Sometimes, promises are best broken

EDITORIAL: Committee should unanimously support bonding to expand library and municipal building

   The political corollary to the old adage about being careful what you wish for because you might get it could be summed up as "be careful what you promise because you’ll probably have to break it."
   It seems no matter what is said during a campaign, things have a funny way of coming back to haunt those making definitive statements.
   That’s probably why politicians become adept at speaking as if something’s being promised when it really isn’t, and also why most people have lowered expectations that campaign promises will be kept.
   Case in point: Newly-installed Township Committeeman Tony Gwiazdowski soon will face a vote on bonding for the expansion of the municipal building.
   Mr. Gwiazdowski successfully campaigned on the very issue of bonding for capital projects, saying he would work to stop the township’s use of debt.
   We’ll make it easy for Mr. Gwiazdowski and open the door for him: when the matter comes before the committee, throw away the promise and vote for the bonding. No one will mind.
   Most likely, Mr. Gwiazdowski would vote in favor of the issue, anyway, but we thought we’d try to help out a little bit.
   Like his cohorts on the committee, Mr. Gwiazdowski is probably spending a little more time in the municipal building than the average resident, and has seen first-hand how crowded things are becoming there.
   For example, on Monday night, a conservative guess at the number of residents in the building at 8 p.m. would be 200 — not counting the scofflaws waiting in municipal court, most of whom are certainly not Hillsborough residents.
   The library was not unusually busy, but there were classes and meetings nonetheless, and a fair number of patrons. In addition, 20-30 residents were attending the Environmental Commission reorganization meeting, and about 100 students and parents were at a meeting for Project Graduation.
   And Monday night was not unusual — Hillsborough has simply grown too much. The multi-purpose room fills to capacity at nearly every occasion it’s used, even when it’s divided into two rooms as was done Monday night, and the library can’t accommodate many more people.
   The expansion project will be discussed Tuesday night, with a review of the grants already committed to the project and, perhaps, some proposed floor plans and cost estimates.
   We wouldn’t expect the committee to bond for anything less permanent than a building project (which it hasn’t), but it’s not unreasonable to take out a mortgage for the town’s new home. And with interest rates so low, it’s a reasonable time to borrow reasonably for a nice remodeling job.
   Mr. Gwiazdowski should be able to support this bond with a clear conscience.