PARSIPPANY — At the Township Council meeting of Tuesday, August 3 the Township Council voted to increase taxes against Mayor Michael Soriano’s recommendation. A State-approved resolution would have allowed the town to use money left over from 2020 to balance the budget for this year, but the Council rejected that proposal.
Council President Michael dePierro, Councilmember Emily Peterson, and Janice McCarthy voted against Resolution R2021-129, “Authorize Cancellation of Current Fund Appropriation Reserves.” Councilman Paul Carifi, Jr., voted for the resolution, and Council Vice President Loretta Gragnani was not present.
The town council’s vote will result in taxes being increased by nearly 5% instead of Mayor Soriano’s proposed 2.15%. “We are incredibly disappointed by the Town Council’s decision to reject Mayor Soriano’s proposal and put more financial burden on Parsippany Residents,” said Cori Herbig, candidate for Town Council. “We need leaders in Parsippany who aren’t afraid to bring creative ideas to the table in order to keep Parsippany moving forward,” said Team Soriano.
Mayor Soriano introduced a sensible and balanced budget that was pre-approved by the State.
His proposed budget would have raised taxes by just 2.15%. The budget proposed by Mayor Soriano addressed the budget shortfalls of last year without putting any unnecessary burden on taxpayers. Councilmember Paul Carifi, Jr., agreed with Soriano and does not want to raise taxes any more than 2.15% and voted to approve this resolution.
Local businesses and hotels were heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in decreased tax revenue for the town.
The State approved Mayor Soriano’s proposal to reallocate unused funds from 2020 to cover the $1.1 million gap in order to help our town recover from the unprecedented economic challenges of COVID-19.
“Mayor Soriano’s proposal would have allowed Parsippany to move forward without asking the town’s residents to make up the difference. The Town Council’s rejection of Mayor Soriano’s proposal is irresponsible and fails to acknowledge the hardship being faced by so many Parsippany residents as a result of the pandemic.
Parts of this story included comments from a press release submitted by Team Soriano 2021.
