BERKELEY – At a recent meeting, the Township Council discussed the tax money that the state prevents being collected from disabled veterans.
The mayor and council have continually supported veterans and veteran causes. They also support the law that makes it so that 100% disabled veterans don’t pay property taxes. What they don’t support is that the state doesn’t reimburse them for this.
“The state has to step up,” Mayor John Bacchione said.
Officials have long argued that the law, while good on the whole, shorts towns like Berkeley because there are large retirement developments full of veterans.
In 2020, Berkeley quantified the amount of property taxes that they forgive because of this law. They had 279 properties that were exempt from taxation due to them being owned by a 100 percent disabled veteran that year. If you add the property values of all of these homes together, it amounts to $54,825,500.
Multiplying this by the tax rate at the time, 2.167, it totaled $1,188,068.59. This means that there was $1,188,068.59 that had to be raised by taxing other residential and commercial property owners.
Additionally, by law, the town collects property taxes before doling it out to other taxing entities. For example, you pay your taxes in one lump sum to the town. Then, the town pays the Berkeley Township School District their share, and the Central Regional district their share, and the county, and the rest of the taxing entities. Therefore, one hole in tax revenue is multiplied as the township makes up the difference to the other entities.
The governing body has pledged support of a state bill that would reimburse towns for this amount. The bill was crafted by Senator Carmen Amato (R-9th), who used to be the town’s mayor.
If passed, the township would seek more than $1 million in taxation that is forgiven every year, based on the aforementioned formula.
In other news, Business Administrator Scott Tirella said the town is getting reimbursed for bulletproof vests from the U.S. Department of Justice and the Patrick Leahy Bulletproof Vest Program. This is in the amount of $23,455.32.
The Township Council also crafted an agreement with Ocean County for the fiscal year 2025 Child Restraint Program and the fiscal year 2024 Homeland Security Grant, the latter in the amount of $41,478.40.
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