RAHWAY—Republicans say city homeowners received amended second quarter tax bills last week reflecting an unannounced 12 percent increase in their taxes.
At issue is the sewer fee, which was separated out of the municipal tax bill last year. City Republicans say that if the sewer portion of the taxes was not separated onto a separate bill, the math would show a 12 percent increase.
Mayor James Kennedy told city residents that there would be no municipal tax increase this year during his State of the City speech, which was re-printed in the recently mailed “Rahway Review.”
Rahway GOP Chair Patrick Cassio finds this discrepancy very troubling. “If they thought that no one would bother to read the new issue of the ‘Rahway Review’ and Kennedy’s statement why did they bother to waste taxpayer’s money printing the thing?” Cassio asked.
City CFO Frank Ruggerio has repeatedly denied any tax increase at the past four Rahway City Council meetings.
“No savings can be possible when all you are doing is removing the sewer charges, and billing it as another separate tax,” said Republican Larry Bodine, who is running for City Council.
All five of the Republican candidates for Rahway City Council are calling for a freeze on new spending to be implemented immediately and they are calling on the city government to take action now by providing tax relief for struggling seniors and hardworking families in Rahway.
