BY DICK METZGAR
Staff Writer
Republican incumbents for three open seats on the Ocean County Board of Freeholders are campaigning on the premise that more of the same is better.
They cite a steadily decreasing tax rate with no loss in essential services as the main reason why they should be returned to office in the Nov. 2 general elections.
Republicans Freeholder Director James F. Lacey, 50, Brick, and Deputy Director John P. Kelly, 53, Eagleswood Township, are seeking re-election to two full three-years terms against Democratic challengers Gregory S. Kavanagh, 41, Brick, and Judith C. Platt, 49, Seaside Heights.
Republican incumbent Gerry P. Little, 56, Surf City, is being opposed by Democratic challenger Deborah C. Whitcraft, 49, Beach Haven, for the two-year unexpired term of Republican James C. Mancini, who died in November 2003. Little was appointed to replace Mancini in December of that year.
“I’m proud that we were able to have a 5-cent decrease in our tax rate in 2004,” said Lacey, who has been a freeholder since 1993. “This is the fourth year in a row that we have been able to lower or maintain a stable tax rate, while maintaining our services to county residents.”
Kelly pointed out that the 2004 tax rate dropped from 41 cents per $100 of property valuation to 36.1 cents. The total county spending package for 2004 is just under $300 million, Kelly said.
“We’ve more than held our own on the tax rate for the last four years,” said Kelly, also a freeholder since 1993. “But a stable tax rate is only as good as the services we provide. We have the lowest tax rate we’ve had in 30 years, and the biggest decrease we’ve had in 40 years.”
One of the reasons that the county has been able to hold the line on the tax rate is a growing tax base, Kelly said.
“We’ve had increased property valuations in recent years,” Kelly said. “Some 9,000 people are moving into Ocean County each year, which has allowed us to lower or stabilize our tax rate. We, however, are careful about how we spend our money.”
The incumbents said they will continue to support what they call aggressive open space and transportation programs, and programs that provide various services to the county’s senior citizens and veterans.
“We have a very aggressive open space program,” Kelly said. “Our voters have approved a 1.2 cents per $100 of property valuation tax for this program. We are spending millions of dollars per year buying land that we will have forever.”
Kelly and his wife, Evelyn, are the parents of five children, John, Dawn Marie, Crystal Lynn, Billy and Jimmy.
The incumbents said the county has the largest road network in the state.
According to Lacey, the state has 640 miles of roads, and 250 bridges and culverts, all of which it must maintain.
“We are very aggressive in maintaining our network of roads and bridges,” Lacey said. “We are currently spending $83 million in road and bridge projects.”
Lacey and his wife, Teri, are the parents of two adult children, a son, Ryan, and a daughter, Austine.
Little, before filling in for the late Mancini as freeholder, was chief of staff for the state’s 9th Legislative District from 1984 until his retirement in 2003, and a Surf City councilman from 1995 until be became a freeholder.
Little and his wife, Mary Lee, have two children, Matthew and Lindsey.
“It has been a great honor to follow in Freeholder Mancini’s footsteps,” Little said. “He left a tremendous legacy. It will be my responsibility to continue the progress that he established to the best of my ability.
“My first priority as a board member and individually will be to manage our tax dollars effectively and in the most effective way,” Little continued. “We passed a historic budget this year with the biggest tax rate cut in history. We have reduced the county debt, while providing record funding for some services for our seniors and veterans, our transportation and educational programs.”
The incumbents said they are solidly behind the proposal for the Monmouth-Ocean-Middlesex (MOM) passenger rail line. One proposed route of that line would run from central Ocean County through western Monmouth County and into South Brunswick, Middlesex County, connecting with the Northeast Corridor for service south to Trenton and Philadelphia, and north to New York City.
Lacey is the board’s liaison the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority.
“We know that while we have 640 miles of roads in our county, many of our main routes were built in the 1950s and cannot possibly handle the amount of car traffic that we now generate and will generate,” Lacey said. “The MOM line is one of the major ways that we can help solve our traffic congestion problem. We want our people to be able to get around, and the MOM line could help us do this.”