Blackwood-For the fourth time since she took office, Mayor Cindy Rau-Hatton has sponsored a double-digit tax increase.The 12% tax hike came after she told the Courier Post that “all line items in the budget,…are the same as last year or below,” the Mayor casually introduced the budget with “Bank Fees” far exceeding last year’s figures. The township had to pay over $13,000 in fines for late payments to the State and IRS due to the Mayor’s mismanagement, which she tried to bury in her budget as “Bank Fees”.
“I don’t know how she thought she wasn’t going to get caught,” said Councilman Dan Hutchison, who was the member on Council who questioned the Mayor on the inflated “Bank Fees.”“As an attorney who passed the CPA exam, I know how egregious an error like this can be.It’s one thing to not pay your taxes on time, but it is a far more serious problem when you try to conceal it.”Councilman Frank Schmidt said, “As taxpayers get squeezed, she inflates the budget with IRS penalties and pension fines.Gloucester Twp. residents can’t afford this type of mismanagement.”
After a heated discussion, the Mayor admitted to not being transparent with accounting practices and that the average taxpayer could not discern that penalties were paid by looking at the current budget.Michelle Gentek, candidate for Council, noted her frustration as a taxpayer.“As a former small business-owner, I know that if I did what the Mayor did, I could face an IRS audit.This is appalling.We are all expected to pay our taxes on time.What makes her think that she isn’t held to the same standard?”
According to Rau-Hatton’s website she, promises to provide “open, honest and transparent government.”It also touts her creation of the Mayor’s Task Force on Property Tax Reform.Rau-Hatton’s Democratic opponent for Mayor, Dave Mayer, said, “She has repeatedly misled township taxpayers.After four straight years of double-digit tax hikes, she hasn’t kept her word.It’s time she took responsibility for that.”