By Craig J. Coughlin
New Jersey is known for many things - our beautiful shore, our great history, Bruce Springsteen - but it's also known for something much less attractive: having the highest property taxes in the nation.
New Jersey's residential property taxes set a new record in 2017, with the average annual tax bill now at $8,690 -- or $725 a month.
High property taxes have long plagued our state, with homeowners paying the price in more ways than just the bill that shows up in the mail.
The awful property tax tentacles reach far and wide, impacting families in many ways.
Senior citizens on a fixed income are especially vulnerable to this regressive tax and often struggle to stay in their family homes, near children and grandchildren.
New Jersey has the highest percentage of college graduates who boomerang back home to live with their parents because they cannot afford to live on their own.
Young working class families cannot overcome the cost of property taxes to afford a home. Relief programs fall victim to short-sighted annual state budgetary decisions. Promises are made to our constituents and then, conveniently, forgotten.
No more.
When I became Assembly Speaker in January, I made clear that confronting property taxes was going to be among my top priorities. New Jersey has gotten too expensive. Everyone knows it, and while solving the property tax crisis isn't easy, the least we can do is keep the promises we made to ease the burden on homeowners while we work on a long-term fix.
Last year, the legislature made a commitment to more than half a million New Jerseyans that they would receive a full year's property tax credit in this year's budget, which is to take effect this July 1. There was no secret about this plan. It was included in last year's budget and would affect seniors, the disabled and families earning less than $75,000 per year.
My pledge to you is simple: despite the state's dire fiscal condition, the General Assembly will pass a budget this year that provides a full year's property tax credit to help ease the burden on seniors, the disabled and working families. Taxpayers deserve better than to have property tax relief programs be held hostage in order to pay for other priorities.
Yes, politicians on both sides of the aisle spent decades passing the buck on making tough decisions that would have put us on a more sound fiscal footing. Governor Murphy inherited a mess when he was inaugurated this January and I believe that he is doing his best to deal with the realities that were handed to him.
But seniors, the disabled and working families - some of the most vulnerable among us - should not have to continue paying the price for decades' worth of bad decisions that were made at their expense.
They deserve the property tax relief they were promised last year -- and I fully intend to ensure that we keep our promise to them.
This is not an academic exercise. A property tax relief cut equates to a property tax increase and real people pay the price - by being driven from their homes, by having to choose between paying their taxes and other vital needs, by counting on tax relief that never came.
We can't ask the very people who put us in office to keep taking our word that things will eventually get better if we can't keep the promises we made to them only a short ten months ago.
And I refuse to balance our budget on the backs of the most vulnerable among us. These New Jerseyans have enough to deal with without having to worry that we are going to force them to pay even more out of pocket after promising them greater relief last year.
We promised more than half a million New Jerseyans and their loved ones a fully funded homestead rebate program. Let's work to make people's lives better in real and tangible ways.
Craig J. Coughlin, D-Middlesex, is the state Assembly speaker.
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