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Mayors urge update to 1997 law after Verizon seeks full property tax cut
Summary
Mayors of Hamilton and Robbinsville told the Assembly Telecommunications and Utilities Committee that a 1997 statute lets telecommunications providers drop from substantial payments to zero when local coverage falls below 50%, and they asked lawmakers to revise the law after Verizon claimed a $750,000 reduction for Hamilton Township.
Mayors Jeff Martin of Hamilton Township and Dave Fried of Robbinsville told the Assembly Telecommunications and Utilities Committee on June 25 that a 1997 state statute allows telecommunications providers to reduce assessed property value to zero when coverage in a territory falls below 50%, and they urged the committee to update the law.
The mayors said Verizon notified Hamilton this year that it would stop paying about $750,000 annually under the statute, and later served suit seeking to pay nothing, a swing the mayors called abrupt and unfair. "$750,000 for Hamilton is a huge amount of money," Mayor Jeff Martin said, adding that the loss would force cuts to services such as police,…
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