Tax Cap

Open fields, cheap land, and good schools made Woolwich attractive to families such as Kate Bennett's - so attractive that the population has tripled to nearly 10,000 since she moved from Philadelphia into a four-bedroom home there a decade ago. The boom made the Gloucester County farming community one of the fastest-growing towns in the Northeast. And to residents' dismay, it has caused property taxes to skyrocket as well. The average tax bill in Woolwich has doubled to $8,625 since 2000, while property taxes overall in communities in Burlington, Camden, and Gloucester Counties jumped 64 percent to $5,688, on average, according to an Inquirer analysis of state figures.

TRENTON - When Gov. Christie first proposed his plan to limit property-tax increases to 2.5 percent a year, some Democratic lawmakers objected to a provision that would have allowed voters in individual towns to override the cap. The thinking among the critics was that wealthier towns would approve overrides much more often than less affluent ones, leading to a greater divide between the haves and the have-nots. The experience in Massachusetts, which has had a property-tax cap since 1981, appears to support those concerns.

Gov. Christie signed into law a bill limiting tax levy increases at the municipal, school, and county levels to 2 percent annually on Tuesday, one day after the measure received final approval in the Legislature. The bill represents a compromise between a constitutional amendment to cap property taxes that Christie had initially sought and a weaker cap proposed by Senate President Stephen Sweeney. "This is the beginning of real property-tax relief for New Jersey," Christie said after signing the legislation.

TRENTON - The New Jersey Assembly gave final legislative approval Monday to legislation to cap property-tax increases at 2 percent annually, a compromise version of the centerpiece of Gov. Christie's plan to tackle property taxes. The vote came just nine days after Christie and Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D., Gloucester) announced they had reached a compromise on the bill and about two weeks after the Legislature approved a $29.4 billion budget almost identical to the one proposed by Christie in March.

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)

TRENTON - To impose a 2 percent cap on property-tax increases without addressing what drives up government spending is "the tail wagging the dog," Cherry Hill Mayor Bernie Platt told an Assembly panel on Wednesday. Collingswood Mayor Jim Maley concurred, warning lawmakers, "The order we're doing this in is not the best way. " The Assembly Budget Committee heard testimony from representatives of towns, schools, and public employees who repeatedly questioned the effectiveness of the 2 percent cap agreement reached Saturday by Gov. Christie and legislative leaders.

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. "I would not not put a bill up for a vote," Oliver said.