To the editor:
The issue facing South Brunswick taxpayers is a simple one: do we want to pay for four of our South Brunswick police officials to use their official cars for personal business and pleasure as well as official business or do we want to limit the use of these cars to official use only.
The custom, not written policy, has been that we tax payers cover the cost of having the police drive these four official cars for personal reasons. Hence a South Brunswick resident visiting a relative in Philadelphia, say, would not recognize that the car parked across the street is driven by a South Brunswick police official also visiting a relative in Philadelphia. According to current custom the South Brunswick taxpayer would be paying the cost of both cars, his own and the police car, being driven to Philadelphia. Not just the cost of the gas being used for the trip, but also for the cost of buying and maintaining the police vehicle.
In other words we South Brunswick taxpayers are basically paying for four of our police officials to have a second family car. Not one family members can drive, that’s for sure, but one that can be used for family business and pleasure.
So it’s up to us to tell the Township Council members what we want to pay for. All we have to do is phone or email them and say, "I want my taxes to pay for four police cars to be used for personal as well as official business," or, "I want my taxes to pay for official police business only."
The council will be voting on this issue in early July, so best we get on the phones now.
Jean A. Starks
Kingston
