The Republican candidates in this fall’s Borough Council election, Bob Patten and Paul Szewczyk, want to lessen the tax burden on borough’s residents.
By: Scott Morgan
HIGHTSTOWN The borough’s two Republican council candidates are ready for November.
Incumbent Councilman Bob Patten and first-time candidate Paul Szewczyk this week expressed their views on some of the major issues in the borough this election season.
Taxes
Mr. Patten, the council’s representative to the Planning Board, said the borough’s property tax rates are too high. He said the key to keeping taxes down in the borough is to develop vacant and undeveloped lots to bring in ratables. Before the primary election in June, Mr. Patten said that if all the undeveloped lots were developed, the borough would see more than $1 million in additional revenue.
In addition, Mr. Patten said he is seeking property tax reform at the state level to redefine funding for schools. As it stands currently, Hightstown’s school property tax rate, which defines its contribution to the East Windsor Regional School District, is higher than that of East Windsor’s, even though East Windsor (with almost 20,000 more residents than the borough) contributes more actual dollars to the district.
Mr. Szewczyk said he agrees that property taxes are affected by the need to provide services to a community with limited ratables and limited revenue. He said also he is in favor of a "frank and candid discussion" with the East Windsor Regional School District to better understand and ultimately lessen the tax burden on borough residents. Before the primary elections this summer, Mr. Szewczyk said he believes the borough needs to increase its representation on the school board to help decrease the financial burden on Hightstown’s tax payers. Hightstown has two representatives on the nine-member school board.
GPU purchase
Mr. Patten said he is among those who feel it is best to wait for the results of the Vincentsen Associates feasibility study (which assesses the value of the GPU property on Mercer Street) before making any decisions about its benefits or detriments. For the moment, he said, he is not even focusing on the GPU issue.
Mr. Szewczyk said the Borough Council needs to make a case as to why it is in the taxpayers’ best interest to go after the GPU property. He said he would like to see a detailed analysis explaining both the financial and community benefits of acquiring the property, and encourages open discussion on the issue before any decision is reached.
Revitalization
Both Mr. Patten and Mr. Szewczyk are in favor of revitalizing the downtown area of the borough. In light of recent setbacks (the borough has advertised for construction bids thrice without an adequate bid, thus placing Borough Engineer Carmela Santaniello in private negotiations with various companies), Mr. Patten said the solutions are simple: "make adjustments." If bids continue to be abnormally high, he said, either downsize the project or get more money through grants or other venues to help pay for the costs.
Mr. Szewczyk said the bid problems to be temporary setbacks.
"Carmela Santaniello is doing an excellent job in support of the borough," he said. "The differences (between borough estimates and actual bids) will be overcome."
A more important factor on which to focus, he said, is for the revitalization project to define a theme for the borough. He referred to nearby small towns, such as Lambertville and New Hope, Pa., which he said have distinct personalities. He feels the downtown area should have a theme and personality of its own, whether it be known for antiques or shops or restaurants, he said.
"We have a great location and great access," he said. "We need to develop a theme."
He had no specifics yet as to what theme would be best for the borough.

