When Samantha Marcus of NJ Advance Media wrote a story about the towns with the highest property tax rates in New Jersey that was published on March 29, 2019, on NJ.com the Borough of Roselle came in at 15.
Roselle has the 15th highest tax bills out of 565 municipalities in New Jersey because with all the waste, fraud, and corruption, you are not getting your money’s worth from our local government.
In raw dollars, there are 384 municipalities in New Jersey that have lower average property tax bills than we pay in Roselle, but Councilwoman-at-Large Denise Wilkerson and 4th Ward Councilwoman Cindy Thomas said they “have rebuilt a strong financial foundation for Roselle” while ignoring the problem of crime and allowing the mayor to live out of town.
A strong financial foundation means getting adequate services for a fair price, not being left at the mercy of gun-toting street gangs in houses on rotting streets with potholes the size of craters.
Some say that taxes in Roselle are so high that Mayor Donald Shaw moved to Elizabeth.
Roselle is among the few communities where more of your tax dollars are spent by municipal politicians instead of invested in children.
The Roselle Board of Education shares 37 percent of the receipts from property tax bills but the municipality gets 50 percent, which is upside down compared to almost every other community.
In Roselle Park, schools get 53 percent of the property taxes. In Cranford, schools get 56 percent. In Linden, schools get 50 percent and in Westfield, schools get more than 60 percent of every property tax dollar.
Those other communities recognize that children are our most valuable asset, that education is a labor-intensive pursuit, and that investing in our future is worthwhile.
By comparison, Roselle politicians feast at your expense while cheating the children in public schools.