The Teaneck Town Council has finally yielded to grassroots pressure from good-government reformers, including the People for Progress town council candidates Denise Belcher, Ardie Walser, and Gina Gerszberg.

The Teaneck council has failed to meet in public for 6 weeks after introducing a deeply flawed budget promising a sham “zero percent” budget increase that was based not on unsubstantiated claims of increased revenue as well as borrowing that adds to the town’s growing debt burden.

However, on Friday May 1, the council belatedly announced that it would meet on Tuesday morning, March 5th at 9:00 am to extend the grace period for not incurring interest and penalty fees for residents who were not able to submit their second quarter property tax payments by the May 1 due date; the grace period will now be extended from May 11 to June 1. Many Bergen county towns have already announced that they would be waiving interest in light of the severe economic hardship many face from the pandemic.

The People for Progress candidates have been pressuring council to hold a public meeting for weeks, reflecting their commitment to open government and public input that underlies the team’s commitment to equity, inclusion, affordability and quality of life for ALL Teaneck residents, not just special interests.

Gerszberg stated, “Meeting to address the delay of property tax payments still leaves residents with many unanswered questions regarding our municipal budget. As a taxpayer, I am hoping that this will be the first in a series of meetings that will allow public discussion, transparency, and a meaningful examination of the Township budget before the proposed budget’s May 19th adoption.”

Belcher noted, “Extending the grace period for payment of property taxes is just the tip of the mismanagement iceberg. Even before the pandemic hit, it was clear that the budget revenue projections were inflated–and borrowing is an irresponsible way to get to a so-called ‘zero’ budget increase.”

Editor’s Note: Teaneck Mayor Mohammed Hameeduddin derided this release as a “bald face lie.”