Link to article on northjersey.com:
This is going to be Lodi in the very near future if it
doesn’t get its house in order. When a district can’t keep its
annual appropriation increases within 2%, it’s a train wreck waiting to happen. The most generous State aid increases likely
won’t cover the gaps in a budget. If
they do cover the gaps during a year, it’s only a band aid. A district needs a better contingency plan than
to go to its cap bank to exceed 2% tax increases when enough state aid doesn’t
save them at the last minute.
You saw this situation with the Garfield BOE a few years ago. You see it in Paterson now. You will see it in Lodi next. The taxpayers of Lodi should demand that the
Lodi BOE get its house in order now instead of kicking the can down the road.
Last year, the Lodi BOE passed a budget showing a 7.6%
increase in appropriations. What would have
happened if all that additional state aid didn’t come through at the last
minute?
