Four candidates vying for two Milltown Borough Council seats spoke out on issues affecting the borough during a forum Oct. 22.
SCOTT FRIEDMAN Chester affectionately kisses his owner, Jill Solz of Monroe, as friend Andrew Wunderlich watches during the annual Pet Fest and Show at the Regency at Monroe Oct. 18. Democrats Ron Dixon and Michael Farella faced off against Republicans Larry Citro and Tom Harknett in the event, sponsored by Milltown’s local Channel 15 and moderated by Kristine Floren of the League of Women Voters. The candidates answered questions from Greater Media Newspapers and the audience of residents.
During opening comments, Dixon blasted the Republican-majority council, saying it has raised taxes and brought a 70 percent electrical rate increase. He also said there has been no real action taken on the Ford Avenue redevelopment project.
“Are you and your family better off today than you were a year ago? I think the answer is no,” Dixon said. “Milltown needs real change, not more of the same.”
Dixon, commander of American Legion Post 25, went on to say the Republican candidates have only offered “vague promises,” without solid plans.
Harknett cited a plan he presented to Mayor Gloria Bradford and the council to form a bipartisan committee to explore ways of saving on energy costs.
“Foremost in my priorities is to assist the mayor and council in controlling spending,” said Harknett, an engineer.
With the economy at the forefront of American’s thoughts, the candidates spent a good deal of the forum discussing issues that affect residents’ pocketbooks. One major point of contention was the electric rate increase, and the use of surplus funds on the part of both parties in order to balance the municipal budget.
Milltown purchases energy in bulk with a collective of eight other municipalities. The borough is the sole provider of electricity for its residents. Under a new contract that began Jan. 1, the rate charged by the association increased by 100 percent.
The formerly Democrat-dominated council took heat from Republicans in 2007 after using about $775,000 in surplus funds from the electrical branch of the utilities department to stabilize the municipal tax rate. Another $1.6 million from electric operations revenue was used in last year’s budget, according to council President Randy Farkas.
Republicans took control of the council in January. In the formulation of the 2008 budget, the council used $1.1 million in electric revenue, and $190,000 in electric surplus funds, Farkas said. Borough Chief Financial Officer Denise Biancamano did not return a call to verify the numbers.
The controversial rate increase that came in the beginning of the year sparked partisan jabs, with Republicans blaming Democrats for “raiding” the surplus, and Democrats calling the increase an excessive burden imposed by the GOP.
“The first thing I would do is introduce an ordinance that would repeal that increase,” said Farella, a sergeant with the Rutgers University Police Department. He said reviewing the electric budget closely and looking at alternative energy sources would be two of his priorities if elected.
Citro said the increase was the minimum amount necessary to meet the rate hike from the association, as well as to address infrastructure, repairs and maintenance issues.
“I don’t know how you can have an ordinance to cut an increase when the rate doubled,” Citro said.
He said that neither the electric rate increase nor the tax increase would have occurred had the Democrats not “pull[ed] a fast one” by using surplus funds in 2007. The Republican led council did what it had to in putting together a municipal budget without cutting services, he said.
“I think what the council did this year was responsible,” Citro said.
According to Dixon, PSE&G’s rate for electric is now equal to what borough residents are paying through the association. He questioned how much sense it makes for Milltown to remain part of the association if the rates are the same. In addition, he recommended that high-end users like Target and Home Depot pay a higher rate to soften the blow of increases on residents.
In terms of the budget, Dixon criticized Republicans’ use of $1.1 million in funds from electric to balance it. He pointed out that utility costs cannot be deducted in taxes, while property taxes can.
“This is a clear example of bad budgeting … and we must change the culture of our municipal budget,” he said.
Though he referred to the $1.1 million as surplus funds, Farkas said the money was from electric revenues, and both the revenue and surplus used in the 2008 budget were a result of dependence on those funds in the past.
Harknett echoed Citro’s statements about the necessity of the increase, saying that even the 70 percent did not cover the actual cost of the 100 percent increase from the association. Regarding the budget, he said the council worked hard to regain state aid for the borough, and to minimize the impact of steep legal costs and state pension contributions. In response to a question regarding possible reductions in borough personnel to achieve savings, neither Harknett nor the other candidates ruled it out.
“I think we haven’t even seen what these economic times are going to be bringing us,” Harknett said. “I think everything has to be on the table.”
According to Farella, increased costs to residents are causing “for sale” signs to crop up throughout the borough. Seeking shared services agreements and as many grants as possible are two ways to better the borough’s financial situation, Farella said. He spoke of the importance of working to keep businesses in town, as well as providing for commercial development at the Ford Avenue site.
Citro discounted the possibility of making changes to the redevelopment plans there due to ongoing litigation filed by Lawrence Berger, the owner of the site.
“Ford Avenue is the biggest issue facing the town …,” Citro said. “Unfortunately at this point, it’s being decided by a court.”
He criticized past officials for a lack of affordable housing planning, saying it opened the door for the lawsuit. While Citro said he thought officials meant well, it was not enough to save the borough from its current woes surrounding the redevelopment and obligations from the state Council on Affordable Housing (COAH).
Harknett pointed out that if officials had formulated a COAH plan before recent regulation changes, the borough could have been relieved of some of its obligation through a regional contribution agreement (RCA). No longer permitted, RCAs allowed towns to pay other municipalities to take on part of their affordable housing responsibilities.
“Doing nothing and blaming the court is not good leadership,” Dixon said. “If we change the plan, we change our obligation. Our COAH obligation is not going to go away unless we change the plan.” Dixon also pointed out that the borough is involved in a statewide lawsuit to challenge the new COAH regulations.
Dixon said more commercial development is needed at the Ford Avenue site, a change he said would bring down the COAH obligation.
“We can’t sit back and let a judge that doesn’t live here, or a [court-appointed special] master that doesn’t live here, dictate our decision,” Farella said.
Citro accused the Democrats of proposing to “wave a magic wand” and make changes to the Ford Avenue plans. He stressed that the court ruling is the final word, and said attempts to change project plans could result in Berger winning the suit and building more homes.
“That is Plan A to get us in deeper hot water than we’re already in,” Citro said.

