Wantage pays three times for 911 services

| 07 Jan 2019 | 04:16

    Us Wantage Township taxpayers are forced to pay three separate taxes for the 911 services.
    In 2018 Wantage contracted Vernon Township for our 911 dispatching services at a cost of $55,000; therefore, this amount was included in our municipal taxes.
    Even though Wantage did not contract Sussex County for its 911 services for 2018, hidden in Sussex County's 2018 taxes us Wantage taxpayers were forced to pay approximately $76,136 in taxes for the County's 911 Emergency Communication Center. If you add in the employee benefits, etc; this number probably actually exceeded $100,000. For NO 911 services. But, that's almost twice what we paid Vernon to actually provide the 911 services. Why?
    Then, each month via our telephone bill we are forced to pay a ''New Jersey State 911 Tax" of $0.90, or $10.80 per year. Talk about another well-hidden tax.
    Based on published reports, the State Legislature and the various Governors have diverted (stolen) the vast majority of these 911 tax funds, over $1 billion, for other purposes.
    Therefore, since by their own actions, the members of the State Legislature and the various Governors have proven beyond any doubt that this tax fund is not required for the support of the 911 system, I am therefore requesting that the three R.I.N.O.s in the 24th District Office (Oroho, Space and Wirths) immediately act like Republicans and sponsor legislation requiring the immediate repeal of the "New Jersey State 911 Tax" as collected by the telephone companies.
    William H. Gettler
    Wantage Township