PARSIPPANY – When our all-Republican Mayor and Council campaigned to Parsippany voters, they ran on a platform of fiscal conservatism. The last thing anyone expected was a tax increase of over 18% in just two years. That will be the result of the 2023 budget proposed by the Mayor. The Council has a responsibility to reduce the budget before our residents are forced from their homes by out-of-control tax increases.
We, Judy Hernandez, Bernard Clarkin, and Matt Kavanagh, have reviewed the Mayor’s budget and see several areas of alarm. This administration has proposed a massive, undefined $750,000 salary adjustment, nearly four times the $200,000 salary adjustment included in the 2022 budget.
The Mayor has also budgeted $1,091,000 for salaries and expenses in his own office and the administrator’s office. That is a $264,000, or 32%, increase over the $827,000 paid in 2022.
These two items alone combine for over $1 million in spending increases.
This proposed budget also includes another raid on our sewer and water utility fees amounting to $1.8 million to make up for this increased spending. Unfortunately, this crucial information is hidden away in the “User Friendly” version of the budget, despite last year’s $1.5 million raid being clearly shown in the 2022 User Friendly budget. The User Friendly version of the budget is meant to be easier for Parsippany residents to read and interpret, not to hide the facts.
These raids have the same effect on Parsippany residents as tax increases: less money in your pocket and more for the Mayor’s runaway spending.
Our community needs to hold this Mayor and Council accountable before it’s too late. A tax increase of over 18% in two years is unacceptable. A $3.3 million raid on utility fees in two years is unacceptable. We are calling on the Council to tackle this budget line-by-line and eliminate overspending.
We are as sick and tired as you are of being overtaxed. It’s clear that this administration needs a check to keep spending down and put more money in our residents’ pockets. We are asking for your vote this November so we can be that check.
