PLEASE NOTE THAT THE EMAIL ADDRESS OF JOANNE CONNOLLY WAS INCORRECT IN MY LAST EMAIL. HER EMAIL ADDRESS IS:

connolly@monroetwp.com

YOU CAN SEND YOUR LETTER TO THE ABOVE ADDRESS. THIS EMAIL INCLUDES WHAT I HAD ALREADY SENT YOU REGARDING THE REQUEST BY THE CCMT PLUS OTHER NEWS REGARDING REGENCY SO SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM OF THE CCMT LETTER AND READ ABOUT REGENCY.

I THINK THE EMAILER NEEDS A VACATION!

March 20, 2008

To: C.C.M. T. Membership

Subject: Tax Appeal Continues

We have received notice from our attorney the Mayor has turned down our offer to settle the lawsuit. This action does not affect the assessment notices you received in February of this year. Those assessments are permanent. What the Mayor is denying is the additional reduction that was agreed to during the bargaining sessions, and then conveniently misplaced after we had agreed to accept their offer. Their reasoning being they’re getting pressure from other communities that already feel that our communities have gotten benefits that were not extended to other similar communities and the settlement will cost them too much in lost tax revenue. The reasons provided have nothing to do with the merits of our lawsuit. They do not deny we have been over taxed and we continue to be over taxed. They do not deny that we are paying a greater share of the tax burden than bigger homes, with much more land, many more rooms, and much greater demands on municipal, county, and educational services.

It is now time for you to be heard. Apparently the Mayor, Council and Tax Assessor do not believe that the CCMT is made of CONCERNED CITIZENS of Monroe Township who are tired of false promises and footing the bill for government extravagances. Everything the Mayor, Council, School Board, County, etc., proposes we pay a disproportionate share of the total costs. Why? Because we’re over assessed and the Mayor, Council, Tax Assessor, County Board of Taxation, and Division of Taxation refuse to fix it voluntarily.

As a result of their rejection of our proposal the lawsuit shall continue. Depositions are to take place in May, a pre-trial conference in early June, with an anticipated trial date of
August or September (to be set at the pre-trial conference).

During this time period your Steering Committee will be planning how to best expand our group. There are approximately 3,000 new construction homes that are in our situation, all overtaxed. We know who they are and will try to reach out to them for their moral and financial support. This population is much more difficult to reach because they are not concentrated in communities such as ours but they are being over assessed and over taxed just as we are. Its time to get them involved.

But you, as owners of homes built since 2000 need to speak up. You need to tell your elected officials how disappointed you are in their actions in this matter. You need to call, write, and attend public meeting to let these same officials know that we have a voice and we’re not going away until we’re treated fairly and equitably.

Following is a listing of your township officials who have the ability to fix the problem.

Let them know how displeased you are. In addition, there is a schedule of Township Council meetings. You need to go to these meetings and let the Mayor and Council know we’re serious and we’re not going away.

We have proven you can fight City Hall and win. Now is not the time to give up. Do not listen to the politicians that will say we should be thankful for the partial win this year and not be greedy. We are not being greedy when we ask not to be over assessed; not to be over taxed; not to pay more than our fair share. We are more than willing to pay our taxes; we just don’t want to pay the tax burden of others.

Richard Pucci, Mayor, rpucci@monroetwp.com
8 Middlesex Blvd
Monroe Township, NJ 08831
732-521-4400

Gerald W. Tamburro, Council President, gtamburro@monroetwp.com
35 Buckingham Lane
Monroe Township, NJ 08831
732-656-4573

Henry L. Miller, Council Vice President, hmiller@monroetwp.com
507A Sheldon Way
Monroe Township, NJ 08831
732-656-4573

Irwin Nalitt, Councilman at Large, inalitt@monroetwp.com
103 Concordia Circle
Monroe Township, NJ 08831
732-456-4573

Joanne M. Connelly, Councilwoman, jconnolly@monroetwp.com
2 First Avenue
Monroe Township, NJ 08831
732-656-4573

Leslie Koppel-Egierd, Councilwomen, koppelegierd@monroetownship.com
4 Andrew Drive
Monroe Township, NJ 08831
732-656-4573

Mitchell Elias, Tax Assessor, melias@monroetwp.com
1 Municipal Plaza
Monroe Township, NJ 08831
732-521-4400

The Town Council has regular meetings on the first Monday of every month, beginning at 7:30 PM at the Municipal Complex, which is off of Perrineville Road, right past Monroe Township High School.

