To the editor:
I am writing in reference to your articles dealing with the conflicts Township Manager Barbara Sacks is having with Councilman Ted Van Hessen and Police Chief Michael Paquette.
I agree with Ted Van Hessen. We do need a new manager. Ted represents me. He along with the mayor and other members of the council are entitled to have complete and timely information on which to base their decisions. We, the taxpayers who pay the manager and council’s salaries, are entitled to have their best possible decisions based on this forthcoming information.
If the manager is unwilling to share information voluntarily and equally with all members of the council, she must go.
What I really don’t understand from your article, "Councilman: Sack manager," is her belief that questions and requests for information by Mr. Van Hessen that she herself solicited constitute "giving direction to the township manager," yet in your other article, "Memo raps use of cars by officers," she apparently has no problem when "Mayor Gambatese said he instructed Ms. Sacks to examine every item in the budget."
I ask you which was a question and which was a directive? Is there a double standard here?
Finally, I must say something about Chief Paquette. He is a dedicated, honest and talented servant of South Brunswick. We’re lucky to have him. I was a member of the Quality Assessment 2000 Team. We, as civilians, examined the practices and procedures of the Police Department. One of the recommendations we had was to encourage off duty police officers who live in town to take home police cars. This is because it allows them to respond to emergencies quicker when off duty. Also, the sight of a police car in a residential neighborhood is a deterrent to crime and serves to calm traffic violations.
Both Councilman Van Hessen and Chief Paquette have long, distinguished histories of service to South Brunswick. Ms. Sacks has only been here two months.
Let’s cut our losses now and begin the search for a new manager.
Joe Del Guercio
Dayton

