Letter to the Editor- Taxpayer Pain in Lacey- June 19, 2025

Letter to the Editor- Taxpayer Pain in Lacey- June 18, 2025

To: Lacey Patch
From: Regina Discenza
Date: June 19, 2025

The Lacey Township taxpayers are experiencing pain- there’s physical pain and there’s financial pain. The Lacey School District and School board have now raised property taxes 2 years in a row - 10% TWICE after promising never to do so again after last year’s increase.

While this looks like financial pain, for some it may cause physical pain. Retirees needing to look for work to pay their taxes but they may be handicapped by medical conditions. The school board is driving people on fixed incomes out of this town. People forced to sell their lifelong homes because the taxes have gone beyond their means. Making people decide between food, medicine or taxes is unconscionable. Parents being forced to spend more time outside of the home for a second or third job. Single Moms, widows and widowers now have to make very difficult choices. If you don’t pay your property taxes, you lose your home. It’s that simple. Many people try to survive on just social security and now it’s become impossible. The dollar only stretches so far.

The Lacey School District needs to reorganize itself into a lean mean financially savvy machine but it refuses to do so.

If Lacey can’t stay within the 2% mandated tax cap then perhaps it’s time for the taxpayers to take matters into their own hands- how? Maybe it’s time to reinstate the school budget vote by public referendum. What we have now is clearly taxation without proper representation.

Respectfully submitted,

Regina Discenza, former 2 term Lacey School Board Member
233 Sunset Dr., Forked River NJ 08731
Notary Public State of New Jersey, Service available upon request
Cell (609) 290-5125
Home: *609-693-6454 (9AM-9PM)
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