An article I wrote titled "Community action panel should be heard" appeared in the Feb. 13 edition of the Examiner retitled "Millstone resident questions township’s budget surplus," and as well, deleted my call for a presentation by CAP on the continued viability of the restoration of the Clarksburg Annex.
My concern is not that the township currently has a surplus, but that we are needlessly increasing that surplus (with another $700,000 expected to be added in 2002) at the expense of programs our schools and our citizens currently need. The Clarksburg Annex started out as a modest attempt to make useful a piece of property the township already owned, and has now ballooned into a projected $1.5 million white elephant. What prudent financial considerations precipitated this quagmire?
If the citizens of this community had been asked to vote on the allocation of funds for this project, the question is, would it have been approved? Since we do not vote on such issues, an informative presentation by the CAP would be beneficial to the citizens of this community and its elected committeemen.
For the elected committeemen of this community not to accept such a request would be a travesty of municipal mismanagement and a dereliction of their duties. We need to proceed diligently and realistically before more questionable financial commitments are made.
By the way, where will the money come from to fund this runaway project? Better keep an eye on that surplus!
Robert Kinsey
Millstone