The Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee passed a bill sponsored by Senator Anthony Bucco (R-Morris, Somerset), as well as another piece of legislation sponsored by Bucco and Senator Robert Singer (R-Ocean), to encourage the modernization of local governments and provide opportunities to cut back on property tax bills.
A Senate panel passed legislation sponsored by Sen. Bucco and Sen. Singer to modernize local government and reduce property taxes. (SenateNJ.com)
“Sadly, many individual governments are often behind in their use of modern technology because the cost to make these improvements can be prohibitive, especially in a state where taxpayers are already being asked to pay too much,” Senator Singer said. “We want to bring services into the 21st Century by creating opportunities for local governments to work together to finance these projects.”
Along with Senator Bucco, Senator Singer sponsored S-234, which would allow municipalities participating in a shared service project to apply to the Department of Community Affairs for grants and loans to help pay for the technological improvements like the installation of wireless infrastructure.
Senator Bucco is also a sponsor on S-1202, which gives municipalities the opportunity to start sending tax bills, construction permits and receipts for municipal fees via email. Each town would have to pass an ordinance to authorize the use of email, and residents who do not request the email option will still be sent a hard copy in the mail.
“This gives municipalities so much more budget flexibility, because they’ll be able to cut out the unnecessary cost of mailing bills to people who would rather get them by email anyway,” Senator Bucco said. “People already get bills for things like cable and utilities sent right to their email. There’s no reason local governments can’t follow this example and pass the savings on to the local taxpayer.”
Related Facebook Post:
https://www.facebook.com/tonybucco/posts/10153920887071441
Related Tweet:
https://twitter.com/bobsingernj/status/809482006144909312
Website Post:
https://www.senatenj.com/index.php/singer/bucco-singer-bills-to-modernize-government-services-provide-tax-relief-pass-senate-panel/30573
