(TRENTON) – Governor James E. McGreevey today joined Senate President Richard J. Codey and Assembly Speaker Albio Sires in appointing members to the Property Tax Convention Task Force and moving forward with efforts to reform the property tax system and provide long-term relief to the state’s taxpayers.
In naming the task force members, the Governor stressed the importance of building a bipartisan group that reflects the diversity of New Jersey.
“The Property Tax Convention Task Force will perhaps have the biggest impact on the future success of our state than any other group in recent history,” said McGreevey. “That is why it is so important the task force members represent a wide-range of New Jersey citizens because ultimately, it will be New Jersey citizens who will fix our state’s long-broken and unfair property tax system.
“These individuals we’re appointing today bring a wealth of experience, expertise and passion that will serve New Jersey well,” McGreevey continued. “Together, they will help ensure the success of a constitutional convention that will take the property tax debate out of Trenton and put it in the hands of voters – where it belongs.”
The Governor last month signed legislation calling for the establishment of a task force to issue recommendations regarding the process of conducting a constitutional convention. The task force is also charged with identifying issues the convention should consider.
The creation of Property Tax Convention Task Force completes the Governor’s three-pronged FAIR (Fair and Immediate Relief) plan, which also provides immediate property tax relief to nearly two million senior citizens and middle class families, and freezes local government spending.
By law, the task force consists of 15 members: nine appointed by the Governor; two appointed by the Senate President, one of whom is a Senate member and one of whom is a member of the public; two appointed by the Assembly Speaker, one of whom is a member of the Assembly and one of whom is a member of the public; one member of the Senate appointed by the Senate Minority Leader, and one Assembly member appointed by the Assembly Minority Leader. The Governor appoints the chair and vice chair.
In addition, the Center for State Constitutional Studies at Rutgers-Camden has agreed to assist the task force by providing background and research on constitutional issues.
“I’m looking forward to getting this task force up and running so it can begin the serious work of examining a possible constitutional convention [on property tax reform],” Codey said. “The task force will benefit tremendously from the expertise of Senators Adler and Van Wagner. I have every confidence in their ability and commitment to tackling the issue of tax reform and I look forward to reviewing the entire task force's recommendations this winter.”
Sires called the task force the first step toward long-term reform.
"For far too long, politicians have forced the property taxpayers of New Jersey to live under a system that is broken and unfair," said Sires. "Today, we take the first step towards empowering property taxpayers from all walks of life and parts of New Jersey to draw the roadmap that will lead to long-term reform and stability, rather than letting politics dictate more short-term fixes."
McGreevey appointed the following:
Carl E. Van Horn, Ph.D. (Highland Park, Middleses) as Chair. Van Horn is a widely recognized expert on workforce, human resources and employment policy issues with extensive experience in public and private sector policymaking. He is the founding director of the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development – one of the nation’s leading academic centers on workforce policy and practice. Van Horn is a professor of public policy at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy and has served in several senior level policymaking positions in government and universities.
Michael R. Cole (Morris, Morris) as Vice Chair. Cole is a managing partner at DeCotis, FitzPatrick, Cole & Wisler, LLP. His practice focuses on complex civil litigation and administrative law as well as government and regulatory affairs. Cole has held a number of public offices during his career, including chief counsel to Governor Thomas Kean from 1986 to 1989.
Cy Thannikary (Upper Freehold, Monmouth) Thannikary is the founding chairman of Citizens for Property Tax Reform, a statewide, non-partisan coalition of grass roots taxpayer, community and business organization representing more than 300,000 homeowners committed to bring about property tax reform in New Jersey.
Jo-Anne B. Schubert (South Bound Brook, Somerset) Schubert has been mayor of South Bound Brook since 1996 and is President of the New Jersey State League of Municipalities. She served as a South Bound Brook councilwoman from 1986 to 1989 and is a founding member of the Somerset County Republican Municipal Chair Association. She has served as chairwoman of the League of Municipalities Group Home Committee since 1997. Schubert also represents the League on the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s Local Government Advisory Board.
