Tax Cap

TRENTON - Gov. Christie issued a conditional veto of a property-tax-cap bill Tuesday, paving the way for the Legislature to approve a compromise worked out between the governor and the Senate president. Meanwhile, Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver said in an interview that while she was "blindsided" by the announcement Saturday of the deal between Christie and Stephen Sweeney (D., Gloucester), she intended to post the legislation for a floor vote "as soon as possible," within weeks.

TRENTON - Legislators Friday considered ways to cap New Jersey property taxes while Democratic leaders and the Republican governor bickered over the timetable for an agreement. The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee met for just over an hour Friday morning to sketch a broad agenda for discussing property-tax reform over the summer, but Democrats in the upper house defied Gov. Christie's order to meet in special session to address the issue. Republicans showed up in the Senate chambers at 12:30 p.m., the time Christie called for. Democrats were no-shows.

TRENTON - The state Senate on Thursday approved legislation that would install a 2 percent limit on property-tax increases, the centerpiece of Gov. Christie's plan to rein in the highest such taxes in the country. The cap, which would go into effect next year, heads to the Assembly, where it is scheduled for a vote Monday. The measure is a compromise between Christie's quest for a constitutional amendment holding annual increases to 2.5 percent and the counterproposal by Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D., Gloucester)

The Republican-run Senate took a jab at the Goode administration by passing a bill to cap the Philadelphia wage tax at the current 4.96 percent for city residents, but yesterday's action appeared to be the measure's last hurrah. The Senate voted 27-21 along party lines to send the bill, sponsored by Sen. M. Joseph Rocks (R., Phila.), to the House, which is controlled by Democrats and will likely let the legislation die without a floor vote. "It's very, very bad for the city to have the Philadelphia wage tax debated on the House floor.

TRENTON - A bill to cap property taxes at 2.9 percent is set for a vote by both houses of the New Jersey Legislature on Monday, after an Assembly budget panel approved the measure Friday. The legislation is the Democrats' answer to Gov. Christie's proposal to seek voter approval to amend the constitution with a "hard cap" of 2.5 percent on tax increases. Christie is likely to veto their bill, which allows for more exceptions and has less permanence than enacting a cap constitutionally.

Gov. Christie pitched his plan to curb property taxes to a standing-room-only crowd in Greenwich Township Wednesday, urging residents to call their legislators to show their support for a constitutional amendment to cap tax increases. While several audience members asked pointed questions of the governor, he received an overwhelmingly warm reception from those gathered at Greenwich Township Elementary School. The governor took aim numerous times at public employees, particularly teachers unions.

With the rest of the state watching, voters in Medford Township swarmed the polls Tuesday and approved a significant tax increase that community leaders said was needed to prevent the town from sinking into a default. The measure passed with about 57 percent of the vote, according to unofficial returns - a stunning turnaround in a Republican-leaning town that last year defeated a similar tax-increase proposal by a 5-1 ratio. Despite an antitax mood, the Burlington County town was among the three municipalities in New Jersey - out of 566 - that opted to ask voters this year for permission to exceed the state's 2 percent cap on the municipal portion of their property-tax bills.

FIRST, the good news: The Board of Revision of Taxes has imposed a 10 percent cap on property-tax assessments for 2003. Now, the bad news: The BRT has imposed a 10 percent cap on property-tax assessments for 2003. No, this isn't necessarily bad news if you're a homeowner, especially one of those who saw a stunning increase in their property-tax assessments last year - some by as much as 250 percent. But it could be very bad news for the school district, which will have a $12 million hole to fill because of the cap; the city's general fund will also see $8 million less this year.