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storm sewer lines and longer sanitary
sewer lines?”
By preparing proposed legisla-
tion to expand the services covered
by the Municipal Services Act, the
Community Association Institute’s New
Jersey Legislative Action Committee,
is working to address the obvious
inequities inherent in community asso-
ciation owners paying maintenance
fees which are used to maintain
and replace capital improvements
as similarly situated neighbors, not
part of a community association, are
not required to pay for beyond their
municipal taxes. Like many legislative
initiatives, the concept of distributing
municipal services in a fair and equi-
MUNICIPAL SERVICES...
from page 39.
table manner is understandable but
difficult to implement.
It would seem that the reluctance of
municipalities to increase tax revenue
through raising taxes, even to bring
equity to all taxpayers is never a
politically popular position to endorse;
unless there are more beneficiaries
of equality than what the status quo
currently affords.
It therefore appears that as long as
the inequitable condition of “double tax-
ation” continues with respect to munic-
ipal services, community association
owners must press legislative initiatives
to expand the breadth of the Municipal
Services Act. Presumably there will
come a time in the future in which the
voice of community association own-
ers, who are mindful of and advocate
to their respective state legislators,
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against being “double-taxed,” will be
heard in the New Jersey legislature.
The pendulum hopefully will soon
swing in favor of those persons who,
like their predecessors, can convey
to their legislators the fairness of
the Municipal Services Act treating
all municipal residents equally for
municipal services.
The New Jersey Legislative Action
Committee has identified expanding
the breadth of the Municipal Services
Act as one of its top priorities and with
the support of its membership, is hope-
ful that such a change is attainable in
the near future. n
"...community association owners
must press legislative initiatives
to expand the breadth of the
Municipal Services Act."