Mayor Addresses PILOT Backlash In Parsippany

PARSIPPANY, NJ — Mayor James Barberio recently put out a statement addressing the public's vocal concerns over the continued use of PILOT deals throughout the township.

In the past few months, the township council has been at odds with the community regarding the use of PILOTs to help attract developers.

PILOTs, or "payments in lieu of taxes," are incentives that cut developers' annual tax costs, encouraging them to build on undesired sites.

Councilman Justin Musella has remained one of the sole voices on council against the recent PILOT approvals, even calling for a motion to repeal three passed on Dec. 28, claiming that those were "handcuffed to us by lame duck council members."

Read More: Councilman Moves To Repeal PILOT Projects In Parsippany

The motion ultimately failed after both Paul Carifi Jr. and Frank Neglia voted against it. Council newcomer Judy Hernandez voted in favor, while Matthew McGrath abstained from the final vote.

School board members have consistently attacked the PILOTs, claiming they deprive the district of the 65 percent of property taxes that would otherwise go directly to local education.

Barberio, Carifi, and Neglia have repeated their justifications for the incentives, claiming that the district will receive money simply by presenting a budget and expense bill to the municipality.

Without PILOT agreements, they claim, developers will move their projects to adjacent communities that are more ready to grant discounts.

In a public statement, Barberio went as far as saying that the Board of Education has been spreading "false and misleading information" to inflame the local community.

"First, it is imperative to understand that PILOTs do not take any money away from our schools. The fact is that the Board of Education receives every dime contained in its approved budget, whether the Township has PILOT agreements or not. The Board of Education’s contention that PILOTs take money away from the schools is false. Second, the Board of Education’s contention that PILOTs will create more schoolchildren is also false. Let’s also be clear that according to their own figures, enrollment is down," Barberio said.

Tim Berrios, a recently elected member of the Parsippany Board of Education, previously said that a district study predicts an enrollment increase of 1,000 students from all of the residential units currently either under construction or being proposed in town.

Barberio cautioned that Parsippany is losing money when owners of the town's unoccupied office buildings file tax appeals. If the owners are unable to sell or redevelop, he stated that they will demolish structures to further reduce their tax rate.

"We have approximately 20 vacant commercial properties and 1.2 million square feet of vacant space. This problem is getting worse, and will not improve unless we utilize the financial tools associated with our state’s redevelopment law," Barberio said. "PILOTs are not the answer to all of our problems. However, PILOT agreements can be used—and I argue should be used—on a targeted basis to attract good-quality commercial development that would otherwise not come to Parsippany and to help shape development patterns in our Township."