The web address of the Township new web site is monroetwp.com.

It is important for you to communicate to your elected officials your displeasure of their decision not to grant a reduction in assessed values of your property, as they previously proposed, so your tax burden more closely aligns with the tax burden of others in our township... You need to demand that they pass a resolution, now, requesting the County Board of Taxation order a revaluation this year of all properties located in Monroe Township to current market values to provide for an equitable distribution of the tax burden. Don’t accept any promises about next year. The last revaluation in this township was 15 years ago in 1993. The County Board will not order a revaluation unless the Mayor and Town Council ask them to do so, or our lawsuit is successful...

It is time for you to speak up in an orderly manner. If you don’t the Mayor and Council members will interpret your silence as if you believe your current tax burden is fair and reasonable even though it is substantially above the township average. The average assessed value of CCMT members is $216,600 or more than 20% higher than the average for the township residential (Class 2) properties ($168,900) as well as the average of the 5 members of the Town Council plus the Mayor ($169,800).

You need to support our efforts by acting now. It is time for your voices to be heard.

We will hold all of your requests to be included in the appeal process until we determine what further steps might be appropriate. Thank you for your support.

Your Steering Committee.

Someone sent a letter to the Mayor, etc., and sent us a copy. We asked, and received permission to mail it to all of CCMT as an example of what to write.
To: CCMT Members

Subject: Sample Letter # 1

The following is a copy of an email actually sent by a CCMT member to the Mayor, members of the Town Council and the Tax Assessor. It is a very polite letter requesting they treat us fairly. Please do your part and send an email, letter, make a phone call, requesting them to honor their agreement with the CCMT or pass a resolution to have a revaluation of all township property in 2008. Adjust the data in your letter to reflect as much of your personal information as you care to send.

Please send a copy of your emails to C.C.M.T@comcast.net. With your permission, we will share them with other CCMT members for those who are having difficulty finding the right words to say.

Thank you,

The Steering Committee (C.C.M.T@comcast.net)

Example #1

My wife and I have resided in Monroe Township since 1973. During that time, we have seen the town grow from a small rural town into its present day status as one of the most desirable towns in Middlesex County. Much of the housing in the town is comprised of 'active adult communities' like the one in which we presently live--Renaissance at Monroe.

When we left our house on ________Avenue in the ______________ development, our assessment was $145,500 for an eight room, 2 1/2 bathroom house on a 75 foot by 100 foot lot. Total taxes were $4409. Our present house on a smaller lot (6875 feet²), after the recent assessment reduction, is assessed for $193,700 with taxes around $6000. This seems inequitable.

As you are no doubt aware, the recent assessment reduction resulted from an agreement pursuant to the law suit filed by the C.C.M.T. However, that agreement was not fully adhered to by the township tax assessor. In the interest of fairness, we, as long term residents and taxpayers of Monroe Township, feel that it is incumbent on the tax assessor and the township to adhere fully to the terms of the original agreement. We feel that we are still over-assessed, and that this situation results in over-payment of taxes not only to Monroe Township, but to the county, to the board of education, and to the fire district, as well.

We are willing to pay our fair share, but we feel that other residents of the township should pay their fair share also. If that means that housing in the township should be reassessed, so be it. The reassessment costs would then be shared on a fair basis by all township residents based on the new 'fair' reassessments. These costs could and should be avoided if the tax assessor and the township would follow through on the terms of the original agreement reached as a result of the C.C.M.T. lawsuit.

Since the above letter pertains to someone who has lived in the Township for a long time and lives in Renaissance, I've "tweaked" the above example to make it compatible with residents who live in Regency and have lived in Monroe Township for maybe a short period of time. To make it easy for you to send the email, it is printed in blue and those parts that you have to change, in accordance with your personal situation is in red. Just copy and paste this information onto a NEW MESSAGE and insert all the email addresses into the TO box of your email. The list of email addresses with follow the example:

NOTE: AFTER YOU CHANGE THE RED ITEMS WHICH PERTAINS TO YOUR PARTICULAR SITUATION, JUST HIGHLIGHT EVERYTHING AND CHANGE THE COLOR TO BLACK. THEN COPY AND PASTE ONTO A NEW MESSAGE.

