Letters to the Editor for the week of Nov. 17

Reed deserves praise

for clean campaign
To the editor:
   
Congratulations Dave Reed on your recent election to the Upper Freehold Township Committee. I look forward to working with someone of your integrity. Your family has contributed much to Upper Freehold over the years, and now you will be working to do even more.
   Thank you also for the clean campaign that you ran. The fact that you did not respond to your opponent’s false accusations with attacks on his character is a sure sign of your integrity. It would be nice if candidates were required to run on their qualifications, abilities, beliefs and records, not on attacks of half-truths and deception. What a much better system it would be.
   Once again, Dave, I want to thank you and your family for your commitment to our community and congratulate you on a job well done.
William E. Miscoski
deputy mayor
Upper Freehold
Township showing

responsible spending
To the editor:
   
After reading recent criticisms of Washington Township’s decision to purchase trailers to house its courtroom and court staff, I called the mayor’s office to ask for the facts of the matter. Mayor Dave Fried and his staff were very willing to provide the information shared below.
   Criticism of the decision to buy, rather than lease, the trailers overlooks several realities of state statutes that govern municipal spending, as well as the fact that the township’s court could be in those trailers for several years. New Jersey towns are subject to strict limits on how much they can increase spending from year to year. The annual percentage increase (CAP) is set by the state, which also has rules on what types of expenditures are included in calculating the CAP. Washington Township may not agree with those rules but is bound by them.
   One rule states that a lease payment must be included in the CAP, while a long-term expenditure can be financed outside the CAP. Had Washington leased the trailers outright, this would have caused a massive spending spike in the 2006 budget. Further complicating this is the cost of outfitting new court space to meet guidelines set by the Administrative Office of the Courts. Under a lease arrangement, the township would have absorbed this cost — $83,000 — entirely within the 2006 budget, even though the fit-out would have had a useful life of a much longer period. By purchasing the trailers, the township avoids a painful spending spike that would harm taxpayers and acquires an asset that it can sell in the future.
   It is important for the community to understand that the mold and HVAC problems in the municipal building merely hastened the day of reckoning for our court facility. Our municipal judge and the assignment judge have been patient but clear in telling Washington Township that it must deal with significant security and space issues. The trailers will provide greater security for the judge and the public, as well as more privacy for our prosecutor, who literally had to stand in a closet while negotiating with the queue of defense attorneys spilling out her door.
   Physical plant problems are among the many surprises that confronted our new mayor and council. Rather than run from them, they are dealing with them responsibly. Taxpayers will benefit in the long run because the costs of trailers or alternate space pale in comparison to a multi-million dollar award to a sick employee, or the liability costs should a disgruntled suspect break free in a crowded hallway or throw a chair at a judge.
Geoff Lewen
Robbinsville
Law should protect

all of our children
To the editor:
   
In response to the editorial printed in last week’s Messenger-Press regarding the Robbinsville pedophile ordinance, I would like to make a few comments. On the agenda for the Nov. 10 town council meeting was an ordinance for downzoning of future developments in Robbinsville. As a person affected by this ordinance, I received no fewer than four pieces of certified mail that contained the ordinance and maps to show the impact that this change would have on my residence. At the same meeting, the pedophile ordinance was discussed without the aid of a map or any specifics on the areas that could be potentially affected by this change.
   I sat through the meeting, listening to many people that I personally know justify this move and the arbitrary estimation of its protecting "80 percent" of the township’s children with extreme sadness. Without the exact locations of where pedophiles will and will not be allowed in the township, how can anyone make an informed decision, let alone come up with the number of children to be impacted? I do not believe that the estimates of 80 percent coverage are correct or acceptable in this town. Do we accept teachers educating only 80 percent of our students? I think not. I find it irresponsible for the township to not inform the residents who could be negatively impacted by this ordinance in the same fashion as they did the downzoning ordinance.
   While I am certain that many people have read about this proposed change, I do not believe that most people know exactly how this will impact them. The proposed ordinance prohibits pedophiles from moving within 2,500 feet of a school, municipally owned park, or day care center. This ordinance has the potential to not only designate pedophile free areas; it will also designate the areas that will allow a potentially higher concentration of pedophiles to live. The township of Hamilton has managed to craft an ordinance that protects 99.5 percent of their children. Are we saying we can’t be better than Hamilton at taking care of our children? I would hope not.
   On a personal note, I would like to say that I find any ordinance that proposes to protect less than 100 percent of our children completely inadequate. I challenge the mayor and council members to come up with a plan that will include every child of Robbinsville. And to correct Ms. Flo Gange, shame on the residents of Robbinsville for not automatically giving top priority to the safety of all of those constituents who are not old enough to vote.
Susan Morsell
Robbinsville