The Economic Development Commission plans to bring tax card to Williamstown
Monroe Township’s Economic Development Commission met last Monday to discuss plans of implementing a tax card in town, making residents more inclined to shop local and live affordably.
“We have 40,000 residents …we want to grow,” EDC chairman Tony Langella said. “We want to keep the people in our town, not leave our town.”
Langella also noted he believes the EDC is heading in the right direction to make the town grow.
The EDC’s goals are to keep residents living and shopping in Monroe Township. One way to keep residents shopping locally, according to the EDC, is through the execution of a tax card, which Mayor Daniel Teefy said the town is moving forward with, and will hopefully have in place before June.
“The businesses will be accepting the tax card at a certain percentage. Whatever they buy from the business, it’ll be a rebate back to the residents who actually shop at the business. So, it’ll be a certain percentage — designated by either the town or the business itself — and it’ll be applied to their property taxes in town,” Williamstown Chamber of Commerce President Katherine Falcone said. “It definitely is a help, because it’s going to make it affordable to stay in town — because the biggest obstacle in the town right now is property taxes. People want to be able to afford to live in Williamstown, and shopping local and buying local is one of the things that will help people stay in Williamstown.”
Falcone also noted shopping local is “the pillar of a sustainable community.”
Aside from the tax card, Teefy stated another goal is to show businesses why they should grow with Williamstown.
“We have enough people to support that. And, enough economics to support that also,” Teefy said.
Falcone said the chamber plans to educate business owners who plan to come to the township.
“A lot of times people come to town, they open businesses, they don’t realize how hard it is — and how much money they need — to sustain that business,” Falcone said. “There’s a lot that you have to know, so we’re going to try to educate them with seminars, which we’ll call ‘Lunch and Learns.’”
According to Teefy, the town has been on a steady growth.
“We’ve brought in a lot of businesses, replaced older buildings that weren’t in use — two urgent cares have come in in the past couple of years, and they’re getting used well — so I think that’s been the real progress and growth we’ve seen, is replacing,” Teefy said. “Not new construction, but replacing buildings that were empty before.”
At the meeting, EDC members spoke about multiple businesses in town that plan to open their doors this spring. This includes two breweries — Cross Keys Brewing Company and 13th Child Brewery — as well as Geets, according to Falcone.
“They’re all going to hit at one time, which is exciting for the town,” Falcone said.
Langella noted that in his seven years on the board, this is the first he’s seen the ball rolling.
“We’ve got a great board, we’ve got everybody working together — that’s what we really need,” Langella said.
