In Clark, we’ve seen firsthand how our local government can waste our money and resources because of misconduct. But it’s not just misconduct from our leadership that hurts us. It’s also incompetence. This has been happening for a long time. The so-called “rain tax,” which our mayor and town council completely misunderstood. They not only refused to discuss it seriously but wasted town resources passing a pointless resolution against it. Worse still, they misled residents about what the law actually is.

So, what is the “rain tax”? In simple terms, it’s not really a tax at all. The state of New Jersey passed a law allowing towns to create stormwater utilities to help pay for managing stormwater and preventing flooding. It’s voluntary—meaning towns don’t have to do it, but they can if they think it’s helpful. The idea is that by setting up this utility, towns can raise money to fix problems like clogged drains, flood-prone areas, and other issues caused by stormwater. For a town like Clark, which does have flooding issues, this could be helpful.

Here’s how it works: If Clark decided to set up a stormwater utility, the town could collect funds to address stormwater management, with 90% of the money staying in Clark for local stormwater projects, 5% going to the municipal budget, and 5% goingi to the state.

But here’s where things went wrong. When the mayor first heard about the law on the radio, he ranted that the state was forcing us to implement a new tax. This was completely false. The law is optional, not mandatory. But instead of reading the law or having a real discussion about whether it could help Clark, the mayor misled residents by claiming it was a requirement. He even argued that the state would loot the funds, another false statement since the funds would be controlled by the town, not the state.

Even worse, the town council didn’t ask a single question or challenge the mayor’s claims. They blindly followed along, wasting time and taxpayer dollars to pass a resolution denouncing a law that wasn’t even forced upon us. This took up time in two consecutive council meetings, achieving absolutely nothing. The state law wasn’t affected, but the town’s time and resources were. And while the mayor wasted time ranting about an imaginary problem, the very real issue of flooding in Clark was completely ignored.

Instead of considering whether the stormwater utility could be a helpful tool for Clark, our mayor and council threw away the chance for a real conversation. A responsible government would have weighed the costs of stormwater problems against the potential benefits of setting up the utility. Maybe it wouldn’t have been the right choice for Clark—but we’ll never know, because the mayor and council didn’t even bother to ask.

This isn’t just about one law. It’s about leadership. The fact that our mayor and council don’t understand the difference between a voluntary law and a required one shows how unfit they are for the job. Knowing the basics of legislation is elementary, and yet our mayor showed that he didn’t even grasp that. Even worse, the council just nodded along, excited to let him rant without considering the facts.

Clark has a real flooding problem. That’s not up for debate. But what is troubling is how our local government refuses to address it seriously. The mayor’s incompetence is one thing, but the council’s lack of action or thought is another. They had a chance to at least discuss a solution but chose to waste time passing meaningless resolutions instead.

This is not what good leadership looks like. Clark deserves a mayor and council who understand the issues and are willing to have real conversations about solving them. We need leaders who are prepared to make informed decisions, not waste time on misleading rants and pointless resolutions. Our town deserves better.