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More buildings go up, yet taxes don't fall
Published in the Asbury Park Press 03/20/05When anyone wants permission to put up more houses or buildings, the cry is always that it will help the tax base. My question is: When have you seen property taxes go down?In the early 1970s I worked for a doctor in East Hampton, L.I., who wrote an essay, "The Best Buy Is Open Spaces." His theory was that it's much more cost effective to not build, leaving some acreage open and free of buildings. Alas, this thought was not accepted and now the place hardly has any open space. Will it happen here? Now I see in Keyport that they want to use the old aircraft building for housing. ("Aeromarine site move sparks residents' concerns," March 5.) I'm waiting to hear how this is going to help the tax base. It only means that we will need more of everything: police, firemen, sanitation, schools. The tax revenue does not cover these expenses, so the taxes go up. I know older people who are selling their homes because higher taxes are eating into their savings. Now they see it being eaten by increased property taxes, too. It saddens me to see the houses that recently went up along Raritan Bay. I am curious to know how they got permission to build right on the bay. Where is the outlet for the sanitation facilities? Let's look carefully at plans for large projects. Rita Scholl MIDDLETOWN
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