Wefer for Morris County Freeholder

DEMOCRATIC FREEHOLDER CANDIDATE WEFER REBUKES NORDSTROM FOR BEING “TAX-HAPPY�
Says affordable housing issue can be tackled without raising taxes

Morristown, October 18, 2005- Dana Wefer, the Democratic candidate for Morris County Freeholder criticized her opponent, incumbent Margaret Nordstrom, today for proposing to solve the affordable housing issue by imposing a new tax on Morris County residents.
In the candidate’s weekly question, administered by the Daily Record, Nordstrom proposed to solve the problem by imposing a new tax on residents that would go towards buying land where affordable housing could be developed.
Wefer argued her opponent’s proposal counterproductive and analogized it to “using gasoline to put out a fire.� “My opponent is forgetting that the problem of affordable housing is two-fold,� Wefer said. “Affordable housing means not only being able to buy a home in Morris County, but also being able to own a home, and property taxes are why owning a home in Morris County is unaffordable. The last thing we need is more taxes.�
Wefer argued that her opponent’s nonchalant suggestion to further raise taxes exemplifies the “tax-happy� culture of our county government that has led to a 40% increase in the cost of operating county government over just 7 years and why 66% of the county budget is tax-dependant. “The lack of affordable housing in Morris County must be tackled, but high property taxes are part of the problem, they cannot be the solution,� Wefer said.
Wefer suggests the solution instead must be found in implementing resources the county already has, such as the AAA bond rating and improvement authority, to aid municipalities and provide help to the private sector in developing affordable housing. “We need to work with the private sector, both for-profit and non-profit entities, to develop affordable housing and we need creativity in finding news ways to empower first time homebuyers…after all what good does being able to buy a home in Morris County do if you can’t afford to own it too?�
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