Gov. Christie urges residents to vote down towns that try to 'get around' property tax cap

The waste and bloat in nearly all these towns is out of hand! They copy each other. They even go to "conferenences" to see what they should envy about what other towns have wasted money on, so they can keep up the spending!
Notice how the reporter characterized Christie as "combative."  Why not just add other perceived negative adjectives like fat or argumentative?
Many towns in NJ have already ripped-off their tax payers by eliminating trash collection, then designating a separate "private' monopoly to run the trash collection that is billed every month, bi-monthly or quarterly, and cant be deducted from their income tax. The towns also have separated sewer bills, sidewalk, driveway and curb repair bills also as ways of not providing services for their tax payers! m/r

Gov. Christie urges residents to vote down towns that try to 'get around' property tax cap | NJ.com
By Megan DeMarco/Statehouse Bureau 4-16-12

TRENTON — In the second year since Gov. Chris Christie enacted a 2 percent ceiling on how much municipalities can collect in property taxes, only two towns are asking voters for permission to spend more.

And the combative governor is urging voters in those towns to turn them down.

Voters in Lawrence and Medford will decide tomorrow between cutbacks in municipal services and a hike in property taxes. The borough council in Demarest, Bergen County will figure out tonight whether it will seek a May 8 referendum vote.

Last year, 14 towns asked voters to exceed the 2 percent cap, and 12 voted no — including Medford, where the question was rejected by 84 percent of the voters.

Christie says having only two of New Jersey’s 566 towns seeking a referendum proves the cap on property taxes is working. He’s encouraging residents in those towns to "call their bluff." ...

But officials in those two towns say there’s no way around it.

"I assure the governor we’re not bluffing," said Mayor James Pace, who pointed out how past local leaders spent Medford into a hole.

If the referendum is defeated, trash pick-up will be eliminated and there could be more municipal layoffs.

Lawrence will levy a $28 a month fee for garbage collection if the referendum is voted down. If the cap succeeds, the average homeowner will pay $145 more a year for a home assessed at $161,292, the town’s average.

-more at link-