When it comes to Hanover stopping Morristowns’ mayor from pressuring his council to buy the Doherty Roofing property in Hanover, to use as their public works yard, there seems to be few options for our governing body.

 

I attended a public meeting of the Hanover Committee Thursday evening to hear comment on the final reading of an ordinance that would permit Hanover to borrow 2 million dollars to purchase the Doherty Roofing Company property, should it come on the market.  Needless to say, most know I oppose bonding for such uses and especially oppose bonding at a time when Hanover in 2010 is looking at the possibility of more successful tax appeals and higher property taxes.

 

Some on the committee argued that we cannot afford to lose another rateable - Doherty pays about $16,000. in property taxes.  This is true, but if Hanover buys it, we still loose the tax.

 

That said, another argument was that ‘we don’t want Morristowns public works located on Hanover Avenue where it may impact Academy Estates residents.’ – I agree!    But Hanover Avenue is on the edge of Hanover and Morristowns movements would be South into Morristown, no need to enter one Hanover street.

 

Now ask ourselves. Where is Hanovers public works yard and recycling station? I’ll tell you. It is smack in the central part of Hanover on Jefferson Road, in a residential zone backed up against the very expensive Wyndmeer Estates homes and a soccer field – it has posed no problem for us.

 

Yet another comment was that Morristown wants to annex this property away from Hanover. Maybe so, but not by just by purchasing a deed – takes a lot more legislation than just saying it.

 

Finally, from a colleague and the president of our Hanover Senior Citizens Club, who at the beginning of the meeting posed an excellent question as to where Hanover was along the way of ‘affordable’ housing for our seniors on fixed incomes.  Some years ago Bob [Steiger] had spearheaded a petition from our seniors to have such housing and he and I had been working hard on plans to locate and guarantee such housing off property on Eden Lane. – it successfully became part of a court ordered settlement.

 

I then spoke to the tax implications of this bonding, saying that the average homeowner, based upon a home valued at $500,000. or an assessed ratio of half that- $250,000, would be paying an average $59. a year more in taxes - Some of us a lot more.  I knew the Committee understood the serious tax implications here.

 

So imagine my surprise to then hear the public comment that the seniors would be ‘more than willing to pay higher taxes to keep Morristown out of Hanover.’ If that is so, I have been very miss-led about the financial situation of those of us on fixed incomes. I know it would be an additional burden for me.

 

Point is Hanover, you can’t have it all ways. Either negotiate taxes (in–kind) and let Morristown move in, litigate through the courts – we’ve never been afraid to do that , or buy the property with borrowed money paid for in taxes. We can’t have it all ways in a confrontation like this. 

 

By the way, the bond ordinance passed 4 to 1.

 

Ron Francioli