I am not paying Paul Mayer-owitz’s bill. Judging from statements he has made in public concerning the Jackson Township Municipal Utilities Authority (JTMUA) he is obviously a ratepayer. What is a ratepayer? Someone who has connected water and/or sewer services and pays for those services – their maintenance, repair and delivery.
I, on the other hand, am not a ratepayer. I have a well and septic system and I pay for my own maintenance.
Why would the majority of the residents and taxpayers of this town – non-rate-payers – want to pay his water and sewer fees? For that is exactly what would happen if the JTMUA were dissolved and its functions were merged into the municipal government.
It’s my opinion that Mr. Mayerowitz wants non-ratepayers to help pay the bills of the ratepayers. If anyone has trouble paying utility bills, there are numerous county and state agencies that can help out. Please don’t ask us. If the pump in my well broke or my septic needed cleaning out, would you help pay the cost? Of course not.
Comments he has made have been answered, but I believe he just chooses not to acknowledge them.
How can you compare volunteers on community boards to commissioners who oversee an $11 million corporation, set policy and approve contracts, and look out for the health and safety of your drinking water?
According to records, this is also the first time in many, many years that the JTMUA commissioners have not raised the water or sewer rates. Are you forgetting that? Why aren’t you thanking the commissioners for accomplishing a great task? I think you choose to ignore the diligence of the commissioners.
If you want to be credible when discussing the compensation of JTMUA commissioners, don’t say, “I could be wrong but I would guess.” Why guess when you could find out by a simple written request form called the Open Public Records Act. Under this act, it is a law that residents can obtain copies of almost any government record.
Another criticism he has mentioned was about the time at which the JTMUA holds its public meetings. Mr. Mayerowitz, you’re not new to this town. In past years the meetings were held at a later time. Did you attend then? If not, then your complaint must be another example of just playing politics, or do you have ulterior motives?
Instead of attacking an agency that is one of the best in the country, well run, and has given the ratepayers of this town no increase in water and sewer for the first time in many years, why don’t we address some of the truly real issues of town?
In Jackson, the biggest portion of our property tax bill, 57 percent, goes to fund the Board of Education. This is a problem that is faced by all the taxpayers in Jackson. Mr. Mayerowitz, it seems very suspect that you spend your energy criticizing the JTMUA, an agency that has stabilized your rates. Instead, why not try to explore ways to reduce the 57 percent impact that the Board of Education has on your taxes, and the taxes of all the residents?
Everyone deserves answers to their questions, but if we were all like you and demanded them through letters to the editor instead of going through the proper channels, there would be chaos in Jackson and town hall would come to a screeching halt.
In my opinion, you know that you can get answers to your questions at any time, but in these cases you’d rather make up your own, for whatever reasons that only you know. Maybe it’s time for you to admit that you’re the one making quite a few mistakes that could cost the taxpayers lots of money.
Stop the politics. Stop the self-serving mania. The taxpayers are not going to pay the water and sewer bills of the ratepayers.
Leslie Savage
Jackson