I read Mr. Bob Webb’s letter to the editor in your Nov. 28 to Dec. 4 issue and found myself sharing many of his feelings.
I then turned the page and saw the headline, “One Haddonfield supports BOE’s aim to purchase Bancroft property.”
In it, Mr. Jack O’Malley, identified as one of the founders of One Haddonfield says, “The purchase of the property, immediately adjacent to the high school, fits perfectly with the mission of the school district for its campus development and with the needs of the community for additional recreational and open space — this is a once in a lifetime opportunity.”
Two paragraphs later he is quoted as saying, “Additionally, we could have the long term potential for ratables to ease the tax burden for our citizens.”
Huh?
A “ratable” is defined (simply) as a property that provides tax income for local government.
If, as Mr. O’Malley proposes, this property is going to be purchased for the school district and the recreational and open space needs of the community, who among us is going to believe for a moment that the land would ever be used to establish ratables?
Haddonfield’s property tax problem is lack of diversification within the tax base. There is no industrial or light industrial and little in the way of commercial, so the bulk of the tax dollars come from residents.
If anyone in this town believes that taxes will not increase if the borough or BOE purchases the Bancroft property, you will surely be disappointed.
The taxes will have to increase, because we, as a town, will be losing an enormous ratable.
I am a father of five children aged six to 17.
I enjoy living in Haddonfield and operate my business here.
I also love our schools and teachers and am a fan of open/recreational space.
I am not remotely pleased about paying five figures in annual property taxes for a 2,400 square foot home on less than a quarter acre, but for better or worse, that is life in Haddonfield.
Like me, I suspect that Mr. Webb will be listing his home for sale shortly after his children exit the Haddonfield public school system.
Unfortunately, many of the elderly and those on fixed incomes will leave as well. In reality, the long term potential for Haddonfield is population instability coupled with upper-middle class transience.
As Mr. Webb pointed out, we have school classrooms without air conditioning, but the Borough and BOE are insistent that a multi-million dollar property acquisition is critical to the quality of life in our town.
I trust I am not the only one to recognize the disconnect.
Michael J. Brandenburg
