PENNY WISE TON FOOLISH

Having been part of the development of the Visitors center in Red Bank over the last 7 years I have to take exception to our local politicians view that it is “fluff.” In an effort to “save even one penny on the tax rate” they were willing take away the funding of $50,000 a year giving by the Molly Pitcher and Oyster Point for the Visitors Center.

The premise is that we needed a hotel pillow tax to off set the 1.1 cent real estate tax increase in this years budget. If the hotels are fully booked this would save the average tax payer $28 a year. However, it could have caused the loss of funding to the Red Bank Visitors Center. There was no provision by John Curly that the pillow tax would continue to fund the Visitors Center. We could have lost a tremendous asset our town especially to the Westside or Antique District where the Center is housed rent free in the Red Bank Railroad Station. How good is that?

Mr. Curly and Jennifer Beck are not wrong in their frugal efforts to save the taxpayers $11 a year. However, they are over looking the realization that a revitalization of the Westside of town would bring hundreds of thousands of tax dollars in the form of a tax ratable. It is time for our politicians to stop throwing rocks at each other to get votes and to help cultivate the economy of the Westside. A Visitors Center does just that.

Most of the fifteen Visitors Centers throughout the state are funded by local taxes and merchants. Their asset to the community is felt on many levels. Their primary goal is to help to direct tourist and shoppers to and around the town. With 1.1 billion dollars spent by tourists in Monmouth and Ocean counties alone we surely want to help them get here. This causes the local business economy to be healthy and be revitalized.