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NEPTUNE REPUBLICANS SUGGEST POTENTIAL REVENUE STREAM

Democrats Push it Aside In Favor Of A Tax On The Good Guys

By Jim Granelli

At the September 13th Township Committee meeting, when presented with an idea that could bring a large revenue stream to Neptune Township, the 5 & 0 Democrat Monopoly seemed dismissive of a potentially good idea to bring in revenue for Neptune, while rushing head long into a Hotel Tax that would only hurt tourism.

Taking part in a pilot program by the N.J. State Police in order to increase traffic safety, the Boro of Glassboro, N.J.; along with other towns initiated the use of a traffic cameras to ticket vehicles running red lights or not stopping on red when making a right turn.

Glassboro realized a gross revenue of $35,000 in the first month, increasing to $110,000 in the most recently reported month of August with the first four months brought a net revenue $230,000 to Glassboro’s coffers. Extrapolating that on a year round basis, that could mean close to a million dollars in new revenue for Neptune Township.

According to Charles Callari, New Jersey regional business development director at American Traffic Solutions, “there’s no out-of-pocket expenses for the municipality or no up-front costs.”

When compared to the Neptune Democrat’s vague estimates of only $200,000 to $500,000 in revenue from a hotel tax that would impact tourism & Township business owners, Neptune’s Republicans feel that the brakes should be put on a hotel tax while this other potential revenue stream is investigated and possibly initiated in Neptune.

Warren Lapp, the Neptune Township Republican Township Committee Candidate commented, that “while the idea needs to be fully explored and questions answered; before we rush headlong into a Hotel Tax, maybe we should be checking out a revenue producer like this. Routes 33, 35 & 66 pass thru Neptune Township, along with thousands of vehicles. Instead of taxing those good people who want to spend money, maybe we should raise money from those that break our laws.

After all, it’s both a safety and revenue issue. We’ve also found out that many more towns in N.J. that are considering the use of red light cameras.

So, since the Democrats always seem to be in favor of what other towns have, like when Mayor Jahn talks about 280 or so towns having a hotel tax, here’s something other towns have, something that doesn’t punish tourists for spending money and hurt businesses that need increased income during a recession. Quite honestly, I don’t know why Randy Bishop & Eric Hougtaling, the Democrat Candidates don’t see this.

Why do we always have to tax our way out of a problem?” Lapp commented.

Posted: September 20th, 2010 | Author: | Filed under: Hotel Tax, Jim Granelli, Neptune Township, Traffic Cams | 7 Comments »

7 Comments on “NEPTUNE REPUBLICANS SUGGEST POTENTIAL REVENUE STREAM”

  1. JustifiedRight said at 11:14 am on September 20th, 2010:

    Isn’t it the usual Neptune Republican strategy for raising revenue to take family businesses by Eminent Domain and turn the property over to developers to build Condos?

    You know, the “Constitutional Rights Under the 5th Amendment Be Damned” Neptune Republicans?

  2. Denis McCarthy said at 11:40 am on September 20th, 2010:

    When did this happen “Justified Right?” Are you in the tank for the Neptune dems this year? I’m in the phone book in case you need to talk it over.

  3. Justified Right said at 12:23 pm on September 20th, 2010:

    Denis it happened quite recently that the Neptune Republicans, including your candidate this year, voted to give themselves the power of Eminent Domain to take a long-standing Neptune family business and give it to a developer.

    Here is a link to the Court decision (which cost us plenty in counsel fees to get) referring to the votes of the Neptune Republicans who did this to us “unreasonable, arbitrary and capricious.”

    http://justifiedright.typepad.com/jersey_shore_blog_/2010/08/mifco-vs-neptune-township.html

    When the Democrats took over, they reversed the Republican’s vote and left us alone.

    Neptune “Republican?”

    Run one.

  4. Jerry Weston said at 12:43 pm on September 20th, 2010:

    Does anything think that a more productive comment might be actually talking about the issue of Neptune Democrats taxing the heck out of the town and the Republicans coming up with a better way, rather than dwell on old history?

    Just one man’s thoughts…

  5. JustifiedRight said at 12:48 pm on September 20th, 2010:

    No.

    Recent voting records that show a Republican abandoning conservative ideals, like property rights, is important.

  6. Jerry Weston said at 1:05 pm on September 20th, 2010:

    Justified Right, for me personally, it’s an imperfect world when you get to eminent domain, and yet; I understand it’s a VERY personal issue for you.

    What is MORE important right now is taxation. People can’t handle it any more. And in this circumstance, maybe you ought to cut the Neptune Republicans a break, because this IS a solution that might work over more taxation.

    Why is it that the default position for the Democrats to just levy another tax or raise the taxes they already have in place? The Dems on the Committee treat the as of yet uncollected money from new hotel tax as if it were their own money. Their own to spend. They are already planning to spend the hotel tax money. They treat every bit of revenue as spending money. This is the mindset. Imagine, creating an additional tax! When will it end?

    There are MANY more issues in Neptune than eminent domain. I suggest that one issue should not derail something that might be good for Neptune. That’s all I suggested, was a voice of reason.

  7. JustifiedRight said at 1:57 pm on September 20th, 2010:

    Jerry you are right to perceive that I’m not looking at any other issue in Neptune.

    And you are spot on when you say what happened to my family when all those Neptune Republicans voted to leave my family at the mercy of a condo developer was VERY personal.

    But the Neptune Republicans asked us not to see the taking of a small family business supporting the families of several workers as something “personal.” They asked us to see it as just business.

    Well, that’s what I’ll ask of Warren Lapp about my raising the issue now. Nothing personal, pal – it’s just business.

    A piece of business that lost us about $40,000 to fight it in court. Maybe Warren loses an election over it. Sound fair?

    You see, for years I sat at county Republican functions, one after the other, and watched everyone applaud, the Neptune table included, when some candidate would rail against Eminent Domain. I never thought those Neptune Republicans clapping were insincere, so imagine my shock when they all voted against my family that night at the planning board hearing.

    I like Republicans who believe in conservative, constitutional ideas when it’s time to vote – not just when it’s time to clap.

    You know what the worst feeling was for me that night of the vote, Jerry? There was nothing I could do about it.

    So I promised myself that night that anytime any one of these Neptune “Republicans” ran for office, I’d make sure that I brought up their pro-Eminent Domain vote.

    And you know what the best part is for me today Jerry? Hoping that they feel today as I did then:

    There’s nothing they can do about it.