Sherryl A. Gordon (Cherry Hill, Camden) Gordon has served as Executive Director of the New Jersey Administrative and Legislative Council No. 1 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees since 1992. Prior to that, she served as associate director for nine years and as a member of the office staff since 1975. As executive director, Gordon represents the locals and councils in AFSCME in discussions with state officials and sets the direction for the union’s political and legislative programs.
Ida Castro (Burlington, Burlington) Castro was appointed as Commissioner of New Jersey’s Personnel Department in January 2001. She was the first Latina to serve in the role of Personnel Commissioner.
An accomplished lawyer with an extensive background in labor relations and civil rights, she dedicated her tenure as Commissioner to enhancing the merit system to ensure fairness and opportunities for all state employees. She also served as chair of the Governor’s Hispanic Advisory Council. Castro was recently named The Haywood Burns Chair in Civil Rights at the CUNY School of Law.
Susan Cole (Upper Montclair, Essex) Cole has served as president of Montclair State University, where she is also an English professor, since 1998. She is a member of the Governor’s Education Cabinet and is chair of the policies and purposes committee for the American Association of State Colleges and Universities.
Ernest C. Reock Jr., Ph.D (South Brunswick, Middlesex) Reock is a professor emeritus at and former director of the Center for Government Services at Rutgers University. He is the author of “Unfinished Business: The New Jersey Constitutional Convention of 1966”, published last year. He also wrote the “Handbook for New Jersey Assessors” and in 1976 created the “Legislative District Data Book”, which he edits annually.
Gary Passanante (Somerdale, Camden) Passanante is currently serving his third term as Somerdale mayor. He has served as vice president and president of the Camden County Mayors Association and is currently on the board of directors for the New Jersey League of Municipalities and the New Jersey Conference of Mayors. He is chairman of the League’s Municipalities Property Tax Reform Committee, the Camden County Mayors Association Property Tax Reform Committee and the New Jersey Conference of Mayors Property Tax Reform Committee.
Codey appointed the following:
Sen. John H. Adler (Cherry Hill, Camden) Adler, currently in his fifth term, is a leading advocate of local tax reform in the Legislature and is the Senate sponsor of the law creating the Constitutional Convention Task Force. The senator has been a vocal supporter of a constitutional convention to reform the state's system of local taxation to fund public schools, as well as measures to provide immediate relief, such as requiring small schools and municipalities to share some services. Adler currently serves as Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and is a member of the Senate Environment Committee and the Joint Legislative Committee on Ethical Standards.
Richard Van Wagner, Sr. (Neptune, Monmouth) Van Wagner served in the Legislature from 1973 to 1991. He was known for his expertise on taxation issues, having served as Chairman of the Assembly Committee on Taxation and as Chairman of the Revenue, Finance, and Appropriations Committee, also while in the Assembly. The former senator played a critical role in crafting many of today's tax relief programs during and also worked on passage of the Quality Education Acts under Governor Florio, which sought to reduce New Jersey's reliance on property taxes for funding public education. Van Wagner recently retired from his position as General Manager of Governmental and Regulatory Affairs for the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority.
Sires appointed the following:
Assembly Majority Leader Joseph J. Roberts, Jr. (Camden, Camden) Roberts is a long-time advocate for a property tax constitutional convention and was prime sponsor of the legislation to create the task force. Roberts graduated from Rutgers University and received his master's degree in government administration
from the Fels School at the University of Pennsylvania.
He has also completed the senior government program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He was selected to represent the Fifth Legislative District in the state Assembly in 1987 and has been reelected 9 times. He has served as majority leader since 2002.
Terrence Malloy (Bayonne, Hudson) Malloy has worked for the City of Bayonne since 1980, and currently serves as the city's business administrator, director of finance, comptroller and chief financial officer. Malloy is also acting coordinator of the Bayonne Urban Enterprise Zone and a member of the Bayonne Insurance Commission. He has served on the board of directors for the Bayonne Chapter of the American Red Cross and the City of Bayonne Credit Union. Malloy holds a bachelor's degree in accounting with a minor in economics from Rutgers University.
