TODAY: Vote no, Toms River, and stop tax hikes (Opinion)

Voters in Toms River have a chance today to stop the vast educational bureaucracy from costing taxpayers even more of their hard-earned money.

The board of education and the superintendent want you to believe that since they've done such a good job managing funds over the years, it's time for you to pay more to fix the aging infrastructure of the school buildings. The cost? $146 million.

David Healy is the same superintendent who took home a nice bonus last year and is among the highest paid public workers in the state, beating the salary cap with "allowances."  Included in the budget are things like new science equipment, HVAC, parking lot paving and a new playground. Is this really the right priority for New Jersey residents who are struggling to make ends meet? Higher taxes on the heaviest taxed residents in America?

The president of the board, Joseph Nardini, called in to my show Tuesday to plead the case, actually making the bold statement that my call for a no vote would destroy property values in Toms River!

You know that I stand with working and middle class New Jereryans. You know that there is certainly some truth in the need for repairing old buildings. But while the state is struggling to grapple with a couple hundred billion in debt and unfunded future liabilities and while our revenue is threatened by an increasing number of high end taxpayers leaving, this is not the time to saddle parents, teachers, millennials and retirees in New Jersey with a higher burden.

We have to stop the bureaucrats and the elite pols from ruling us through fear and using our children as pawns to increase their bloated budgets. Do you really think a new playground at an elementary school will make the difference in a well rounded education (see the budget here)? Do you really think that an HVAC contract of more than $1.5 million will make the difference for property values? Of course not. It's absurd and shame on the Toms River educational leaders from peddling such nonsense.

They had no issue taking more of your money for the personal benefit of the superintendent. They will likely have no issue continuing to tax and spend their way to retirement. Ask yourself, can you trust anyone right now in government to lookout for your long term interest? I say no, and therefore, until they fix what's broken regarding health and pensions for state workers, every ballot initiative and referendum on spending should be voted down. #FixIt #SpeakForNewJersey #NotOneMoreDollar