February 1, 2012 THE VILLADOM TIMES III • Page 5 Allendale Borough council introduces $605,000 tax appeal bond by John Koster The Allendale Borough Council has introduced a $605,000 bond ordinance to cover the anticipated cost of tax appeals the members of the governing body hope they will never see. The assessments for the tax revaluation went out recently and Mayor Vince Barra said he hopes that they were moderate enough to forestall any groundswell of tax appeals. Mayor Barra said that if the assessed value of people’s homes did not go up more than 17 percent, the people would not be paying more taxes this year than they paid last year. The tax rate went from $2.65 last year to $2.24 this year, so a 17 percent increase in the assessed value of the house would bring the same tax bill for 2012 as the house brought in 2011 under the previous assessment and rate, officials said. Former Councilman Robert Paterson, the only resident in the audience at last week’s meeting, asked a number of questions about the bond ordinance. Paterson, a retired financial officer from several corporations, had been the council’s leading financial expert, and he often advises on current fiscal matters. His main concern was that the bond being voted not be sluiced into other funding projects, but should be restricted to any tax appeals. “If we’re going to do it, we put it in a lockbox,” said Mayor Barra. Paterson said he was glad to know that the money would only be used to cover any successful tax appeals, particularly after Barra said the unused money in the bond would be used to terminate the bond within three years. The adoption hearing for the proposed bond will take place at the Feb. 9 public meeting of the Allendale Borough Council. In another initiative, Paterson was able to get the council to amend the item in the consent agenda regarding the appointment of professionals, such as the attorney, consulting engineer, and consulting planner. The original working precluded Allendale from retaining professionals who had made significant contributions to the Bergen County Democratic organization, but made no mention of the Bergen County Republican Organization. Barra and the council opted to add the Bergen County Republican organization to the list. “I think it’s our intention that we don’t want to get involved in political contributions,” Mayor Barra said. The vote was unanimous to forbid professionals who want to work for Allendale from making significant contributions to either party at the county level as recommended by the state model ordinance.