To the editor:
All taxpayers of Manville should be alarmed. Tonight (Monday) your governing body voted to outsource our police dispatch to Somerset County.
What concerned me most sitting in the audience was that this proposal was not discussed within the committee structure of the governing body, nor was any hard financial numbers made available to the public.
I challenged our Mayor to show us the cost savings three years down the road to be put into a capital improvement account. We all know that won’t happen. But I can guarantee you higher property taxes under his leadership. Hold on to your wallet. Your property taxes are going up.
The savings proposed were all smoke and mirrors. Two of our dispatchers were hired to backfill police retirements. Another dispatcher will be hired as a patrolman next year and the fourth of our dispatchers will remain on payroll to greet residents during normal business hours. Our police headquarters will most likely be closed after 5 p.m. weekdays and on weekends.
The vote to approve this resolution was mainly along party lines. So many questions were asked and concerns raised but I can assure you arms were most likely twisted to vote a certain way. Council President Ed Komoroski even read a prepared statement that seemed not to be in support of this outsourcing initiative but he voted ‘yes’ anyway.
To have your elected officials make decisions that impact our property taxes without providing the public financial figures to support such a decision before they vote is very concerning. This dispatch service the county provides isn’t free. In addition to make the conversion happen Manville has to spend well over $200,000 dollars for radio upgrades and a security system for our police headquarters. I guess a new bond ordinance is up next, pushing Manville further into debt.
This decision can potentially impact everyone’s safety in town and is probably the worst decision since implementation of centralized polling locations. Manville is a unique walking community with special needs during flood emergencies.
I would like to thank Councilwoman Sue Asher and Councilman Steve Szabo for voting ‘no.’ Too many questions went unanswered to vote any other way.
Richard M. Onderko
Manville

