Mr. Shrink-flation's $170.2m Muni-budget Slide Presentation for 2023 - it's why he comes with a lack of credibility and trustworthiness

 Well, couldn't find a video of the meeting but did see this slide presentation that's about as helpful as he is in informing the Public about what he's doing. Blah..blah..blah here's the numbers he wants you to see.

Take for example Salary & Wages of $74.9 million (which represent some 44% of the total appropriations) and are up $4.0 million or 5.7% over 2022. Nowhere will you find a proper reconciliation of the dollars and headcount by department which bridges the gap between 2022 and 2023. They don't show you what caused the increases. How much was salary increases, new hires and other additions or retirements, resignations, terminations or other deductions. So, you have no way of understanding what that $4 million was for or if it makes any sense. The only thing they show you is a summary staffing schedule which doesn't even add up for 2022. 

Kind of interesting how he puts up a whole bunch of numbers about his budget and neglects to show you what the individual tax rates are and hides the only tax increases in the total property tax bill are his tax increases. It's deceptive and misleading, just like his stewardship.

Here take a look at this slide:

Notice it just shows you what the total dollars you would pay if you live in that imaginary home assessed at $182,400 but not the individual taxing entity rates. If you do the math with these numbers, you find it adds up to a total of $10,404.09 and on the assessed value of $182,400 - that equals a total rate of $5.704.

Now, if you continue doing the math, here's what you find is in the $5.704:

• School tax - $3.191
• Muni tax - $1.441
• Muni Open Space tax - .010
• Library tax - .088
• County taxes - $.974
• Total - $5.704

There are a few things wrong with these numbers. 

First of all, you need to recognize that the only increases in these rates from 2022 are with the Muni-tax of $1.441, which is up $3.9-cents or 2.79% and the Library tax of $.088, which is up $1-cent. All the rest of the taxing entities have reductions in their tax rates from 2022.

Second, the School tax rate is overstated. The School tax rate for 2023-24 isn't $3.191 - it's $3.184, which is down $1.3-cents from last years $3.197. The numbers used in this presentation are just plain wrong as they were in the numbers they used in the 3rd Qtr. Estimate tax bills which erroneously inflated the amount of money going into the township coffers. The School tax rate of $3.191 used in this presentation is overstated by $.007 - 7/10's of a penny, and a penny is worth approximately $738,000.

Third, there's a claim that 'Our 2023 budget projects the first property tax cut for Edison homeowners since 1988.' Now, here's an example how you can be truthful, yet misleading. 

Yes - the $5.704 total of all the taxing entities is less than last years $5.705 but No thanks to the Mayor Sam 'Shrink-flation' Joshi, aka Big-boy pants, the Weathervane Millennial, the Event Planner and Sam the Flim-flam man's Muni-budget, which has tax increases.

Fourth, the total tax rate should be $5.697, which is a reduction from the $5.704 used in this presentation and in the 3rd Qtr Estimate and you should see a reduction in your tax bills in the fourth quarter for that amount - and if the Council reduces that Muni-tax rate of $1.441 in this presentation, a further reduction of the $5.697.

Here's the Slide Presentation:

Anyhoo, it's a Ridiculous $170.2m Out-of-Control $pending Muni-budget that should be kicked to the curb by the Edison Council on July 26th - but unfortunately, Not as long as Joe 'the Florist' Coyle, aka Mayor of Clara Barton, Poster-child for Wards and Joe 180 is still on the Council.