Marlboro Mayor Lends His Support To STAY NJ Tax Credit For Seniors

MARLBORO, NJ — Mayor Jonathan Hornik recently addressed a state Assembly hearing in support of a 50 percent property tax reduction for seniors under the STAY NJ bill.

STAY NJ would give eligible homeowners who are 65 years of age or older a 50 percent property tax credit, up to a maximum of $10,000. There is no income limit for eligibility to receive a property tax credit under the program, the bill states, according to a recent Patch article.

Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin (D-District 19) introduced the bill, and invited Hornik to comment on it.

“I welcome the opportunity to speak in front of the Assembly about this important issue. Fourteen percent of Marlboro residents are aged 65 and over. Many of them raised their families here and are now grandparents whose children and grandchildren have moved back home to raise their families. They want nothing more than to be able to afford to remain here close to their families," Hornik said in comments last Thursday.

The Assembly proposal is moving through the New Jersey legislature, and would cut up to 50 percent of the bill for those eligible. The program also expands eligibility requirements for the state's "senior freeze" program.

An Assembly committee approved the bill (A1) on June 8, just three weeks after it was proposed.

As it is written, the property tax credits would begin going out in the first quarter of 2025. Legislators forecast that the program would cost $1.2 billion by fiscal year 2028, and each year after.

Based on the 2020 census and 2022 tax rate information, it's estimated that more than 6,000 Marlboro residents are aged 65 years or older pay and more than $23 million per year in local taxes, approximately $16 million of which goes to school districts, Hornik said.

“Our senior population are some of our best community volunteers, active in community events and most of our veterans are seniors. Within Marlboro, we have reduced senior rates for town programs, including swim club memberships and commuter parking and, where most recreation programs are user-based fees, senior recreation programming is subsidized through taxpayer funds and are free or at a low cost," he said.

“Senior citizens are already footing the bill for schools, long after their kids and even grandkids have graduated from them, and we do what we can to give them a break. That said, there is only so much that can be done at the local level and so I am grateful to Speaker Craig Coughlin for inviting me to testify at this important hearing.”

Read more about the bill and reaction to it in the Patch article.