Few say they would cut services in search to save

Taxpayers polled on how to trim budgets and where to spend more , By Mark J. Yablonsky Everyone seems to agree that taxes are out of line. But as taxpayers statewide are about to find out, there seem to be no quick fixes on how to lower them. Within the next few weeks, every town and municipality in New Jersey will introduce a budget. So, too, will schools and counties. All told, they are all supported by property taxes. With that in mind The Advertiser-News conducted an informal survey of area residents to ask: What municipal services would you be willing to do without and what services would you be willing to pay more for? The answers varied. “I don’t think you can cut back on your schools,” said Hamburg resident Tracy Wardell. “For the kids to get a good education, I’d be willing to pay a little more. As far as the municipality goes, I suppose we could do without the leaf pickups. For the leaves and stuff like that, we can do it ourselves.” “I would be willing to pay more for police because I live in Wantage and we don’t have a police department,” said Tina Longo. “Every time we need a police officer, we need to wait for the State Police to come. That’s one thing we can’t do without. I don’t think there’s anything I could do without, really.” Another Wantage resident, Peter Lindsay, felt quite differently. “I’m happy with the way the State Police work,” he said. He had other issues. “But we really don’t receive much in the way of municipal services.” Lindsay said it’s his feeling that state mandates tie the hands of his municipal government, and take a chunk out of the tax bill, leaving little for local services. “They’re hemmed in by state mandates, so they really can’t do much. My lion’s share of the taxes goes to the school(s) and the county.” With tight budgets everywhere, some have suggested municipalities do some drastic across-the-board trimming, perhaps cutting back on services such as snow plowing or trash collection. “Our feeling is that we can’t do without services, but we feel there can be cuts,” commented Joanne Tatka of Franklin. “There definitely can be reductions made. And we should be taking note of what other towns around us are doing. People, I think, are afraid to come out and give their opinion.” “I think we’re sufficient in everything,” said former Franklin Mayor Ed Allen, who favors once-a-month furloughs of staff so that no one loses his or her job. “I wouldn’t add anything, but basically it would be cutting back on everything. And instead of cutting a job, just cut one day a month, which is a heck of a lot better than losing your job.”