Mayor Carlo DeMaria’s third term is beginning with a lot of good will he has acquired over time.
The mayor has kept the city’s politics quiet and he has been reasonable and the city has weathered the economic downturn better than many others in this state.
He needs to do one thing and one thing alone to have nearly everyone in this city saying he’s the best mayor to come down the line in years.
And what is that?
He needs to lower the commercial tax rate and to lower it substantially.
If we were the mayor, we’d call to mind the best money minds in the city and we’d also pick the brains of state banking and tax officials to determine a way to lower the commercial real estate tax.
Without such a lowering, and soon, the city faces an economic dead end of sorts.
Such a high tax will ultimately cause business to flee this city instead of to locate here.
Mayor DeMaria should give this a try.
He has everything to gain and nothing whatsoever to lose by doing so.