David Kilby, Managing Editor
MONROE While facing well over $100 million in decreased ratables, Monroe Fire District 2 is looking at almost a 6-cent increase in its tax rate this year.
Voters will vote on the budget at the Halsey Reed Road Station on Saturday.
Two candidates are competing for one open seat on the Board of Commissioners. Harold Dower will challenge incumbent commissioner and chairman Maurice Mahler, who will be looking for his second consecutive term on the board.
Mr. Dower, 56, has lived in Monroe for 29 years with his wife, Mary Ellen. He lives on Gravel Hill Road and has two sons and one daughter.
Mr. Dower has worked for Monroe Township as the building subcode official for 16 years. Before that, he owned a general contracting business.
He has a fire protection license with the Department of Community Affairs for the state of New Jersey, and with that license, he has been performing fire inspections for residents and businesses in Monroe for 13 years.
”I think spending is out of control in District 2, and I want to try to do something about it,” Mr. Dower said. “I’ve lived in the township for 30 years. I’ve raised kids here, and I’d like to retire here. I’d like not to be priced out of that goal. The district is proposing a 22 percent tax rate increase this year.”
Mr. Mahler, 70, has been chairman of the Monroe Fire District 2 Board of Commissioners for three years. He was instrumental in getting two grants one from Middlesex County for economic development and one from New Jersey Clean Energy for about $100,000 each. The grants paid for the solar panels on the District 2 firehouse’s roof, which have saved the district $15,000 in electricity since being installed almost a year ago, Mr. Mahler said.
He also helped the district receive a grant for new radios for $120,000 and obtained a few pieces of steel beams from the Twin Towers, which the district is using as centerpieces to a Sept. 11, 2001, memorial on the Halsey Reed Road station’s grounds.
Mr. Mahler lives on Daniel Webster Avenue in Concordia. He is a volunteer for the Monroe Township Post 609 War Veterans and helped organize the New Jersey chapters of Project Healing Waters where he takes wounded veterans on fishing trips and Casting for Recovery, where he takes breast cancer patients under treatment on retreats.
In his 40-year career in advertising, he worked as a creative director for Wells Rich, Green; Young & Rubican and Grey Advertising. With these agencies, he helped manage multimillion dollar budgets and led advertising campaigns for Citibank, Alkaseltzer, Jell-O, Lays and other large companies.
As an artist, Mr. Mahler designed the logo for the Monroe Township Transportation Department. He is a member of the Garden State Water Color Society and a commissioner on the Monroe Township Cultural Arts Commission, a position chosen by the mayor.
Mr. Mahler is married and has two sons and a daughter who live in Morganville, Long Island and Boston.
He was an auxiliary volunteer firefighter in Baldwin, Long Island, for seven years.
The total tentative budget for District 2 this year is $3,601,170, with $3,305,170 to be raised by taxation.
Within the budget, $2,315,500 would be for the paid Fire Department; $407,920 for debt service obligations; $215,000 for administrative costs; $210,000 for fire hydrant services; $120,000 for equipment operations; $97,000 for equipment and supplies; $50,000 for township network communications; $41,000 for the volunteer fire company; $35,000 for training and physical expenses; $32,250 for administrative payroll; $30,000 for capital appropriations; $20,000 for communication expenses; $17,000 for public relations; and $10,000 for standby supplies.
The total budget for District 2 for 2011 was $3,390,350 with $2,777,350 raised by taxation.
The tax rate for the district is 25.7 cents per $100 of assessed value. A house assessed at $169,000 would pay $434.33 per year if the budget passes. Last year, the tax rate was 19 cents, and a house assessed at the same amount paid $322.
District 2 serves the southern portion of Monroe and has two stations, one on Applegarth Road and one on Halsey Reed Road. It has 18 paid firefighters, eight to 10 volunteer firefighters and a paid chief in command.
Fire commissioners of District 2 said the residences in the district lost $102 million in ratables in 2011 and another $35 million in 2012, which contributed to the need to raise the tax rate.
”So many people in our township have filed for reductions on assessments, and they all went through,” said Lawrence Reisch, commissioner and treasurer for District 2. “Each district lost ratables. Our ratables are lower than the numbers from last year. This is the reason why the tax rates are the way they are today.”
”It’s a critical time for all township and fire districts,” Mr. Mahler said.
”We have the second lowest budget of all districts in Monroe,” he said, adding District 1 has a lower budget because it’s an all-volunteer department. “I want to continue to keep our tax rate low and make sure our energy, solar panels and the welfare of my constituents is never in danger and to make sure we have the best trained firefighters and best state-of-the-art equipment to make sure our residents stay safe and sound.”
Polls will be open from 2 to 8 p.m. at the Halsey Reed Road Station, 10 Halsey Reed Road.

