Over the weekend, the Star Ledger released a Special Report, "Did N.J. property tax reform help most taxpayers?"  According to the article, "New Jersey homeowners paid an average of 2.4 percent more for property taxes in 2011, the smallest increase in nearly two decades, showing Gov. Chris Christie’s push to restrain local levies might be working."  This is good news for many New Jersey residents who pay some of the highest property taxes in the nation.  Not only did this report show recent trends, but also allows the opportunity to search by town to see not only what the specific increase was, but where the tax dollars are spent.

Locally, some challenges still remain.  Even though some residents in the North Brunswick area welcome the 2% cap on property taxes, there are others who worry about the impact on schools and services.  Even with the limit, other costs outside the control of municipalities still exist and continue to rise (such as outside services or the number of students in the public schools that need to be educated), which means that funds will need to come from elsewhere, or services that residents have grown accostummed to may soon disappear.  Finally, there are those who already feel that taxes are too high, and that they need to be reduced.  Whatever the case may be, many are thankful that at least something is happening, and perhaps it'll point to a more positive future for New Jersey.