As part of the Mayors race, someone posted recently about Mary Jane Desmond voting in favor and some people in the comments both there and on facebook misrepresent how much the taxes would be increasing. I just want to fix up some misconceptions.
Mary Jane Desmond did not vote in favor of the tax increase. They abstained. "They voted 5-2(2) to adopt the preliminary budget, with Trustees Hector Gonzalez and Melissa Godesky-Rodriguez voting no. Board President Mary Jane Desmond and Trustee Miriam Bechay abstained." To quote the Hudson County View article directly. She changed from a yes to an abstain once she remembered about the conflict of interest on the second vote.
Your total taxes going up by 12% is also not true. It is only increasing the "school" portion of your taxes by 12%.
The city of bayonne also voted for a 2.2% municipal tax hike, this also does not increase it overall by 2.2% for the same reason as above.
To add on to 2 and 3, do not, under any circumstances, add the increasing percentages together and say it is going up by 14.2% or 19.8% if you include the county tax hike. That is not how it works because it effects different parts of your tax bill, the total effect will still be smaller. Even if that was the case, the math would still be wrong as they get added at different times, like how 90% of 100 is 90, but adding 10% to 90 is 99, it would not effect the total number all at once even if it was a single number, this is the best example to show how percents can change the total number.
Yes, the tax hike is still bad, but it is not as high as people make it out to be and people forget about Desmond changing her vote.