Page 4 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • August 14, 2013 Franklin Lakes Council speaks out on pending legislation by Frank J. McMahon The Franklin Lakes Borough Council has taken posi- tions on several bills that are currently pending in the New Jersey Legislature. Two resolutions passed by the council indicate the gov- erning body’s support of bills in the Assembly (A3393) and Senate (S2324) that would protect residential property tax- payers from the loss of telecommunications tax support. Those bills would clarify the perceived ambiguity of the language in the current state law that, according to a trial court decision, permits a telecommunications company such as Verizon that is subject to the New Jersey Franchise and Gross Receipts Tax and the annual Business Personal Property Tax, to claim an exemption from providing those revenues to local governments. Verizon claimed in court that, under the law, it is exempt from the BPPT in any municipality where the corporation unilaterally determines that in any given year it no longer supplies dial tone and access to at least 51 percent of the local telephone exchanges, and the court agreed. As a result of that court decision, the council claims over 100 municipalities will not receive the BPPT revenues in 2013 and that will cost property taxpayers in excess of $8 million, and more municipalities will lose millions of dollars in the future. The council also supports Assembly bill A1503 and its companion Senate bill S1896, which would provide for the sharing of the burden of property assessment appeal refunds. Those bills would require fire districts, school districts, and county governments to share the burden of property assessment appeal refunds to property taxpay- ers who appeal their tax levies which includes the school, county, and special district taxes and the municipal tax levy. The council’s resolution points out that there has been a spike in tax appeals in recent years caused by the eco- nomic downturn, and successful tax appeals have a nega- tive effect on municipalities because, even though a total tax levy includes the tax levies of a school district and the county, the municipality must fund the full cost of the legal defense of an assessment and the full cost of any reim- bursements resulting from a tax appeal. All the above bills are currently in New Jersey Assem- bly or Senate committees. The council also passed a resolution opposing A2756 and its companion bill, S1469. Those measures aim to provide workman’s compensation benefits to surviving spouses. Those bills passed both houses of the legislature in April and became law on June 13, 2013. In addition, the council passed a resolution opposing (continued on page 21)