James Says There Are Ways To Stop Taxes From Increasing
William James, Gloucester City Independent Mayor candidate, released the following statement on his thoughts on ways to stop the ever ending increase in our local property taxes. His statement reads as follows:
“Shared services and consolidated purchases of equipment and supplies are going to be necessary agreements
to forge between neighboring small municipalities.
The State of New Jersey is making it quite clear that a failure to embrace these concepts and aggressively pursue these types of agreements will directly affect future considerations related to state aid.
Our municipality has already experienced the effectiveness and the financial benefits of one such agreement.
The Gloucester City, Brooklawn, Bellmawr, Mount Ephraim and Runnemede Police Departments, staffed, trained and equipped a critical response team to address high risk entries and hostage/barricaded subject situations that occur in the five, individually governed, municipalities.
The benefits related to public safety and the reduced financial hardships related to both sustaining the unit and in the event of a necessary response are immeasurable.
We should incorporate this concept with neighboring highway departments, water and sewage departments and fire and EMS services to keep our monies within the municipalities instead of relying on and paying expensive outside contractors.
I am confident in the abilities of our present workforce and I believe that be making consolidated purchases of the equipment necessary to address whatever foreseeable emergency task that may face us and to provide whatever training is necessary to certify or personnel in the handling of such situations, we will become more self sufficient and less reliant on the uncontrollable expenses that are placed on the taxpayer by outside contractors.
We have to step out of the mindset that has our community reactive to situations that occur instead of being proactive. We have to strive to look into the future and work on our preparedness. With the help of our surrounding neighbors, we can become more and more self sufficient.”
