Message from Councilman Roc White - October 28, 2022
Downtown Scotch Plains is once again adorned with banners featuring many township residents who have served in the Armed Forces. Our town celebrates our veterans every day, but the upcoming Veterans Day holiday, always on November 11, gives everyone a reason to pause to specifically thank a veteran for his or her service to our country.
A few months back, I shared news about my trip to the Vietnam War Memorial in Holmdel to accept an award from Gov. Phil Murphy, honoring the special way in which Scotch Plains honors our veterans. It is called the “We Value Our Veterans” Award, given to municipalities that earn 145 points in various criteria. Scotch Plains received points for honoring veterans at public meetings, holding Memorial Day and Veterans Day events, as well as providing continual resources to help our veterans as much as possible.
Union County’s Office of Veterans Services (https://ucnj.org/veterans) is a one-stop shop for resources for veterans of all ages. I encourage every veteran to visit the site for helpful links.
As a veteran, I am aware how important it is to continue stabilizing our municipal taxes as much as possible. Doing so helps veterans and other residents alike. I am pleased that we have been able to keep municipal taxes flat in recent years, a pledge that I had to voters. Scotch Plains also has earned a Triple-A bond rating from independent credit issuers, underscoring the superb financial strength of our township.
Looking to the future, we need to continue to find new sources of revenue to help offset the burden for our residential taxpayers.
That is why – after careful research, speaking with many of my fellow residents and holding many public hearings – I supported permitting a limited number of responsible, state-licensed cannabis businesses on Route 22. Generally, 2% of a cannabis business’ gross sales are taxable to the host municipality, creating a new stream of revenue that can be used to help improve our parks, add DPW workers, maintain roads and support other municipal expenses.
Route 22 is the ideal location to generate additional municipal revenue to offset all of our property taxes. As you drive down this bustling commercial corridor, you see many surrounding towns take advantage of this tremendous amenity to generate new revenue. To control taxes to homeowners, while continuing to improve our local neighborhoods, Scotch Plains must do the same.
I will continue advocating for all our residents, and supporting reasonable measures that lessen the financial burden on our taxpayers, for as long as I am honored to represent Scotch Plains.
If you have questions about our plans to generate new revenue to offset your tax burden, please do not hesitate to contact me at
