Jason Medina, Bordentown Township
Jason Medina is a Democratic candidate for Bordentown Township Committee. His guest opinion is in response to Daniel Hornickel’s letter to the editor of Oct. 16.
If I had a dollar for every time the current members of our Township Committee publicly blamed Governor Corzine for the reduction in state aid to our township, there would be no budget shortfall. The reality is that cuts in state aid to municipalities are directly attributed to draconian cuts in federal aid to states under the Bush Administration.
For the 2008 Fiscal Year, the Bush Administration drastically cut funding to a wide-range of grants and programs aimed at assisting states and local governments.
For instance, Bush cut funding to the Community Development Block Grants program by $735 million; eliminated programs in the Community Development Fund, including Brownfields and Economic Development Initiative Grants; cut $1.5 billion for education, including Head Start, and eliminated 44 discretionary education programs, including Education Technology Grants; cut $1 billion in social services block grants and eliminated the Community Services Block Grant; slashed funding for first-responder grant programs, including grants for states, municipalities and local law enforcement agencies; reduced Amtrak funds by $518 million; and cut overall funding for environmental protection by millions.
The truth is that blaming the Corzine Administration for cuts in state aid without first lambasting the Bush Administration for its role, is partisan politics at its worst. And while doing so may sway some voters, it is not going to help our township’s budget as we look to 2009 and beyond. In fact, with a quarter-million jobs already lost, the collapse of Wall Street and the volatile housing market, New Jersey is bracing for a projected budget gap between $3 billion and $4 billion for the 2009 Fiscal Year. What this ultimately means for our township is simple; we should not look to Trenton for funding or help.
The current economic crisis will undoubtedly change the way states and local governments operate. Our township must prepare a viable plan of action for dealing with a tightening budget and reductions in state aid. Stephen Monson, Jim Cann, and I, your Democratic Candidates for Township Committee, have such a plan and a synopsis of it is discussed below.
Commercial development and ratables: While the revitalization of commercial development along the Route 206 and 130 corridor is important to our township’s future, managing a municipal budget under the misguided belief that commercial ratables are the solution to our budget problem simply lacks fiscal foresight.
Elected officials desperate to balance municipal budgets often turn to commercial ratables as a cure-all. What they often overlook are the long-term costs and related impacts associated with commercial development, such as: increases in road construction and maintenance; additional strains on municipal services like EMS, police, fire, and public works; increases in environmental pollution; loss of open space; increases in school costs; the need for more housing; and the negative impact on adjacent residential areas. Such long-term costs and related impacts deplete municipal budgets eventually resulting in increased local taxes and cut backs in services. This so-called “ratables chase,” often practiced by municipalities, has proven time and time again ineffective in balancing budgets and reducing local property taxes.
Commercial development in our township must be handled the right way to maximize efficiency, maintain aesthetics, and minimize overall costs to our taxpayers. We have already proposed an initiative calling for the integration of “green building” technologies and designs in development proposals. Constructing high performance buildings will not only improve our environment and maintain aesthetics, but also reduce the strain on municipal services resulting in significant cost savings.
In addition, we will seek to implement “development exactions” as a strategy to offset the burdens or impact of new development on our township. It is critical that new development pays a fair share of the public costs that they generate. Payment of so called “impact fees” by developers can be used to fund new parks and facilities; construction or maintenance of public infrastructure directly connected to new development and off-site improvements and services. Likewise, developers should be required to post a bond for infrastructure improvements on their property, as well as adjacent public property in the event they fail to complete their project as approved. This will result in considerable savings and benefits to our township.
Education and property taxes: New Jersey holds the distinction of paying the highest property taxes in the nation. Residents and businesses pay a per capita rate of about $2,642 or 4.88 percent of the state’s average income. The cost of education is the primary reason. While our state leads the nation in many areas in the public education arena, it cost taxpayers nearly double the national average to educate a single student.
And because the cost of education will continue to increase in the coming years, it is imperative that our Township Committee works closely with school administrators, parents, and residents to ensure openness and transparency in the school budget process. While no one can guarantee to lower property taxes during this current economic crisis, it will be our number one priority to hold the line on property taxes. As a start, we propose the formation of a Citizen Education Task Force composed of residents, members of the Bordentown Township Regional School Board and Township employees to maintain a working dialogue on issues related to fiscal accountability, performance, overall spending and expenditures. We will work collaboratively to evaluate the best use of our tax dollars and formulate ideas and strategies to hold the line on property taxes
Consolidation of services: Consolidation of municipal services is a topic that warrants more discussion and consideration, especially among municipalities struggling to cut costs and increase savings while improving overall services to residents.
Though our township has already consolidated some of its services, it has not gone far enough to take full advantage of lowering administrative costs and receiving the financial incentives offered by the state’s “Sharing Available Resources Efficiently” (SHARE) program. We pledge to vigorously advocate and pursue consolidation, merger, and regionalization of municipal services where needed in order to reduce wasteful spending, end duplicative services, and ultimately lower property taxes.

