By Julia Boyle
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

Chances are, you’ve just mailed yet another fourfigure property tax payment. And though statewide taxes saw a smaller increase in 2007 than over the past few years, the reported 5.5% hike did not dip as low as the 4% goal Governor Corzine set last January.

This was “the lowest increase in six years,” according to Lilo Stainton, press secretary to Gov. Corzine. “This positive trend is expected to continue in 2008,” she adds.

Rising taxes, falling population?
While it may be a “positive trend,” taxpayers are singing a different tune.

“When they commend not meeting the goal, they show contempt for the taxpayer. People are no longer going to be able to stay here in New Jersey, and businesses won’t come here because of all the taxation,” says Jim Allen, a longtime Monmouth County resident.

“Taxes in the state of New Jersey have escalated to what I believe is out of control,” he says heatedly. Allen says that in the five years he has lived in his current house, his property taxes have increased $2,000. “At that rate, who can afford to live here?” he asks.

Staying local
But Allen does plan to remain in-state, where he has joined the Priority Lists at both Seabrook in Tinton Falls and Cedar Crest in Pompton Plains. Membership on the Priority List ensures that he can move to either community when the home he wants is available and he’s ready.

“Anecdotes suggesting residents are leaving are not based on fact,” says  Stainton. “Actual data show more people—particularly seniors and high wage earners—continue to move to New Jersey. With unprecedented natural resources, its proximity to world-class colleges and cultural institutions, plus well-paid jobs and a high quality of life in general, the Garden State continues to draw residents who recognize it as an attractive place to live.”