Save Holmdel Schools
Holmdel Township Committee
Petition to Stop the Vonage PILOT Until Schools Get Their Fair Share
The Holmdel Township Committee is preparing to approve a tax break called PILOT (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) for the redevelopment of the former Vonage headquarters.
If approved without revenue sharing, the Holmdel schools will lose roughly $240,000 every year.
What’s at Stake
Today, the Vonage property pays:
- $358,000/year in regular taxes
- $240,000/year directly to Holmdel schools
Under a PILOT:
- The developer pays a special fee instead of normal property taxes
- Schools get nothing unless a separate sharing agreement is created
At a time when the district already faces $4–6 million budget deficit for the coming year, staff cuts, and program reductions, losing this revenue would make things even worse.
Meanwhile…
The Township has benefited heavily from existing PILOTs:
- $24 million in unexpected revenue (2020–2024)
- Spending increased from $25M to $32.4M
- Its surplus grew from $3.5 million to $8.2 million (2020 – 2025)
- $7.5M/year in Bell Works PILOT payments—none shared with schools (except for paying security officers, which should be part of public safety, at about $450K)
Yet homeowners have seen property taxes continue to rise, and the district may eventually need a school tax referendum if new revenue isn’t secured.
What Mayor Pat Impreveduto Said in 2014
A Patch article published in June 2014, when Holmdel Township Committee approved the Bell Works PILOT program, reported:
“In response to questions by residents and school board members at the meeting, Mayor Patrick Impreveduto and Deputy Mayor Hinds explained that 95 percent of the anticipated increase in tax assessment would benefit the municipal portion of the property tax bill, and 5 percent goes to Monmouth County. If school taxes go up, the municipality can balance the property tax bill by decreasing municipal taxes to a point that offsets school taxes.”
School taxes have gone up by $9 million in the past three years. The school district is facing a budget deficit of around $4 - 6 million and is expected to significantly increase its taxes next year.
Meanwhile, the municipal portion of our property taxes has not decreased, despite what former Mayor Pat Impreveduto has promised.
What Residents Want
A recent community survey shows overwhelming support for sharing PILOT revenue:
- 94% want schools to receive a portion
- 63% support giving schools at least 40%
- 89% want the issue decided by a public referendum
Why We Need to Act Now
Approving another PILOT before establishing a revenue-sharing policy—or letting residents vote on one—will:
- Remove $240,000/year from school funding
- Deepen budget deficits and force more cuts
- Increase pressure for future school tax hikes
Holmdel families and taxpayers deserve better.
Sign the Petition
We call on the Township Committee to delay approval of the Vonage PILOT until:
- A significant portion of future PILOT revenues is committed to the Holmdel schools, or
- A public referendum to let Holmdel residents decide about the sharing of PILOT receipts with the school district
Add your name to demand transparency, fairness, and fiscal responsibility.
Protect our schools. Protect our taxpayers. Sign now
Sponsored by
To:
Holmdel Township Committee
From:
[Your Name]
Over the past few years, Holmdel Township and the Township Committee have benefited greatly from PILOT revenue that allowed it to increase its spending by $7 million (2020 to 2025), grow its surplus from $3.5 million to $8.2 million, all without increasing property taxes.
Meanwhile, the Holmdel school district has raised taxes by $9 million in the last three years and is facing a looming budget deficit estimated at $4-6 million for the 2026-2027 year.
Holmdel Township received approximately $7.5 million last year and retains 95% of the money and 5% going to the county. The school district gets zero from the PILOT payments. This is an unfair sharing of what are essentially property tax receipts, solely because it’s a tax break and is categorized as PILOT payments.
The undersigned urge the Holmdel Township Committee not to approve any PILOT program, including the currently proposed one for the Vonage redevelopment, until either:
(1) a shared services agreement is agreed to, where the Holmdel school district will receive at least 40% of the Holmdel PILOT receipts, or
(2) the Township Committee agrees to a public question (referendum) for Holmdel voters to decide whether there should be a sharing of at least 40% of PILOT receipts with the school district under a shared services agreement.
Thank you.