Guest Column
Frank J. Coury
A differing view on training center
An editorial titled "Holding Out Hope for Police Training Center" appeared in the Opinion column of the Feb. 7 issue of the Sentinel. The training center is located in East Brunswick. I disagree with the direction taken by this editorial and especially with the basis for many of the statements.
The editorial stated that the officials indicated the township’s debt on the training center amounts to about $33,000 per year in debt service. This figure does not agree with the 2001 budget, which claims interest on notes amounting to $45,000. The 2001 budget states an expense of $50,000 for only heat, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC). Other expenses such as telephone, professional services, promotional services, copier rental, etc., amount to an additional $12,000. Electric and gas costs an additional $19,800. These costs total $126,800. Anyone who disagrees with these figures could confirm them by reviewing the East Brunswick budget for the last year.
The editorial goes on to state that the facility brought in $36,500, thus finishing in the red by about $27,000. This is a major disagreement I have. The budget cost of $126,800, offset by the income of $36,500, is a loss of $90,300. An explanation is in order.
The statement that the cost to send East Brunswick police to another training facility (which was only $25,000) is close to the amount lost on the facility last year is totally wrong — $90,300 is not close to $25,000.
Another bothersome statement is that much of the facility debt would be paid by the sale of the Sixth Street property. That property is an asset to East Brunswick that would be lost in order to pay for the training center. The center is still costing the taxpayers $1.4 million — $1 million in local taxes and $400,000 on broad-based taxes.
Most important is that there wasn’t an honest statement of need for the facility in the first place. The facility was foisted upon the community with an untrue statement made at a Feb. 8, 1999, township meeting: "Unless East Brunswick has the facility, the police would not be able to be qualified to handle firearms." Without the facility, the officers would have qualified by training at Fort Dix.
East Brunswick taxpayers deserve to know when the facility will pay back the $1.4 million investment and also be able to keep up with the yearly maintenance cost. Personally, I was happy to see the police officers earn the overtime by going to an outside facility at a total cost of only $25,000 a year.
Frank J. Coury is a resident of East Brunswick