IN ORDER TO HAVE ALL OF OUR LETTERS MEAN SOMETHING IT MUST BE SENT IN PRIOR TO APRIL 1ST. HERE IS WHERE TO SEND YOUR EMAILS

rpucci@monroetwp.com

gtamburro@monroetwp.com

hmiller@monroetwp.com

inalitt@monroetwp.com

jconnolly@monroetwp.com

koppelegierd@monroetownship.com

melias@monroetwp.com

C.C.M.T@comcast.net

I/We have resided in Monroe Township since insert date. During this time I/we have seen the town grow from a small rural town into it's present day status as one of the most desirable towns in Middlesex County. Much of the housing in the town is comprised of active adult communities' like the one in which I/we presently live - Regency at Monroe.

As you are no doubt aware, the recent assessment reduction resulted from an agreement pursuant to the law suit filed by the C.C.M.T. However, that agreement was not fully adhered to by the township tax assessor. In the interest of fairness, I/we, as a residents and taxpayers of Monroe Township, feel that it is incumbent on the tax assessor and the township to adhere fully to the terms of the original agreement. I/We feel that I/we am are still over-assessed, and that this situation results in over-payment of taxes not only to Monroe Township, but to the county, to the board of education, and to the fire district, as well.

I/We am/are willing to pay our fair share, but I/we feel that other residents of the township should pay their fair share also. If that means that housing in the township should be reassessed, so be it. The reassessment costs would then be shared on a fair basis by all township residents based on the new 'fair' reassessments. These costs could and should be avoided if the tax assessor and the township would follow through on the terms of the original agreement reached as a result of the C.C.M.T. lawsuit.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

YOUR NAME(S)

ADDRESS

AGAIN, HERE IS WHERE TO SEND THE ABOVE EMAIL. MAKE SURE IT IS SENT IN PRIOR TO APRIL 1ST.

HERE IS WHERE TO SEND YOUR EMAILS

rpucci@monroetwp.com

gtamburro@monroetwp.com

hmiller@monroetwp.com

inalitt@monroetwp.com

jconnolly@monroetwp.com

koppelegierd@monroetownship.com

melias@monroetwp.com

C.C.M.T@comcast.net

LOOKING FOR A BRIDGE PARTNER?

Barbara Paisano, 7 Tamarack, is looking for a bridge partner for social or duplicate bridge. Please respond to 732-605-7848.

One ticket available for "Cat On A Hot Tin Roof"

Gloria Bauman has one orchestra ticket available for the matinee performance Wednesday April 23rd for Cat On A Hot Tin Roof. Join our friends from Regency and Greenbriar. Bus is available leaving that morning from Greenbriar. Please contact Gloria if interested. ( 732-656-0121 )

MEN'S GOLF AT THE MEADOW'S ON WEDNESDAY

We just had 2 men drop out of the Men's Golf at the Meadows on Wednesday. So we now have 53 players and even though we have 13 times requiring just 52 players, we always have guys off each week. So I will be looking for 2 or 3 new Regulars. If you are interested, just let me know (Ron Post). Also, one of the openings is for 1 player who might be interested in playing just 9 holes. We have 3 nine hole players currently.

ONE OF OUR GRANDCHILDREN IS A TV STAR
FROM THE METZ'S

I have included a link to a video of our son Michael and his wife Staci's 7 1/2 month old daughter Olivia (our 7th grandchild) that is from The Early Show TV program broadcast nationwide on CBS television on March 20. Olivia is the first one in the video. We wanted to share our pride with Regency.

Laura and Martin Metz

NOTE: OLIVIA IS THE FIRST BABY SITTING ON THE ANNOUNCER'S LAP. SHE IS ADORABLE!! THEY ASKED ME TO MODEL, BUT THEY TOLD ME THAT I WAS JUST A "BIG BABY". CLICK ON THIS LINK
http://www.shadowtv.com/redirect/notification.jsp?vid=b2b3f45574cd9df6da053484fcc3cf98

THE CULTURE CLUB PRESENTS..................FOLK SINGING

The Culture Club will host an informal folk singing evening on Friday, August 1. The evening will mostly be our residents singing folk songs (sing alongs) that we grew up with plus a few special performances. It will be limited to 100 people.

