CLARK — Despite a certain amount of public objection, the Clark Council has agreed to allocate a designated percentage of the funds it will generate through a redeveloper’s long-term tax abatement to the local board of education.
According to the ordinance, adopted Monday during a regular meeting of the governing body, the township has agreed to pay the district a minimum of $55,250 per year for the duration of the Walnut Hill PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) agreement in order to ensure that the schools do not lose out on an existing tax-revenue stream.
Township officials said Monday that the recently-adopted ordinance will help Clark’s schools be prepared for increased enrollment numbers that are being projected in connection with current and future redevelopment projects.
Resident and parent John Grieves addressed the council, hoping to clear up confusion regarding how the amount of money the board of education receives is decided. Mayor Sal Bonaccorso stated that Mr. Grieves could visit his office to sit down with Business Administrator Jim Ulrich and himself to review the numbers.
Despite this, Mr. Grieves still expressed concern that the money from the PILOT payments would not provide enough coverage per student and questioned whether the money would have gone to the school district if it was not for the PILOT program.
Council President Angel Albanese spoke up, hoping to clear up some confusion. “What this ordinance is about is the fact that the township wishes to break away from the tradition of all the [PILOT] money going to the township,” she said. “What we’re doing here is giving money to the schools. As far as we know, we are the only township in the states that’s done this.”
“We understand what you’re saying,” added Mayor Bonaccorso. “Our alternative was to give nothing, but we decided to do better than that because we don’t want to take away from our district to hurt our district. Your school district has ended the last few years with a surplus of three and a half million dollars; they are not out of money by any stretch.”
Resident Michael Shulman also addressed the governing body, expressing concerns this will cause a burden on taxpayers. He asked the mayor and council to reveal what the tax revenue would be if the program was not put in place and developed organically, the total of all PILOT payments per year and whether the PILOT payment is on a fixed rate or based on income and rent collected.
Mayor Bonaccorso assured Mr. Shulman that Mr. Ulrich would be able to provide that information at a later date. The mayor stressed that this new ordinance will be beneficial for Clark and the services the township provides, such as tax appeals and infrastructure repair and upgrades.
According to tax records, the total billed was $106,033.43 on the formerly vacant Evening Realty property, which has now been developed into apartments.
“I will not apologize for bringing more money into our budget and trying to stabilize the cost that we have as a municipal government,” said Mayor Bonaccorso Ordinance 24-05 was adopted with a unanimous vote by the Clark Township Council.
