Letters to the Editor, Sept. 12

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR, Sept. 12

How will borough fund pension costs?
To the editor:
   
The following is an open letter to the mayor, members of the Borough Council and the administrator of Princeton Borough:
   
The following letter is based on the information you kindly provided upon my request:
   Our borough recently hired four new police officers at a yearly salary of $46,368 each, serving as replacements for retiring or departing officers. You indicated that these officers are of an average age of 22 years and can retire after 30 years of service — then at an average age of 52 — with a pension of 70 percent of their final compensation, or at other times with corresponding benefits. These benefits are determined by the state of New Jersey, not by you or any other individual community in New Jersey.
   The final compensation of a police officer with 30 years of service should be considerably higher than the starting compensation, possibly as high as $55,000 per year. Seventy percent of that amount would be equal to $38,500 per year. At this time, the life expectancy of a 22-year-old male should be about 82 years (higher for females). This would leave our retiring police officers with an expectation of 30 years of retirement. This would amount to a total pension obligation of more than $1.1 million. For a police force of over 20 officers, Princeton Borough would have a pension obligation of more than $22 million. Considering the increase of life expectancy over the past 30 years, one could expect another increase of possibly more than 10 years over the next 30 to 60 years.
   In addition, one would have to consider inflationary increases in compensation, and also in pension benefits, as granted to these employees. On the other hand — as typical in business calculations — one can discount future obligations by a certain percentage, to "net present value." The two may not cancel out, but do have a balancing effect.
   Furthermore, the borough may have medical insurance obligations — also growing in time with the cost for future expected medical expenses based on very expensive new medications and new technology in tests and care.
   In sum, the total pensions and health insurance commitment to the borough for each new police officer appears to be possibly as high as $2 million to $3 million. For a police force of 20 officers, this could add up to a $40 million to $60 million obligation — and more for other borough employees. What is your calculation of the total possible pension obligation faced by the borough? Our "unfunded" liability is already $5 million at this time.
   I think that few citizens of Princeton enjoy such pension benefits — but have to pay growing property tax.
   Those pension benefits may have been modeled after the benefits of the past in industry. But industry, threatened by bankruptcy, has already or is quickly replacing all pension benefits that may have been common in the past with much less expensive ones. DuPont just announced its discontinuation of all old-style pension benefits.
   Please let us know how you plan to address this problem. Is it true that New Jersey is considering a review of such benefits at this time? How do you, mayor and council, or how can we pro-actively participate in this process? Would you consider organizing a write-in campaign by all citizens to Gov. Corzine?
Helmut Schwab
Westcott Road
Princeton
Pfeifer will fight for the people
To the editor:
   
I have known Barbara Pfeifer from the time I came to West Windsor in 2003. I know Barbara for her integrity, honesty and openness in all her dealings at the West Windsor Township Council, Planning Board, etc.
   What we need in our Township Council is a person with high integrity and a team player working for the residents and the township’s future. We are at a crucial stage of the decision-making crossroads and Barbara Pfeifer is the right candidate for the council. I trust her. Her qualifications are impeccable and she is willing to fight for the people. Looking at her background, I have no doubt that Barbara Pfeifer is the right person to get us there.
   Through her results-oriented leadership, we have an excellent opportunity to improve the quality of life for West Windsor residents and claim a prominent role for our town within our region and the state.
Raj Pillai
Wakefield Circle
West Windsor
U.S. must recognize identity of our enemy
To the editor:
   
Your thoughtful editorial, "The legacy of Sept. 11 tells a painful truth" (The Packet, Sept. 8), asks a number of important questions that our country must continue to grapple with in searching for a solution to terrorism. However, nowhere in your recap of what we know about 9-11 and subsequent world events do you mention a singular, consistent similarity — the terrorists are Muslims.
   While such information should not broad-brush every member of that religion, avoiding its name does little to assist us in facing the truth. Many of us choose not to "adapt to this undeniable reality" (inferring inaction) but rather choose to be pro-active in defending ourselves. Step one is to recognize the identity of our enemy.
   Also, knowledge of history can be a big resource in defending ourselves. Your statement that we have been "untouched in two world wars … by direct attack on our soil" ignores that Hawaii is a U.S. state.
   Turning to Ken Wolski’s letter in the same edition calling for the legalization of medical marijuana, he appears unaware of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Raich, in which the Commerce Clause of the Constitution was expanded to grant the federal government full authority to regulate marijuana over the claimed state interests of California. While I agree with the legality argument (and suggest legality should go beyond just medical marijuana), unless a majority of the Supreme Court is persuaded by the brilliant dissent of Justice Clarence Thomas in reversing the Raich decision, any state statute cannot survive appellate review.
Neal Phenes
Chandler Court
Plainsboro
GOP script calls for mudslinging campaign
To the editor:
   
The Washington Post uncovered a memo that reveals the Republican campaign strategy for 2006:
   "The National Republican Congressional Committee, which this year dispatched a half-dozen operatives to comb through tax, court and other records looking for damaging information on Democratic candidates, plans to spend more than 90 percent of its $50 million-plus advertising budget on what officials described as negative ads.
   "The hope is that a vigorous effort to ‘define’ opponents, in the parlance of GOP operatives, can help Republicans shift the midterm debate away from Iraq and limit losses this fall."
   Does this sound familiar? It’s exactly the type of negative campaign that Thomas Kean Jr. is waging against a fine public servant, Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.). The allegation that it is wrong for Sen. Menendez to lease property to a nongovernmental organization is simply absurd. There is nothing illegal in doing this, nor is there evidence of an implicit contribution from the NGO.
   Mr. Kean simply cannot debate on the issues. Instead, he is running a mudslinging campaign. He is a Bush rubber stamp. President Bush is even coming to New Jersey to raise money for him to make sure that it stays that way.
Robert Scardapane
Onizuka Court
Franklin