Councilman Moves To Repeal PILOT Projects In Parsippany

PARSIPPANY, NJ — Following a meeting last week in which hundreds of Parsippany people rallied to oppose the continued use of PILOT deals, one Parsippany councilman is continuing his fight against them.

The Parsippany Council held its first meeting of the year on Tuesday, bringing in two new members to the five-member council.

Judy Hernandez, the sole Democrat on the council and Matthew McGrath were both elected to the council in November.

In addition, incumbent Paul Carifi Jr. was sworn in, beginning his fourth term as the council's senior member following the year-end retirements of Michael dePierro and Loretta Gragnani.

During the meeting, Councilman Justin Musella started the new year off by continuing to vocalize his concern against the recently approved PILOT agreements, introducing a motion to repeal the three approved during the previous council session on Dec. 28.

Musella stated that the council was within its legal right to repeal the passed ordinances, which were "handcuffed to us by lame duck council members."

Musella expressed hope that by repealing the ordinances, the council would have been able to work out a better approach that would benefit the township, the board of education, and the entire community.

PILOT agreements, also known as municipal tax abatements, are deals that enable a developer to switch their standard tax payments for a property to a fixed, yearly payment to the municipality.

Some municipal officials have referred to them as essential tools for encouraging development in underdeveloped or neglected areas of town. Opponents, however, have criticized their use, warning that the deals could allow large developers to avoid paying their full share of property taxes.

According to Mayor James Barberio's views, the prolonged blight of unoccupied or demolished office buildings will greatly increase the tax burden for residents if PILOTs are not used.

On Tuesday, Councilman Frank Neglia argued that the PILOT agreements were the way to go in Parsippany. "They do not take away from anyone. As I said, the school board gets paid from the town. The school board gives the town a bill and the town pays for it. That's my understanding. Regardless of where the town gets the money, it does not affect the school board."

Following a council meeting on Nov. 21, the Parsippany Board of Education released two statements, expressing frustration that the school district was not being included in any of the conversations for the PILOTs.

Andy Choffo, a recently elected member of the Parsippany Board of Education, also spoke out publicly at a council meeting, saying that the potential result of an increase in student enrollment would be the school district increasing their taxes for all township residents to help balance out the costs.

Choffo used the neighboring town of Montville as an example, noting that they have also been experiencing the effects of overdevelopment and PILOT programs, resulting in the local school district holding a referendum election.

"To offset the loss of developer-paid tax revenue under the PILOT, the Montville school district is proposing a $70 million referendum. This is to expand and improve schools due to the influx of children and the decrease in tax dollars by the developer. If the referendum passes, who will pay for the school improvements? Residential taxpayers, not the developer," Choffo said.

During the council discussion on Tuesday, Musella stated that he believed that the council had rushed the decision to approve the PILOT agreements.

"It's not categorically no to all PILOTs; that's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is we need to establish a process and have a standard in place whereby we can evaluate, along with the public's buying and the school board's input, what PILOTs are good for the town and what PILOTs are not good for the town," Musella said.

The motion, which was seconded by Hernandez, was subsequently voted against by Neglia and Carifi Jr. McGraft, decided to abstain from the vote.