BY JANE MEGGITT
Staff Writer
MILLSTONE — As the November election draws near, members of each party are trying to make themselves look good by painting the opposing party as unworthy, incompetent or even worse.
At the Millstone Township Committee meeting on Oct. 5, Republican members of the governing body praised their accomplishments over the past two years, while criticizing past performances by Democrats.
At the meeting, Committeeman William Nurko, who is running for re-election on the Democratic ticket, repeatedly said that politicking should not be done during a township meeting.
Republican Committeeman Robert Kinsey talked about how former township committeemen — including Nurko, who was once mayor — mismanaged the township’s finances.
Kinsey said the township is now receiving a 4.75 percent return on its deposits.
“The effect will be that we anticipate interest income of approximately $900,000 in 2005 vs. approximately $200,000 in 2004,” Kinsey said.
Kinsey said that the $700,000 difference is the equivalent of 6 cents on the township’s tax rate.
According to Kinsey, the interest earned in 2003 was far less than that in 2004. He said the township could have gotten a 2.25 percent return on its money in 2003 but instead received a rate ranging from .9 to 2 percent. Kinsey estimated that the township lost between $200,000 and $275,000 in interest at that time.
“This is how a tax increase gets started,” Kinsey said. “It snowballs by mismanagement.”
Kinsey also had a chart titled “Major Causes of Tax Increase.”
The list alleged that former township officials failed to effectively manage finances from 2000-03, which cost the township $315,000. The list also alleged that former township officials failed to charge large developers storm-water management fees in 2000-03, which cost the township $720,000.
The list went on to allege that former township officials failed to secure a grant for the Waters property for the new
middle school, which cost the township $1.4 million.
Kinsey also estimated that the township lost $35,000 when current committee members had to redo open space work because former officials did not submit the proper paperwork in a timely fashion.
In addition, the list alleged a $5 million cost to the township between 1994 and 2003 because the Economic Development Committee failed to plan for new ratables.
Kinsey estimated that the municipal debt was $15.6 million at the end of 2003, when Nurko was mayor. Kinsey alleged that was an increase of $8.3 million over the previous year. He said the tax rate was 35 cents at that time.
Kinsey also spoke about township finances in 2004, when Republican Nancy Grbelja served as mayor. Kinsey said that during that time, the debt had been reduced by $1.5 million and the tax rate was 70 cents.
Kinsey also talked about the township’s finances under current Mayor Elias Abilheira. Kinsey projected that the township’s debt would amount to $12 million at the end of this year, a decrease of $2.1 million from 2004, according to Kinsey. He said the tax rate is currently 90 cents.
Kinsey said that under Nurko’s mayoralty in 2003, the surplus utilization rate increased to $627,482, for a total of $3.2 million. The surplus applied under Grbelja amounted to $2.5 million, a decrease of $676,818. He said the surplus that applied under Abilheira amounted to $2.7 million, an increase of $229,000.
Kinsey said by refinancing the township’s debt over a 20-year period and locking in historically low, long-term interest rates, “we can effectively help stabilize the municipal tax rate and spread the financial costs incurred today with those residents who will move in to town five, 10 and 15 years down the road.”
Kinsey said future township residents will benefit by some of the improvements the town is spending its money on today, such as the acquisition of the new school property. According to Kinsey, refinancing also prevents the current resident base from shouldering the entire burden of said improvements today, as the short-term notes begin to mature.
Nurko later said, “Mr. Kinsey threw several numbers around, but you can always make numbers say what you want. The fact of the matter is that a taxpayer’s overall rate went up 10.5 percent, bottom line.”
Nurko said a resident’s local municipal tax makes up about 4 percent of a tax bill, and that the district school tax accounts for about 74 percent of the bill.
“Although you can say it is factual that the municipality potentially will earn in the vicinity of $900,000 in interest on investments,” Nurko said, “[it is] due primarily to the fed continuing to raise the interest rate to slow inflation.
“You could also say that timing is everything,” he said.
Nurko said a significant portion of the investment comes from prepaid school taxes.
“The municipality holds back two quarters, or six months, of school taxes, and that amount continues to grow,” Nurko said. “Perhaps that portion of the interest earnings being realized from those funds — potentially several hundred thousand dollars — should be used to lower school taxes.
“Now is time for the governing body to think about transferring this interest to offset school taxes,” Nurko said.