Council inaction once again causes problems for residents as Mayor extends tax deadline to August 15, 2022
TRENTON, NJ – As a result of legislative budget delays, Mayor W. Reed Gusciora announced an extension of the deadline for third quarter municipal tax bills today.
“Council sat on the budget we proposed in April. That inaction is causing a lot of problems for residents, problems that were completely avoidable,” said Mayor Gusciora. “If Council President McBride wanted changes made to the budget, she could have made them and moved for Council approval by now. She should have done her job in the spring so that we would not have to deal with potential shutdowns, unpaid debts, and late tax bills in the summer.”
With City Council leadership delaying the 2022 annual budget hearings and passage, the estimated third quarter tax bills were mailed to property owners last Thursday. Gusciora signed an executive order today extending the date for paying property owner’s tax bill until August 15, 2022.
Since the bills are estimated, the majority of property owners will have a bill that is the same amount as the bill for 2022 second quarter. If there was a recent change in property assessment, the tax bill will reflect that change.
Due to Council inaction on the municipal budget and temporary emergency appropriations, the City is currently being funded through executive order.
The City was also ordered by the NJ Department of Community Affairs (DCA) to make payments on debts for bonds previously approved by the Council. Council declined to pay those bills and the State ordered payment by the Administration to avoid default.
The same three-member Council bloc -- Council President Kathy McBride and Council women Robin Vaughn and Sonya Wilkins -- also recently voted down safety equipment for firefighters (photo below), demolition of abandoned houses, and measures to support the security and quality of Trenton's water supply system.
Since Council was unwilling to deal with issues in the City Clerk's Office, the Administration also had to take responsibility for processing and filing a backlog of nearly 500 business licenses. Similarly, alcoholic beverage licenses had not been processed and liquor establishments feared their licenses would lapse on July 1. In order to preserve continuity of government services, over 100 applications were processed and delivered by the Administration.
###