Gloucester City is in a financial crisis. Our City’s annual budget continues to grow as our liabilities and overheads swell. Our revenues are down and our property taxes continue to rise as our City attempts to get a handle on it’s soon-to- be crushing debt load.
To help solve this crisis we must rediscover Gloucester City’s history of manufacturing and the commercial industry. The Water Street Industrial Zone was once home to numerous manufacturing companies which paid substantial tax revenues to our City, employed hundreds upon hundreds of area workers and bolstered our local economy. Huge holes in our tax revenue, employment rate and total commerce were created when these companies left Gloucester City. Subsequently, property taxes and state aid requirements have increased as our community has become unable to support its obligations.
(Side Note: In promoting new manufacturing it is important to remember the environmental damage that was incurred by companies like GAF, Arco, Gulf & Western and others that once operated in our City. As we move toward enticing new manufacturing, we must be conscious of and add special emphasis to more eco-friendly companies to minimize any potential environmental impact.)
Various local communities have tax bases that are supported heavily by commercial manufacturing/industry. Because of this, those Boroughs and Cities seem far better prepared to overcome their financial needs. Bringing manufacturing and the commercial industry back to our community should be our highest priority in the years to come because doing so will create jobs, raise the flow of total commerce, boost tax revenues, allow the City to pay down our debt and begin to reduce our subsistence on State funding (which may be lost or seriously reduced under Governor-elect Christie’s proposed 15% to 25% budget cuts.)
It is also important to note the argument, made by some, that
building new homes will create additional rateables. I would point out that
doing so also creates new demands on existing services. Each new home built does
come with a higher property tax rate, however new homes also increase municipal
and School District costs. New homes can potentially become contributors to the
finical burden and do little or nothing to combat budget deficits.
Continuously raising municipal/property taxes is
ultimately counterproductive as it encourages residents to move out of the City.
Stabilizing and reducing costs WHILE growing revenue through expanded commerce
is the best option.
