Dear Editor:
I just read Mr. Inglesino’s long treatise of 8/26/24 in Parsippany Focus and would like to make some comments. Your beginning premise is incorrect.
Last December, MANY taxpayers in Parsippany were very much against the further introduction of PILOTs in our community, and I think most still are. However, the Mayor and Town Council did not heed the voice of most of the people and decided to ignore the beliefs of many citizens that PILOTs were not in the LONG TERM best interests of Parsippany and most of its residents. I think you and your law firm represent the developers of most, if not all, of the PILOT applications in Parsippany. So, like most of the taxpayers of Parsippany, you have a vested interest in how PILOTs are allowed to grow in our town. The only difference is that your benefit might not be precisely aligned with the needs of the taxpayers. They might even be in direct opposition. Could you tell me how many of the 22 municipalities in Morris County had those PILOTs introduced by your law firm and how many PILOTs that account for?
That said, since the Mayor and most of the Town Council decided that the public is wrong and have adopted several PILOTS and possibly will agree to more, the taxpayers must do their best to gain the best benefit in a bad situation. I think the position of the Parsippany Board of Education is described here. As it stands, what with 30-year special agreements embedded into PILOTs that allow a developer to implement a project and pay reduced taxes to the town? Many find this abhorrent. Additionally, the developer can sell the project at some time in the future, and the same tax breaks continue until the end of the 30 years. Since the Mayor/Town Council seems to hold all the cards in this representative republic, and the Board of Education has a considerable responsibility via the obligation to educate all of Parsippany’s children out to 30 years from now, it is clear that we, the taxpayers, have a real problem. From what you have written, it seems clear that the Mayor and most of the Town Council have decided to be “offended” by the resistance of some of the BOE’s members. You can call anyone’s actions “political,” but what is really happening is that really poor communication skills and small-minded attitudes are coming to the fore.
I suspect most of this ugly impasse can be overcome if the Mayor sits down with the BOE and tries to devise a method of meeting the potential needs of increased student counts, if and when that happens. I suspect that most members of the BOE would agree to some enforceable enhanced payment schedule if the school system incurred more significant expenses due to more students and/or more special needs for the students who might come to Parsippany because of the PILOT programs.
Lastly, while the Mayor has decided to challenge the BOE with a “special” audit, it might be very good to do a “special” audit for the entire township’s budget. I’d bet some excellent and professional OUTSIDE auditor could be found to re-audit both the BOE and Township of Parsippany’s budgets and discover missed opportunities or redundancies. Forensic audits could be done for both entities by an A-rated accounting firm that does not do business with towns like Parsippany, Boards of Education like Parsippany’s, and Law Firms like yours. Perhaps an out-of-state accounting firm could be found with the right knowledge base to do a complete audit beyond anyone’s reproach.
Sincerely,
Hank Heller
To read Mr. Inglesino’s letter, click here.
