Hightstown Seeks to Impose Housing Inspections at Peddie

The Hightstown Borough Council is looking into charging The Peddie School for inspections of their student and faculty housing. Peddie has previously been exempt of these inspections, which will carry a fee of $60 per room per year.

“It’s giving special privileges to one group that other residents, other property owners are forced to bear the costs for,” said Councilman Rob Thibaut, who introduced the measure at the July 2 Borough Council Meeting. “The apartments in town have to pay this and submit to the inspection. If you’re renting your home, you have to pay this and adhere to it. My feeling is: why should we have a special class of property owners exempt from this?” 

The original housing law requires that every rented room needs to be inspected when there is a turnover in occupancy. Thibault proposed a change to the new ordinance that would impose inspections at Peddie no more than once a year because of the high turnover the school’s dorms have between semesters and summer camps. 

“I respect the tax-exemption of an educational institution, but I think that we should tax Peddie to the extent that we legally can and hold them accountable,” Councilwoman Gail Doran said.

Councilman Larry Quattrone expressed concern about the cost to borough resources.  “What’s it going to cost us to do this?” said Quattrone. “I know it’s going to cost them, but what is it going to cost us [in] paperwork, manpower?” 

Quattrone spoke about the broader issue of the fiscal strain on municipalities who have large tax-exempt properties, and said he was planning on talking to legislators at the state level about ways municipalities can deal with this strain on their tax base. 

“I think that our state should be working on an ordinance that allows communities like ourselves to put a percentage of non-ratable (properties),” said Quattrone. “Because the way it is right now, you could make your larger exempt properties mad, and they can go out and start buying up property around you and take over and then the community is really devastated.”

The ordinance was tabled until the next meeting to address some of the concerns that were raised.