By: centraljersey.com
During the last two weeks I have been knocking on doors of borough residents while campaigning for the upcoming mayoral election. What I consistently hear is the concern of the residents of the borough of their inability to keep up with ever-increasing property taxes.
The platform I ran on in the primary is still the same for the general election, outsourcing of services with the ultimate goal of consolidated services on a county level. This is the only solution to resolve the problem of high property taxes that exist in the borough as well as throughout New Jersey.
The number-two issue in the minds of borough residents is the housing issue and enforcement of the Borough Code. Some borough residents have been vigilant and taken the responsibility to continually report code infractions to borough officials. The people who take such action care about Hightstown and want it to be a better place in every possible way.
Code enforcement is a necessity and responsibility of the borough. If necessary, an inspector that has the authority to enforce the Borough Code should be hired. Infractions of the code will no longer be tolerated, with substantial fines levied to those that continue to break the law.
It appears a few homeowners do not share the pride that most of us have in our town. My expectations are that borough ordinances will be enforced for simple things as proper maintenance of hedges and lawns. I will hold landlords responsible for maintaining the proper number of people in each dwelling and hopefully make Hightstown less attractive for landlords to convert homes to boarding houses.
The increase in rental properties and boarding houses throughout the Borough is a local problem. We must halt the proliferation of this type of housing. I believe with a concerted effort by the Mayor and Council things can change in a short period of time.
Steve Kirson Democratic candidate for Hightstown mayor

