Dec. 21, 2006
No need to change township’s name
To the editor:
The recent push to rename Washington Township as "Robbinsville Township" is yet another instance of more smoke than fire in Mayor Dave Fried’s wide-ranging agenda.
Apart from being inaccurate (Robbins Township would be correct and honor the Robbins family, for whom the Robbinsville site is named), it is unnecessary. Scott Morgan’s photo (printed in the Dec. 7 issue) of the Lions Club road sign, "Robbinsville (formerly Newton) Founded 1831" correctly identifies the village of Robbinsville, but should not (as the caption to that photo suggests) be slighted for excluding a reference to Washington Township or equating that village with the township.
The suggested estimated cost ($1,000) of changing road signs, municipal logos, etc., may well be one-fifth to one-tenth of the actual cost to the township; there is no estimate given to the cost of the letterhead change for private businesses now using "Washington Township."
With the opening of the new postal sub-station in Marrazzos Thriftway this month, the postal ZIP code change will obviate the need for a new township designation and therefore save taxpayers that expense as well as eliminate the need for a new township designation and therefore save taxpayers that expense as well as eliminate the understandable annoyance of misdirected mail or goods and services sent to identical street addresses in Trenton.
With so many important issues on the township’s docket, this latest attempt at spending money needlessly is nothing more than a distraction. Washington Township doesn’t need a change of name. It needs a change of administration.
Henry Innes MacAdam
Washington
Compassion, caring, a good lesson
To the editor:
We really enjoy reading The Messenger-Press because of its hometown feeling. Our family was delighted to see the pictures of Shaina Basile and the injured deer in the Dec. 14 issue. Scott Morgan wrote a beautiful article on compassion and caring. Phil McAuliffe is a wonderful person and a great photographer. We appreciated his help and his compassion for animals. Mr. McAuliffe told us about his interesting visit to New Orleans to help the pets left behind after Hurricane Katrina. Young children are taught love and compassion. Like the movie "Pay it Forward," we have a chance to learn from this incident and continue a good deed. I hope during this holiday season we continue to use love and compassion as we rush through our busy lives. This is the reason for the season. Merry Christmas!
Chris Ciaccio
Windsor
Fire District must move forward
To the editor
On Jan. 1, the Washington Township Fire District will cease to exist. Operations for fire and emergency medical services will be performed through the township.
The district was mismanaged for years leading to disturbing and wasteful spending. There was a lack of transparency and accountability from the Fire Commission. This form of "leadership," as clearly demonstrated by our final Township Committee, cannot function efficiently and objectively. A nearly $3-million entity with 25 full-time employees was run by non-specialists who worked a few hours each month.
Washington Township residents funded a single Fire District that is larger than several of our surrounding townships combined. Our excessive build-up has stunted the need for these other towns to develop their own fire and EMS programs that meet their needs. Skewed statistical data does not tell the real story of our own need for such a large Fire Department. For example, the district’s personnel and apparatus respond to innumerable mutual aid calls each month at the Hamilton Marketplace. In almost every instance crews arrive and go into "stand-by" mode, rarely justifying their effort. It’s very costly to do that and the risks for liability are extremely high. The Hamilton Marketplace site is surrounded by many other firehouses that are much closer than ours. Ambulance services are abundant and Robert Wood Johnson Hospital is nearby. The entire mutual aid concept needs to be amended to become equitable.
The state Department of Community Affairs, which that oversees fire districts, is in need of an overhaul. Gathering financial and resource data of other fire districts for comparative analysis is impossible they don’t track it. It’s no wonder that the state failed to notice that our Fire District grew exponentially while the immediate bordering districts remained flat.
Going forward I would hope that the International Association of Fire Fighters union can end its caustic rhetoric and negotiation style. This is 2006, not 1926. It is disdainful to see the continued use of media to justify the IAFF causes through false claims and innuendo against our resident public officials. The public is weary and disgusted by these baseless and personal attacks.
The IAFF union must change its culture and realize what the majority of taxpayers are struggling with. Most of us only have one job and have to work five days or more each week, not two. Fire and EMS employees will have to begin calling themselves township employees instead of "the union" or "the association" only. Its time they accept that fact and appreciate where they work.
Lastly, I want to thank my fellow commissioners, Joanne Lasky and Charles Lynch. They walked into a storm and dealt with it very well. With the resignation of two commissioners last August we slashed extraneous spending and purchased the new half-million-dollar fire truck outright saving taxpayers $130,000. We will also be able to transfer nearly $1 million dollars of your money over to the township on Jan. 1. Previous commissioners required a $250,000 line of credit just to ensure the district’s ability to pay its bills.
Mike McGowan
Commissioner, Treasurer
Washington Township
Fire District

