This message is to all taxpayers in South Brunswick: Be prepared for still higher property taxes.
The fiscal warnings Gov. Chris Christie has issued during the past several months have not yet been heard by our local officials. The Township Council majority continues to spend, spend and spend some more. And the Board of Education has not done enough to rein in the high cost of the school district.
Both groups continue to twist the truth about how much they’ve done to reduce taxes while ignoring the facts about their frivolous spending. While many people continue to be out of work, senior citizens are squeezing even harder to make ends meet, roads are in disrepair, and public employee union contracts continue on their upward path toward more generous salaries and benefits. Who must pay for it all? The taxpayers, that’s who.
The outcry from those in power is that there’s not enough state aid. Over the past couple of decades, local government officials, Board of Education members, and special interest and advocacy groups have intimidated these officials by constantly asking for more money, and they have been successful. Now the well is dry. Reducing costs by reexamining past practices must now be the way to go forward.
This is the year that all elected officials must re-examine the way business as usual is done. If they won’t change their spending habits and learn how to become efficient to save money, they should step aside or be voted out of office. Not enough has been done to accomplish this difficult task. The state of New Jersey and Middlesex County will not and cannot continue to provide the money. And even if they could, we must remember it’s still the taxpayer who pays. And that includes South Brunswick taxpayers.
Here are just a few examples of recent and past overspending that should be stopped and re-examined:
• The Board of Education’s rental of its administrative offices on Black Horse Lane was undertaken in spite of the fact that the building contained 33 percent more space than needed. When this was pointed out at a public meeting, we were told the board intended to sublease the unneeded space for general income. Now, five years into the 10- year lease, not one square foot has been sub-leased. What was the income generated? Zero.
• With more than 80 acres of land at the $100 million high school, the superintendent remains committed to purchasing an additional 25 acres to expand the site. What for? It’s a spending mentality that must be controlled.
• More recently, the governor offered more state aid to school districts where the teachers union agreed to renegotiate its contracts in light of the current economic situation. What did the Board of Education do to bring this about? Nothing. But they did give generous annual pay increases a couple of years ago to the superintendent and his assistant, as well as to the school business administrator. Although most people would agree that no public employee in the state of New Jersey should make any more money than the governor, there are literally thousands of employees in New Jersey who do.
• Meanwhile, the township recently negotiated a “deal” with a shopping center developer to buy a buffer area for almost $500,000. This, after spending tens of thousands of taxpayers’ dollars to fight the development. After losing in court, the township now is willing to pay for a buffer area, which can be obtained at no cost during a site plan review under the law. Of course, instead of getting the buffer at no cost, the money will now come from guess who? The taxpayers.
While all this spending is going on, the library board and Township Council are considering another half-million dollar expansion to provide for a “café” in the library building. This, just a few years after a major multimillion dollar expansion to the library. At a public meeting the library director explained the need for the café was because the Princeton Library and Barnes & Noble have one. Does he really think the taxpayers are ready for such frivolous spending?
• If these examples are not enough to arouse the public’s anger, how about $50,000 to conduct an “architectural study” of the senior citizen complex, or new artificial turf on two more municipal ball fields, new notso SMART shuttle buses without drivers to do the shuttle, or more unassessed sidewalks at taxpayers’ expense, and on and on goes the spending parade. Let’s all protest and stop the tax bleeding from our wallets, or get rid of the big spenders.
Very few taxpayers will agree to so many costly ideas in these economic times. It seems the elected officials are committed to generating a tax revolt instead of reacting to the fiscal needs of our citizens. As one councilman mistakenly commented on the library proposal, “The renovation plan is well thought out … and the money is there … this is a no-brainer.” The money is not there. It’s all taxpayer money. It takes brains and common sense to be able to realize that the limit has been reached. Public officials still don’t get it.
Frank J. Chrinko
Kendall Park section
of South Brunswick