New committee members appear clueless about township issues

GUEST COLUMN

   For the past 10 years, I’ve been a solid supporter of the Hillsborough Republicans because I believed it was in the best interest of Hillsborough Township.
   On most occasions, I was the only one defending the Republicans from the false accusations wrought of politics and ego. It is therefore a disturbing and sad act for me to have to warn my fellow residents about our newly-sworn governing body members.
   From the tape of the Township Committee Reorganization meeting, I saw and heard three Republicans, including the brand new mayor, totally clueless about the real issues facing our community and worse, they apparently abused their power and made terrible mistakes in determination of committee assignments and board appointments.
   While one meeting does not a year make, this meeting sets the tone for the upcoming year. That tone is one of arrogance, disrespect and nearly complete lack of knowledge of what’s needed to make Hillsborough Township a better place in which to live.
   Please do not misunderstand me for a second — Joe Tricarico, Sonya Martin and the Hillsborough Democrats have not earned one ounce of respect from me for their words and actions. Through their arrogance, nastiness and glaring failure to implement many of the promises that got them elected, Joe and Sonya fully deserve harsh treatment.
   However, in government — like in business — you might dislike the person but you should respect the position.
   In 1999 no one had better reasons than I for giving the Democrats as much pain as possible. When I was elected mayor that year, I distributed the power fairly equally among the five Township Committee members. Actually we always worked to that end in my six years on Hillsborough’s governing body.
   To fully support the bipartisanship pledge I had made, a further and bigger step was taken. I reached "across the aisle" to obtain recommendations from the Democrats for filling board and committee seats. An intelligent, competent and mature person would concentrate efforts on making the town better when given the power to do so, and not playing some game of payback and power-mongering.
   Mayor Tony Gwiazdowski supported by John Souren and Steve Sireci stripped most of the executive authority from the Democrats on committee and then seemed to rub their faces in it. That is simply a clear violation of ethics, of the rules for governance for this form of government, and of simple intelligence as it starts the year making enemies of those with whom you must work for the remainder of the year.
   Insteadof bipartisanship and a tone of working together that the last Republican mayor (myself) set in 1999, we can look forward to terse words at best, constant bickering and certainly no teamwork among the Township Committee members.
   The scariest part of watching the meeting was the point made over and over again by the newly elected committeemen and by the new mayor that they have a mandate to reduce the out-of-control taxes and spending of the prior administration.
   Actually there was no other goal set, no clear direction for making Hillsborough better that has been the norm for newly-elected mayors in past reorganizations. Not only have they set just one goal for the town, these folks don’t have the slightest clue about spending and taxes.
   Granted, brand new committee members don’t really knowmuch until they get into office. Fine, then don’t make promises and certainly don’t attempt to tell us that you DO know what the problem is and how to fix it, let alone who’s to blame.
   Clueless people who make decisions without getting the facts first should not be running the town.
   My fellow residents, the facts are pretty simple. Township Committee controls such a tiny portion of your taxes that there is little they can do to offset the outrageous property tax increases that many have experienced in the past three years.
   Many residents have seen their taxes go up over $4,000 recently and they are legitimately upset. Now, assuming the new committee does not allow even one dime of increased spending this year, and that is impossible, and by another miracle they cut spending by $200,000. Dividing the savings by the roughly 10,000 homes in Hillsborough eachhousehold would receive a $20 tax reduction.
   What about the other $3,980 of tax increase then?
   Well, all of the blame placed on the prior administration’s spending habits cannot add up to more than a tiny fraction of the real tax increases. Those comments were wrong and born of hatred and payback, not of competent resolution of a very real problem.
   I am at a loss to explain why the new administration has begun on so poor a platform. I remain extremely proud of past Republican administrations as well as able to vouch for the many good people in the Republican Party.
   In any organization there are times when the "wrong people" get control and some amount of damage results. I can only react to what I saw and heard in the reorganization meeting and hope that this terrible beginning is an aberration and will not continue.
   I strongly suggest that Messrs. Gwiazdowski, Sireci and Souren discontinue the pursuit of retribution, thatthey stop listening to whoever is giving them bad information, and that they make every effort to work as a team on Township Committee. Everyone sitting on that dais has been duly elected and therefore carries equal weight from the residents of this town.
   So get to work, find out what the real problems are, and begin to formulate a real solution so the town can be the better place we are hoping you will provide.
   Everyone steps in the wrong direction once in a while. The good ones keepan open mind, see their mistake, and move onto the right track.
   It has been said that a person’s true nature is only revealed when they receive power to make things happen. Let’s hope that the words and actions we see and hear for the rest of 2003 are an improvement, given the change in power that has taken place.
Glenn van Lier served on the Hillsborough Township Committee from 1994-1999, and was mayor in 1999.