Talk Show Host To Join Morris Mayors' Redevelopment Chat In Parsippany

PARSIPPANY, NJ — Morris County mayors will chat about town planning, affordable housing, and tax breaks for developers in an upcoming roundtable hosted by a popular New Jersey media personality.

This public discussion will be on June 10 at the Sheraton Parsippany Hotel, said Mayor James Barberio in an announcement this week. Bill Spadea, the morning drive host on NJ101.5, will moderate the roundtable.

Fellow Republican mayors Michael Stanzilis of Mount Arlington, Thomas "Ace" Gallagher of Hanover, Mark Taylor of Florham Park, and Joseph Pannullo of East Hanover (who changed parties last year), will join Barberio as panelists.

The mayors "will share their firsthand experience navigating the complexities and challenges when dealing with the New Affordable Housing Mandates and PILOTs," Barberio's office said.

The session will cover "strategic planning, smart growth, and overdevelopment issues" as well as discuss how local towns are using payment in lieu of tax programs, aka PILOTs, to encourage development.

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.

As Patch has reported, Parsippany's Town Council approved three new PILOT projects in the township last December, over the protests of some residents and school board members.

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

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

Spadea is an outspoken conservative voice who has recently interviewed Donald Trump; Barberio also called in to his show last month to discuss local politics, and to criticize both Councilman Justin Musella and Morris County GOP Chair Laura Ali.