IRVINGTON, NJ — A recent public mailing from the Vauss administration details the alleged savings township taxpayers have enjoyed since 2014, despite the fact that Irvington recently admitted to a $3.25 million deficit in 2015 and deficits of $2.4 million in the 2016 and 2017 budgets.
Earlier this year, Irvington Municipal Council President David Lyons said the township has to deal with a $2.4 million deficit for 2016 that is reflected in the $109,930,685.08 Calendar Year 2017 Municipal Budget, which contains a 1.5-percent tax increase. Lyons said, however, this tax increase was not due to the deficit.
“Even if we didn’t have the deficit, we were going to raise taxes. Nobody likes to see deficits. It was $3.8 in 2015. We got that down to about $3.25 million,” said Lyons on Monday, July 10. “In 2016, taxes actually went down. With the 1.5 percent tax increase that we’re having now in 2015, that would have been more. Your taxes are still lower than they were in 2016 and they’re definitely lower than they were in 2014.”
In its recent mailing, the Vauss administration made its point about reduced taxes by comparing the taxes of four specific township taxpayers — Elouise McDaniel, Dee Fuqua, Cathy Southerland and Nduna Gora — and what they paid in 2012 and 2013, when Smith was in office, compared to 2014, 2015 and 2016 with Vauss in office.
According to the flier, McDaniel paid $7,276 in taxes in 2012 and $6,844.50 in 2013, as opposed to $6,525.38 in 2014, $6,485.91 in 2015 and $6,640.19 in 2016, for a savings of $577.02 in 2013, $1,235.44 in 2014 and $1,235.59 in 2016.
The flier depicted similar savings for Fuqua, Southerland and Nduna. McDaniel is the Irvington Joint Block Association president and Nesbit Terrace Block Association president; Fuqua is the president of the Orange Avenue and Oakland Avenue Block Association, and Southerland is a former Board of Education candidate who regularly attends council meetings and has been an outspoken critic of the administrations of both Vauss and Smith. Nduna also attends council meetings on a regular basis.
McDaniel said she considers an effort by herself, Fuqua and Southerland to recall Vauss’ election to have prompted the mayor to target them in the recent tax comparison mailing, as a form of retaliation. Vauss said that is not the case.
“My administration deals in facts,” said Vauss on Monday, Oct. 2. “Just the facts.”
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