Sonja Walter of Robbinsville
As a proud resident of Mercer County, I would like to take this opportunity to applaud the work of Mercer County Executive Brian Hughes and the entire Board of Chosen Freeholders. Under their careful fiscal management, the county’s tax rate has significantly decreased and is less today than it was prior to his election in 2003, and following the longtime leadership of former executive Bob Prunetti.
The county tax rate at that time was nearly 57 cents per $100 of assessed property value. Because of prudent oversight of our tax dollars and smart cuts by Mr. Hughes and the Freeholder Board, the county has actually lowered its tax rate in the past five years through 2009. Today, the tax rate stands at 45 cents per $100 of assessed property value.
In a recent letter to the editor, Republican freeholder candidate Cindy Randazzo called for an arbitrary 10 percent cut of each and every county operation.
Is her idea is to fire 10 percent of the sheriff’s officers that help protect our neighborhoods and courtrooms? To equally cut the Geriatric Center staff that care for our elderly who may not have resources for private care?
Would she carve out the same percentage of the Department of Transportation workers who are responsible for keeping our county infrastructure safe and sound, or simply remove our emergency management experts that assist during times of disaster?
What would our most vulnerable citizens do with a dramatically reduced staff in human services specialists?
Would she like 10 percent fewer guards watching over inmates at the county jail?
Any responsible administrator knows that across-the-board cuts are simply not smart fiscal planning and voters know that Cindy Randazzo does not speak for them. Cindy Randazzo certainly doesn’t speak for me, and at election time, I’ll cast my vote to say so.
Sonja Walter
Robbinsville
