THAT IS RIGHT...
Wallkill has held the property tax line consistently through many administrations.
The king of Depew-ville would have you believe that he was some sort of fiscal magician, but that is far from the truth. With a massive dose of propaganda before the last election, foisted on the public by Ralph Carr, Depew and others warning of an over 20% tax increase, and the subsequent lamentations of "tough times," "fiscal crisis," and phrases like "belt tightening," we were distracted while public safety was de constructed to provide revenue and the over 20% tax increase thankfully never materialized. For almost two years the former town board has been demonized by Depew based on lies and fiscal deception.
But, if his accusations are true, we have to look no further than Depew's own town board, because two former members of the previous town board are right there next to him. Dan Tulp and Eric Valentin were members of the previous town board. Something stinks here!
Taxation and the financing of government is a tricky thing in Orange County and the Town of Wallkill. When we get our tax bills, we tend to lump them together and blame the closest responsible person or entity, the Town.
The reality is different, though; the town has nothing to do with school taxes, and with the unusual nature of the Town of Wallkill spread into five different school districts we probably have less control over that than most other communities. However, we are not powerless. It is incumbent on our elected officials to vigorously lobby Albany for property tax relief for mandated items and for an alternative funding mechanism for our schools. They should be forming alliances with local school boards to form a strong voice in Albany for property tax reform. They are not responsible for the school taxes, but they do have an affirmative obligation to work on our behalf for property tax reform.
Orange County gets a break by having their tax bill sent as part of our town's tax bill, and if you look carefully at the bill, you will see that the largest amount there is for county taxation.
Depew was a county legislator, but when Diana told him and other republicans that he was cooking the numbers relative to the cost of building a new unnecessary government center, Depew withheld this information from his constituents. For Danny, party politics and loyalty to former and present business associates takes priority over the public interest.
The Danger Zone: KJ West will mean higher school taxes, lower property values, higher social service costs and vast political corruption.
