EDITORIAL: Fitzpatrick, Upper Freehold officials set example

   We’ve had plenty of recent examples of financial malfeasance amid the suffering that many people are feeling as a result of the economic recession.
   Corporate executives and their taxpayer-funded bonuses come easily to mind.
   So it’s important to point out when people do the right thing during these tough times in an effort to ease the burden on taxpayers, many of whom are losing their jobs or seeing their salaries cut.
   One of those people is Dick Fitzpatrick, superintendent of schools for the Upper Regional district.
   Dr. Fitzpatrick recently accepted a 2 percent raise instead of the 4.5 percent raise he had been promised in his contract. In fact, we understand it was his idea not to take any raise at all.
   ”We’ve got to set an example,” he said.
   And that example shouldn’t be just for the children in the Upper Freehold Regional School District. It should be for anyone who is able to set such an example. Yes, some may say it’s “easy” for someone like Dr. Fitzpatrick who earns a little more than $180,000 to take such a step. And they may be right.
   And they can also argue that some public school employees are overpaid. But that’s not the point.
   Regardless of the ease or comfort of Dr. Fitzpatrick, he did the right thing.
   The recent steps taken by Upper Freehold Township officials certainly weren’t easy.
   They recently cut the salaries of about 40 employees by 10 percent while also instituting a four-day work week. Those steps allowed them to lay off only a few employees and reduce two full-time positions to part-time, while saving $192,000 this year.
   Mayor Steve Alexander said he and other township leaders lost sleep over the decisions they faced, and well they should.
   But they, too, provide an example of some of the necessary steps that need to be taken until things turn around.
   We hope that others eyeing increased expenditures or requesting raises — including teachers in the Millstone School District who started off their recent negotiations seeking 6-percent hikes — use Dr. Fitzpatrick and Upper Freehold municipal leaders as examples of the right thing to do.