We are now looking for a few residents who play instruments suitable for folk music such as guitar, banjo, fiddle, piano, harmonica, etc. to help us with the accompaniment. This will be a fun evening with very easy musical arrangements.

For further details, please contact Barry Shandler at 732-605-0090 or bshandler@comcast.net.

"GONE WITH THE WIND"

ALTHOUGH MY HOUSE IS MY "TARA, MY GARBAGE PAILS KEEP BLOWING AWAY WITH THE WIND. I HAVE NOW LOST FOUR. I LIVE ON COUNTRY CLUB DR. IF ANYBODY HAS RECOVERED ONE, COULD YOU PLEASE CALL ME AT 732-605-1933.

BERNIE LEWITES

LOOK OUT OLD "MAC" IS BACK IN TOWN

And he goes by the name of Carl "Mac" Gordon. No, "Mac" isn't Carl's middle name but when I put out a call for anyone who knows a "Mac" computer system and a problem a resident was facing, Carl came to the rescue. Here is the answer and thanks again and you are not "old Mac". You are really "young Mac"

On the Mac, if you go to System Preferences under the blue apple, then to Displays, you have a choice of about 10 screen sizes, two of which are "stretched." Perhaps the screen configuration could be changed to eliminate the overlap.
Carl Gordon

ONCE A MONTH BOWLING REMINDER
APRIL 6TH

CLICK ON LINK FOR DETAILS
http://www.adrive.com/public/05c62eb77e4825cb3ac6bbd38fe5d46855c3f1f76ee14e340ed111671edc9710.html

REMINDER - GOLF OUTING AT KNOB HILL
APRIL 28TH

The golf outing for Ronald McDonald on April 28th will be at Knob Hill Country Club. It is an event that is sponsored by the Women's Group.
Please contact Roz Kornfeld or Sue Miller

FLYERS FROM GAIL

COLLETE TRAVEL PRESENTATION - TRAINS OF THE COLORADO ROCKIES
MARCH 26TH

CLICK ON LINK FOR MORE INFORMATION
http://www.adrive.com/public/226dd16652faab359b149be69429d9e3dd3f98fd396823543f8de76b009c8161.html

STATE THEATER NEW BRUNSWICK DISCOUNT TICKETS FOR SHOWS

CLICK ON LINK TO SEE WHICH SHOWS ARE BEING DISCOUNTED
http://www.adrive.com/public/677bd319304551ebb1fc26ff1b34327fecaaeba2424470d0a6c7f9a14c5ca41f.html

OUR BEST WISHES ARE EXTENDED TO AVI ON HIS BAR MITZVAH GRANDPARENTS ARE ETTA & EDDIE LEVINE

We would like to announce the Bar Mitzvah of our eldest grandson, Avi, which took place March 8 at Ohr Torah Synagogue in Edison, followed by a reception on March 9. We had a fabulous time and wish a hearty Mazel tov to Avi, his proud parents, Melissa and Leeor, and to his younger brothers, Jake and Noah.

Thanks,
Etta & Eddie Levine

WOMEN'S GROUP REMINDER

Membership dues are being collected for our fiscal year, April 1- March 31. Please leave a check for $20 made out to Regency Women's Group in Joan Kahn's mailbox at 11 Crenshaw Court. Questions? Call Joan at 732-521-8381.

OUR BEST WISHES ARE EXTENDED TO ERIC BITON ON HIS BAR MITZVAH
GRANDPARENTS ARE FRAN & DAVE BERMAN

Fran and Dave Berman are thrilled to announce their Grandson Eric Biton will be called to the
Torah as a Bar Mitzvah on March 22 at Temple Beth Ahm, Springfield, New Jersey

His proud parents are Rachel and Haviv and he has a little sister Samantha. His friends and family will celebrate at a party for Eric on Sunday at the Temple.

THAT'S IT FOR NOW
RON