The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
By Mayor Phil Kramer.
Property taxes. That is the issue I probably hear most about as mayor. I understand the frustration. I pay property taxes too. But what you might not know is that the Franklin Township Council is only responsible for a very small portion of your tax bill. In fact, your property tax assessment is a combined bill determined by many independent entities besides the Township, such as the County, School District, and Fire District, as well as open space and library levies that were directly approved by voters. These other entities account for more than 86 percent of your total property tax bill, with school taxes being the biggest component. The Township Council is responsible for the remaining, small portion. And on those municipal taxes, our Council has kept spending in check even though costs have skyrocketed over the last few years.
Let’s look at some facts. From 2020-2024, the municipal tax bill for the average home in Franklin went up by just $43 a year. That’s a 3 percent annual increase, well below the average inflation rate. How many of your other household expenses have increased by less than inflation since 2020?
An apples-to-apples comparison with our nearest neighbors shows just how well Franklin is doing at keeping municipal spending in check. In Hillsborough, municipal taxes went up by $101 a year. In Bridgewater it was $75. That equates to a 7 percent annual increase in municipal taxes in those towns – nearly two-and-a-half times higher than Franklin. The one town that comes close to Franklin in controlling costs is Montgomery, where municipal taxes went up by an average of $53 per year.
What do Franklin and Montgomery have in common? The Township Councils are controlled by Democrats. What do Hillsborough and Bridgewater have in common? They are run by Republicans. Read that again. Franklin has one of the lowest municipal tax increases in our region, far lower than in towns where Republicans control the budget. The Republican candidates for Franklin Township Council claim to have the expertise needed to run local government. If the experience of our neighbors in Hillsborough and Bridgewater is any example, that’s the kind of “know how” Franklin taxpayers cannot afford.
Now, let’s talk about school taxes, which are the real problem. Those of us who serve on your Township Council probably hear the complaints the loudest because you know us. Imagine if you paid for all your utilities in a single bill – electric, gas, water, sewer, phone, cable, internet, etc. All those costs have gone up, but some much more than others. If you saw a big increase in your joint “utility bill,” you’d probably blame the provider you are most familiar with, say, your cable company, even though your electric service may be the biggest cause of your increase.
The same is true with your property tax bill. The big driver of this year’s increase is a cut to state education aid that the school district had to make up. We hear the complaints on Franklin Council even though state law did not allow us to have any say in this year’s school budget. Republicans running for Council will try to fool you into thinking that they can bring down your tax bill if they get into office. They can’t and they know it.
Let me make this as plain as possible: property taxes are a stupid way to fund public education. Providing a high-quality education in Franklin, or indeed anywhere, should not fall on the backs of over-burdened homeowners. Instead of making empty promises, your Council has joined forces with state Assemblyman Joe Danielsen to fight for change in how public education is funded in New Jersey, starting with a state commission that will provide honest answers on the best way to pay for our schools.
Your Council’s close working relationship with our representatives in Trenton provide us the leverage to push for this change. That is why I am asking you to re-elect our Democratic Council members Ed Potosnak in Ward 1, Shepa Uddin in Ward 2, Charles Onyejiaka in Ward 3, Carl Wright in Ward 4 and James Vassanella in Ward 5 – so we can keep fighting for real solutions to the problem of rising property tax bills.
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