So, Gov. James E. McGreevey has decided it is time to address the property tax problem. Unfortunately, he has decided to try to bluff his way through with a non-solution. Instead of attacking the problem straight on, he has tried to put the blame on there being too many school districts. The idea is that reducing the 600-plus districts to 21 county districts will eliminate duplication in the administrative area and thereby, greatly reducing property taxes.

On the surface, that may appear to make sense. But when one takes a closer look, they will find any savings gained will be far from substantial. Neither will it address the problem for those most adversely affected by the property tax. Note I did not say by over-reliance upon nor too high of a property tax, but simply by property tax.

As for regionalization, take Middletown Township as an example. It is the 12th largest school district in the state. Economies of scale already exist. In addition, it already has implemented most of the cost-saving measures suggested by the governor — it shares services, it takes advantage of low-interest bonds, it uses the county’s purchasing program to increase purchasing power. But it continues to struggle to find enough money to meet all its needs.

Even if regionalization were implemented and Middletown’s administrative expenses were reduced by 50 percent, how much impact would that really have on the overall property tax burden for local residents? Do the math; if Middletown reduced its education budget by 10 percent, that would be less than 7 percent of one’s entire property tax bill. So, one presently paying $5,000 a year would now pay $4,650. Whoa, Nelly! That is a whopping $7 a week. Let’s all go to McDonald’s for dinner tonight because that’s the only place we will find the beef.

Furthermore, keep in mind the figure of a 50 percent savings in administrative overhead is probably far too optimistic. So, it only goes to show how minuscule of an effect this plan by the governor really would have. We can see regionalization is not the answer.

Also keep in mind, the reduction of 600 bureaucracies to 21 will not necessarily reduce bureaucratic bloat. Just look at Trenton and Washington. Does anyone really believe that the more removed government is from the people, the more efficient it is? Neither does anyone dispute the fact that bureaucracies are too often concerned with maintaining their existence rather than serving those who pay their wage. These points speak against this misguided plan.

The real issue is whether or not the property tax is a tax that should exist at all. We are no longer an agrarian society wherein one’s wealth is directly attributable to one’s land. We need to eliminate the property tax and institute a dedicated income tax to replace the lost revenue. Regionalization of education and municipal services ought to be done, too. But, they ought not to be mistaken as even remotely addressing the real problem — that property taxes exist at all.

John Hendrickson

Red Bank