School Board Speaks Out Against Parsippany PILOT Approval

PARSIPPANY, NJ — The Parsippany-Troy Hills School District has once again made a public statement regarding the town council's recent decision to approve three new PILOT projects in the township.

The last three town council sessions have seen a number of disagreements after Mayor James Barberio's and the majority of council members' support of the township's financial arrangements known as PILOTs, or Payments In Lieu of Taxes.

In Parsippany, the council was voting on three specific PILOT programs for redevelopment projects at 2 and 3 Campus Drive and 249 Pomeroy Road.

Read More: Parsippany Approves PILOT Projects Despite Public Backlash

Mayor James Barberio and other council members have argued that PILOTs are required to attract developers who can turn the township's oversupply of vacant office buildings into revenue-generating properties.

Four council members, Michael dePierro, Loretta Gragnani, Frank Neglia, and Paul Carifi, support the mayor's stance on the planned PILOT programs. Justin Musella, the sole council member to vote no, has spoken out against the use of PILOTs in the township.

During the Dec. 5 town council meeting, Barberio criticized the Parsippany-Troy Hills School District School Board for comments made concerning the PILOT projects. The school district previously released a statement expressing their disapproval of PILOTs and asking for members of the public to attend the next council meeting to speak out against the projects.

Barberio stated that several of the comments made by the school board were both "irresponsible and incorrect."

Since then, the local school board has released a second statement.

Once again, the statement is asking for members of the public to attend the next council meeting, planned for Dec. 19, and speak out against the projects.

"It is imperative that all those interested in the well-being of our school district also attend the Town Planning Board meetings as there are more PILOT agreements in development," the school board said.

According to the district, the impact of residential construction has historically brought more students than the developer projected. Modera, Watersedge, and Mountain Way are 200-unit, 30-unit, and 105-unit projects, respectively, and these three developments alone bring in at least 56 kids to the district.

A key aspect of PILOTs is that, unlike traditional property taxes, which are split between the town, school system and county, in a PILOT, the city or town keeps nearly all the money, typically called an Annual Service Charge (ASC).

"Because state laws do not require that the local school districts receive a direct portion of the PILOT, local officials should take the opportunity during the negotiating process to ensure that if the new property directly affects the school district, accommodations should be made to include the school district with compensation or appropriate credit," an article by Robbi Acampora on the New Jersey School Boards Association website said.

"Without additional taxes from improvements, a share of the ASCs, or other types of direct or indirect financial contributions from the developer or town council, tough decisions will need to be made to address the expected increase in the number of students that our schools will be asked to accommodate," the school board said.

Here is a list of potentially affected areas, according to the district:

• Adjusting School District policy to increase class sizes
• Significant decreases in funding for music, sports, and other extracurricular activities
• Tighter instructional spaces with more students
• Redistricting the elementary schools to balance the enrollment numbers across the district

"The School Board considered and sought legal advice regarding its options to pause or reverse the implementation of the recently approved PILOT programs. However, in consideration of the statutory authority allowing the Township to enter these agreements, it is highly improbable that such litigation would be successful with respect to the current PILOT agreements," the board's statement said.

Rather than pursue what would inevitably be "futile legal intervention," the board said that they have decided to save funds to retain programming and education.

The board said that they will continue to attempt to partner with township officials in order to:

• Negotiate for the developer and/or Township to provide or share financial payment(s) or in-kind donations to or with the
• School District for previous and recent residential PILOT agreements that have already been approved.
• Request that the Town Council consider passing an ordinance whereby the school district’s input as to the impact of any PILOT agreement is assessed and reserves a percentage of ASCs for the district’s use.