member contributes just $100.00 we will be able to provide the help necessary to ensure victory for our allies.
PLEASE SEND YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS TO:
NJGCA PAC
66 Morris Avenue
Springfield, NJ 07081
Please make your donation payable to NJGCA PAC
I understand that times are tough for all NJGCA members, but this is just as important as any battle we have fought in the past.
We have made great progress in Trenton. I hope that you will answer the call.
NEWS AROUND THE STATE
7/5/2010:
Cap 2.0 will tighten property taxes, curtail school budgets
With news that the Governor and Legislature have agreed on a hard-2% property tax cap, many political observers ponder what the restrictions will mean for the state’s 614 school districts. As the average property tax levy increased by 3.7% this year, many supporters of public education fear that even tougher constraint next year may be hard to conform to.
7/5/2010:
New Jersey to borrow $1.4 billion for transportation projects
With ongoing transportation projects in jeopardy of being derailed or cancelled, Governor Christie plans on borrowing $1.4 billion for various ongoing infrastructure improvements and repairs. The state also plans refinancing some debt obligations in order to obtain a lower interest rate on whatever funds are ultimately secured. Critics have called on Christie to increase the Gas Tax from it’s current level, but the Governor continues to oppose any Gas Tax hike.
7/6/2010:
Massachusetts approves Right to Repair
The Massachusetts State Senate has approved the Right to Repair Act, becoming the second state to pass the initiative. Association Members will recall that, with the help of NJGCA and our Membership, the Right to Repair was passed by the New Jersey Assembly in October 2008. However, while widely supported in the Senate, the measure was not considered for a floor vote before the end of the Legislative Session.
7/8/2010:
NJ jobless claims outpace the rest of the nation
This week, the number of unemployment claims rose faster in New Jersey than any other state. The news comes as national jobless benefit claims have fallen to their lowest level in two months.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ARTICLES IN OUR “NEWS AROUND THE STATE” ARCHIVE
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