Fairfield Mayor Addresses Various Rumors Spreading Within the Community – TAPinto.net
FAIRFIELD, NJ — Fairfield Mayor James Gasparini voiced his concerns at Monday’s mayor and council meeting about recent rumors regarding the governing body.
In an address to the public, called “Facts vs. Fiction,” Gasparini said that he and the township council felt the need to keep the community informed “as to important issues that affect the town and always have.”
“Recently, there have been numerous rumors being spread around town regarding a few critical issues,” said Gasparini. “While there are all kinds of opinions, there is only one set of facts. There are people with personal vendettas or for the sole purpose of personal or political gain who are spreading falsehoods in order to cause dissention among our residents.
“Before I address the specific misstatements, I have to emphasize the fact that Fairfield has never been in better fiscal health, has never made the amount of improvements, which include recreational facilities, the current police station renovations and the launching of phase two renovations to our park, all of which were and will be done without asking for one more penny of tax dollars.”
Among the specific rumors that the mayor dealt with was one that concerns the home revaluations currently taking place.
“The fiction or misconception that the township is undergoing a property revaluation for the purpose of raising taxes must be addressed,” he said. “Again the fact is that the state and county tax boards have ordered us to conduct this revaluation. The original order wanted it implemented by Jan. 1, 2018. After negotiating, we were able to hold it off for two more years until Jan. 1, 2020.
“The fact is that a revaluation is not done to raise more taxes. It is done to fairly apportion taxes so people with like properties pay the same amount of taxes. Traditionally in a revaluation, one third of the properties goes up, one third goes down and one third stays the same. People who have illegally improved their properties by not obtaining the proper permits may see an increase in their taxes. All the rest should fall into the other two categories.”
At the end of the day, Gasparini stressed, the township receives “the same amount of taxes it previously did—not one penny more.”
He continued to say that another rumor suggests that the governing body and planning board are encouraging multi-family housing.
“The fact is the state is forcing all communities to provide this housing to allow people in low-to moderate-income brackets to be able to afford housing in every community,” said Gasparini. “We are the same as every other community with this mandate from the state. However, once again, we are light years ahead of other communities.”
He explained that three years ago, the governing body knew of this mandate and preempted the state order by zoning properties on major arteries for this type of housing.
“The most important part of this was our crafting an ordinance that required only 10 percent of the housing to be low and moderate,” said Gasparini. “Three years later, municipalities, including Fairfield, must now provide between 15 and 20 percent of the housing to be low to moderate.”
The mayor stated that the township is meeting the state mandates and are doing so while providing much less of this type of housing. He also emphasized that Fairfield has no “Section 8” housing, and Fairfield’s low-and moderate-income housing is not set at 25 percent, as rumors have it.
“For anyone who has witnessed the efforts of this administration, which includes council members as well as key staff, you undoubtedly recognize the fact that one of our priorities is to assist in any way possible with the impact of flooding,” said Gasparini. “While there are limits to what we can prevent, for years, we have been working in the river, on our own dime without the assistance of the state or federal governments.
“We have been to Trenton to lobby our position with our elected officials, the Department of Environmental Protection and the Army Corps of Engineers. We have invested taxpayer dollars to engage the services of a top rated consulting and engineering firm to represent out position. After all of this, and not receiving any meaningful solutions, we have still not given up.”
Gasparini added that the governing body met in the fall with representatives from Montville and Lincoln Park “in an effort to form a coalition that will work together to clean the river.”
“We are confident that when both weather and conditions permit us, we will work collectively toward this goal,” he said.
In an effort to pre-empt any flooding issues, Gasparini said that township recently contacted the Department of Transportation, whose jurisdiction is to clean the culvers under Route 80, he said.
“The limit of our equipment and the jurisdictional issues won’t allow us to proceed on our own,” said Gasparini. “In addition, we have identified problem areas in our local ditches, which do fall under our jurisdiction. Had conditions allowed, we would have been out there during the last two weeks. Needless to say, as soon as we can address these areas of concern, we will.”
Noting that many Fairfield residents have seen their adult children return to raise their own families in town, Gasparini stated that “property and homes in Fairfield are in high demand.”
“Homes go on the market and are sold before the signs even get planted in the lawn,” he said. “This does not happen for any reason other than the fact that Fairfield is a great place to live, raise a family and enjoy one’s retirement years.
“Individuals who spin falsehoods and disparaging remarks about our community and the people who have devoted many years of their lives to the betterment of this community clearly do not have the interest of our community in mind, but rather their own personal agendas.”
Gasparini urged the community to remember that “facts are facts, not fiction and rumor.”
When the mayor opened the floor for public comment, no audience members came forward.
However, following the meeting, resident Daniel Scirica, a candidate for township council, expressed his belief that the mayor’s address was designed against him. Scirica announced his intention to set up a campaign office in the Walgreens’ strip mall on Route 46 in Fairfield and urged anyone with questions to visit him there.