Editor, the Asbury Park Sun,

A report from the New Jersey State Comptroller criticizes municipalities for the wanton use of tax abatements and PILOT programs to attract developers, stating “New Jersey’s municipal tax abatement program is pulling critical funding away from school districts and leaving taxpayers to pick up the costs.” So what’s changed today?

These abatement programs will be haunting Asbury Park for many many years. The prior council and city manager recklessly used these programs to make the rich developers richer and mortgage our schools. Although there are indeed some issues in our school system, Asbury does have a lot to offer and we do not need our elected officials to give away our future.

The city has a magnificent beachfront that rivals any in the state, wonderful architecture, wide welcoming streets, and proximity to New York City by train. Let’s get down to reality. Why do we as taxpayers have to cowtow to developers? Enough! The time is now to truly push for a new Asbury Park and this has to be led by our elected officials. We can no longer operate the old way.

We must pursue economic development which benefits the entire city, but realize that not all progress can satisfy everyone’s needs or desires. Asbury Park is without doubt the must compassionate locale in Monmouth County based on our over 80 nonprofit organizations. But the taxpayers can only absorb so much of the costs. We must seek developers who want to work with the city, not those that abuse loopholes and have taken advantage of our prior, much less than competent, council and city administration for purely financial gain. All taxes & fines must be collected and the PILOT agreements stopped. Fiscal sanity must be restored. Our elected officials must lead, not cower.

Look at Asbury Park’s history. In order to move ahead, we can no longer allow ourselves to fall behind. We must demand more from our government. We must utilize Asbury’s location as a prime asset. Fiscal responsibility must be enacted; waste must be avoided and a sense of unity must be undertaken. It can no longer be Asbury Park second, it must be Asbury Park FIRST!

—Rita Marano, Asbury Park