TRENTON – Towns may have to find other ways to raise revenue besides user fees after a bill was passed by the Senate focusing on the issue.
The Senate on Thursday approved a bill by a 32-0 vote that would bar towns from assessing user fees on some services as a way to avoid the 2 percent tax cap.
The bill, S1914, is sponsored by Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-3), of West Deptford.
The bill came about after several municipalities throughout the state started issuing these user fees as another way to raise revenue without exceeding the 2 percent property tax cap that was put in place a couple of years ago as part of Gov. Chris Christie’s so-called “toolkit.”
In a statement earlier this month, Sweeney said that user fees are “a cleverly conceived way to hide from folks that their taxes are going up yet again.”
