I have lived in Brick for the past 34 years and cannot remain silent while I see a good, decent man subjected to constant attacks by the local Republican Party.
Mayor Joseph Scarpelli has given his life to this town. I’ve heard it said that when he bleeds, he bleeds Brick. It’s true. He approaches his job as a vocation with a commitment and sense of purpose to make this the best town at the Jersey Shore. He’s doing a fantastic job.
It was his vision to initiate the open space program, to buy up all the remaining undeveloped land. To date, over 1,100 acres have been saved. Had this land been developed, taxpayers would have had to pay over $13 million a year in taxes for additional school and infrastructure costs.
Our Metedeconk River watershed neighbors to the north and west have huge swatches of undeveloped land left. Scarpelli is lobbying the administrations in Jackson, Howell, Wall, Millstone and Freehold to curb development in the fragile watershed areas because this directly affects the integrity of our drinking water.
A few weeks ago, the Metedeconk received Category 1 classification from the state to protect it from the negative effects of development and to keep our drinking water pure. To make this happen, Scarpelli worked closely with the state Department of Environmental Protection and various environmental groups.
I wish people would remember that our tax bills are divided into three parts. When we pay our taxes, 50 percent goes toward school costs, another 25 percent goes to the county, and the municipality is left with 25 percent to cover the costs associated with running a city of 80,000 residents.
Out of 86 towns in Ocean and Monmouth counties, Brick’s tax rate is 22nd from the bottom. We’re getting good services for our dollar. We’re the second safest city in the nation. We’re preserving open space. We have Summerfest. No other town in Ocean County has the recreational, senior and cultural programs like we do. It’s one thing to yell about taxes and another to do something about them. We need property tax relief in this state and the mayor has made it his business to lobby for it in Trenton.
Ernest Scherler
Brick