Kimberley
Casten
Barrett, GOP policies would destroy Brick
Guest Column
Kimberley
Casten
Barrett, GOP policies would destroy Brick’s achievements
This is in response to a recent letter to the editor from John Barrett of Brick Township. I find it necessary to place the correct information on the record because the people of Brick deserve to know the truth.
In preparation for last year’s mayoral campaign, Mr. Barrett made a number of suggestions regarding the municipal budget which reflected his philosophies and those of his running mates. One of Mr. Barrett’s recommendations on the budget was to increase the tax collection percentage rate anticipated and reduce the reserve for uncollected taxes.
In his recent letter, he fails to mention that had the township followed his advice, we would be running a significant deficit. There was some good news, and that is despite the unusually high number of tax delinquencies, this year Mr. Barrett’s taxes were paid on time and not delinquent as they were last year when he only paid them after the fact that his payments were late was exposed in a newspaper article.
What Mr. Barrett and his Republican colleagues continually fail to realize is that under Mayor Joseph Scarpelli’s administration, Brick has become recognized both statewide and nationally for providing the residents of the township with exceptional government.
Has he not heard that Brick has been chosen as the safest town in the state of New Jersey and the second safest in the country this year, or that it has ranked in the top five safest towns in each of the past three years? Has he not heard that the Natural Resources Defense Council gave Brick its highest ranking for outstanding preservation and environmental policies?
Obviously he does not realize that the recreation and cultural arts programs offered by the township are second to none. He and his colleagues continually talk about eliminating these programs and returning to the dark ages of the failed previous Republican administrations when even our Police Department was lucky to get any new vehicles or equipment.
Mr. Barrett notes that the township debt has increased during a time when interest rates are at an all-time low. Any good business person would tell you that when interest rates are at an all-time low, it is a good time to borrow money to accomplish capital improvements.
Not surprisingly, Mr. Barrett fails to realize that the vast majority of the debt incurred represents expenditures to preserve open space. He of course ignores the fact that nationally acclaimed financial experts recognized that we manage our finances well and upgrade our bond rating.
The preservation of over 1,000 acres of open space has prevented over 850 housing units being built in Brick, thereby saving over $10 million in school taxes which would have been generated from the children living in them. He also fails to realize that if you subtracted the amount dedicated to purchase open space from the current capital debt, the township debt would be about the same as it was when Mayor Scarpelli took office.
But John Barrett doesn’t want to talk about this. Mr. Barrett says that "many people are fat, dumb and happy" — I disagree, I think Brick residents are intelligent and understand that Mayor Scarpelli and the council’s policies reflect what’s best for Brick and its residents.
Barrett claims that he suggested that the mayor and council bring in a state audit team to review the township’s finances and says this was a valuable free service provided by Trenton. It was so valuable that it was one of the first things eliminated when the current administration in Trenton sought to reduce the outrageous deficit left by Gov. Christine Whitman’s administration.
He also down-plays the value of a free study provided by Rutgers University’s Eagleton Institute and Syracuse University’s Maxwell School, one of the three highest-rated schools in the country. The study, known as the New Jersey Initiative, has been recognized nationally for its comprehensive analysis of the management and financial practices of seven comparably sized municipalities in the state. Contrary to Barrett’s claim that the report has not been released, it has in fact been published and is available to the public at the Brick Township Library.
Having read Mr. Barrett’s latest diatribe, it is clear he still doesn’t get it. Perhaps his most outrageous statements include comparing the mayor to executives in the Enron and Tyco scandals. These remarks are not only outrageous, but also may be considered libelous — we’ll see. I look forward to continuing the policies that make Brick Township, the safest town in New Jersey, one of the most environmentally friendly towns and in my estimation the best place to live.
Kimberley S. Casten is a Brick resident and president of the Township Council.