Terry Cullen: Wall Street Journal: “This week New Jersey lawmakers have been making noise about cutting property taxes. And it's about time, since homeowners in my state pay the highest property taxes in the nation. We're not getting too excited, though: It's more likely that our property taxes are going to rise rather than fall in the coming years -- tax break or not.”
“Today our home is assessed at $168,100 -- a figure derived from 1991, the last time our town performed a revaluation. Our town's general tax rate in 2006 was 3.704, or $37.04 per $1,000 in assessed value. Last year my husband Gerry and I paid $6,226 in taxes on our 2,400-square-foot, three bedroom, one-and-a-half home.”
“Our home is being reassessed (in 2007) as a part of a town wide revaluation. At an assessed value of $429,999, our taxes would leap to $15,927 a year (based on the current tax rate) from $6,226, a 155% increase. Even with our lawmakers' new proposed property-tax credit, our final bill would work out to $14,330 -- still more than twice the tax we're paying now.”
Dear Mrs. Cullen;
Do not panic. If the reappraisal is done correctly then the total grand list should increase by the same 155% reducing the tax rate from 3.704 to 1.451 that will result in a property tax bill of $6,226 on your $429,000 home.
Believe it or not Mrs. Cullen, if you owned a $429,000 home in Brattleboro, Vermont, your property tax bill would be $10,296 which is $4,070 or 60% higher than your home in New Jersey.
Why are property taxes so much higher in Brattleboro than in a state with the highest property taxes in the country?
Well, here is the primary reason. In the last ten years Brattleboro has evolved into a community of “Progressives”.
You are probably asking yourself what is a “Progressive?” Simply stated, a “Progressive” is a liberal with no money.
“Progressives” in Brattleboro are predictably anti-business, anti-capitalism, anti-development, ant-free trade, anti-globalization, anti-growth, anti-landlord, anti-nuclear, anti-police, anti-sprawl, anti-war, anti-wealthy, and of course, anti-Wal-Mart. They go through life convinced that the world owes them a living and in exchange they will set the standards of how other people should live their lives. They tend to be very ethnocentric. Everything has to revolve around them. In a way their philosophy about human existence would be funny if it were not so pathetic.
Here in Brattleboro, “Progressives” involved in the planning and permit process have mandated that any new housing complexes in town must not only be densely constructed to prevent country sprawl, but must also provide affordable housing (without defining it) for poor people.
“Progressives” envision a town where the fortunate wealthy (who made their money exploiting the poor) and the unfortunate destitute will walk hand-in-hand in harmony along the grassy lined sidewalks of Putney Road looking at the mountains that you are allowed to own and pay property taxes on, but not permitted to build upon, because that will create jealousy between the “haves” and “have-nots” in our oh so wonderful town.
You have to understand, Mrs. Cullen, that here in Brattleboro “Progressives” are really, really big into the “vision” thing which explains why the Brattleboro Town Plan is nothing more than a compendium of irrelevant crap.
Ten years ago “Progressives” successfully chased the largest business out of Brattleboro into another state. Because of them, the potential of a new corporate headquarters with 1,200 high paying white collar jobs has been replaced with 120 low paying jobs tending the cash registers at the various twenty-one gas stations in town.
Even sadder Mrs. Cullen, “Progressives” have transformed Brattleboro Town Meeting into a joke. Rather than intelligently discuss how to deal with the town’s out-of-control property taxes, the “Progressives” will shift the focus to the impeachment of President Bush, global warming, and shutting down Entergy Yankee – their “vision” thing for the betterment of all humanity.
Even more disturbing, Mrs. Cullen, is that “Progressives” in Brattleboro have adopted a new tactic in their “anti” arsenal of weapons. Progressives believe that because Brattleboro is “so special” that they have the right to interfere in the permitting process to make certain that any new business coming into town financially contributes to one of their causes. If the business refuses to pay up, then the “Progressives” will use the permitting process to prevent the business from relocating here.
“Progressives” are not above using economic blackmail to achieve their political objectives which is indicative of their lack of personal integrity. And then they sit around scratching their heads wondering why businesses do not want to move here. Duhhh!
It also explains why young people are fleeing Brattleboro in record numbers. “Progressives" have succeeded in transforming the local economy into one of minimum wage paying jobs with no high paying careers. The latest “Progressive” craze to boost the local economy is for the residents to “make things with their hands that other residents need”. Yeah, right. Try selling that line of bull to an intelligent teenager in our digital world.
“Progressives” are also intolerant of anyone who disagrees with their rigid set of beliefs. You would have been amused when the founder of Greenpeace came to Brattleboro yesterday to testify in support of nuclear power. The “Progressives” had a total melt down (pun intended). The only way they could respond was by name calling which is indicative not only of their atrocious upbringing but also their diminished IQ.
“Progressives” have in fact wrecked Brattleboro. This is why the Town Manager, who grew up here, had the common sense to throw in the towel.
And that, Mrs. Cullen, is the reason why Brattleboro has the highest property taxes in the entire world.
Sincerely yours,
RL Elkins
P.S. You know, Mrs. Cullen, it must be awful to be a “Progressive”. Can you image being a “Progressive” and then in the last thirty seconds before you die you finally realize how totally useless your entire life has been.
Yuck. What a terrible way to go.