In a move that surprised fellow council members, Morristown Councilwoman Alison Deeb voted tonight against renewing the lease of a town office to the Morris County NAACP, suggesting the town could reduce residents’ taxes by charging higher rent.
The NAACP pays $100 a month for a 125-square-foot space on the third floor of town hall, where it has held meetings for years, during Democratic and Republican municipal administrations. Introduction of the lease renewal ordinance was approved by a 6-1 vote.
The councilman, who is up for re-election as the lone Republican on the governing body, requested more information on how many nonprofit organizations are leasing space in town hall and how much they are paying.
“We’re a government office, a taxpayer-funded building, and we’re leasing to a private nonprofit with known political affiliations. I had no idea we were leasing this for 10 years,” said Alison, noting that the council lacks its own caucus room.
She also inquired about the lease for Morristown Memorial Hospital, which provides services in approximately 3,000 square feet of space in town hall.
“Could we be charging market rate to reduce taxes? Anything to reduce taxes for our residents who are over-taxed” is worth considering, the councilwoman said after the council meeting.
Councilwomen Michelle Harris-King and Raline Smith-Reid, who are African Americans, looked puzzled by their colleague’s vote.
“That was shocking,” said Michelle, who attended last week’s Martin Luther King Day breakfast and a service for a new pastor at the Bethel AME Church with Alison. The NAACP, she said, “has been here so long, and done so much for the community.”
Delta Sigma Theta, an African American sorority, and TeenPride Inc., a nonprofit that works with disadvantaged “at risk” adolescents, also use the NAACP’s town hall office, Michelle said.
Raline defended Alison’s right to request information from the administration, but said of the vote: “Yes, it surprised me.”
Mayor Tim Dougherty, a Democrat, said he supports the lease arrangement wholeheartedly.
“The NAACP does great work in Morristown,” he said.
Former Mayor Jay DeLaney, a Republican, expressed similar sentiments.
“The Morris County NAACP has a rich history of service to our community, and as a national organization it has a rich history of service to our nation. It’s a wonderful, vibrant organization. And they were always helpful to me giving advice as a mayor and council member,” said the former mayor, adding he often allowed the organization to use his mayoral conference room in addition to the rented office.
Felicia Jamison, chairperson of Morristown’s Martin Luther King Observance Committee and a life member of the NAACP, also was surprised to hear of Alison’s vote. “I don’t understand that reaction,” she said of the vote. “This is a time of coming together all across the country.”
In other business, the council voted to add Franklin Place to the list of residential streets with two-hour parking restrictions on weekdays. The restrictions are from 8 am to 4 pm; Franklin Place residents can obtain permits.
The council also approved John Inglesino and Matthew O’Donnell as special tax appeal counsels, and approved Integra Realty Resources for appraisal services for tax assessments.
And, with another snow storm on the way, officials said it appears likely that the Morristown Parking Authority will offer residents free parking in its garages Wednesday night.
Alison Deeb, council liaison to the MPA, said the authority only makes this offer for predicted snowfalls of six inches or more, or when a storm is expected to hinder motorists’ ability to access street parking. She also explained that parking fines imposed by the authority benefit the state and the town, not the authority. In 2009, she said, New Jersey reaped $190,000 from Morristown parking violations and the municipality received $245,000.
