By Gene Robbins, Managing Editor
Independent candidate Susan Gulliford sees an expanded, interactive township website as a way for local government to hear questions, complaints and comments from residents, and then answer back.
“Anyone who spends time on local private social media pages knows that there are certain questions and complaints that are frequently brought up — like traffic, potholes, developments, flooding, crime,” she said “And each person who posts likes to know that someone is listening to them and responding.”
She and her four fellow candidates for Township Committee responded to the question, “Are there any municipal services you would expand, add, trim or delete — all while staying within the 2 percent cap on local property tax increases?”
Incumbent Republicans Carl Suraci and Greg Burchette pointed to what they called a successful record of adding selected service while keeping budgets tight and taxes as low as possible.
Democrats Ann Harris and Laurie Poppe focused on traffic and businesses. They both cited the unfinished Route 206 bypass and a failure to address traffic congestion. Perhaps they are connected to attracting and keeping businesses in Hillsborough, they suggested.
Mr. Suraci said few government bodies can make the claim, as Hillsborough does, of staying within the 2 percent tax-levy increase cap without taking any allowable exception. Hillsborough has viewed the 2 percent cap as a “hard” cap, saving taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars, he said.
“I’m proud to say that we have not had the need to trim or delete the services but have been able to expand services, like establishing municipal department evening hours and adding on-line services, such as sign-ups for recreation programs,” said Mr. Suraci.
“Budget planning beyond the current fiscal year and finding creative cost-saving solutions, such as the municipal court-sharing program, have been critical to our success,” he said.
Small-scale projects, such as the new dog park at AVM Park, might be possible, but larger-scale projects, “such as a new multi-purpose field, a community center or a cross-country course for our high school teams, are not likely without cutting essential services and/or infrastructure maintenance unless an alternative funding source is identified.”
Mr. Suraci reminded that voters rejected an idea two years ago to use “a small portion” of future local farmland/open space money for development projects in open space or parks. The “funding source,” as he called it, would have been similar to the one used by the Somerset County freeholders to fund the construction of the new baseball complex at the former GSA property.
Ms. Poppe said her goal is “to reduce or maintain existing taxes rather than increase them.” In fact, she said, the 2 percent cap is still means higher taxes and “is still an increase and not a savings to our citizens.”
“Currently, Hillsborough has a half-completed bypass (“road to nowhere“) and a forgotten Town Center plan,” Ms. Poppe said. “We are developing without a vision. We are not effectively supporting and promoting our existing businesses, and we are not effectively addressing the downturn of business and the appearance and traffic issues along Route 206.”
Ms. Gulliford said making the website more “user friendly would go a long way toward engaging residents, making information available and responding to specific questions or reports of problems via email. Help people to understand what can and can’t be done and why, or even discover that something a person is concerned about is already being handled.”
She said department statistical reports could be shared with elected officials and the public. For instance, she suggested, such info could tell the per-person cost of a recreation program or how many permits did the building department issue and close out.
Each department’s frequently asked questions section should be followed by a contact choice with a dropdown menu to allow the form to be forwarded to the correct township employee, she suggested.
Ms. Gulliford suggested another municipal service that could be expanded and save money was seniors programs.
“Merge the Somerset County Hillsborough Senior Center program with Hillsborough’s programs, having the county offer their local events right in our own municipal senior center,” she wrote.
Mr. Burchette said he’s been on top of money matters as a member of both the capital planning and budget committees. The opportunities have allowed him to “garner intimate knowledge” of every department’s budget, he said, but, at this time, he could not identify a particular municipal service that he would expand, add, trim or delete.
Mr. Burchette declared he was “proud to say, without hesitation or reservation, that the services afforded to the residents of Hillsborough are managed like any well-run business. They are successfully delivered within budget and designated caps.”“When a specific need is identified and is deemed beneficial, with the 2 percent cap as the guide, every effort will be made to weave that service into the current fabric of Hillsborough’s municipal services,” he said.
Ms. Harris, too, saw possibilities with technology. She said she would create a survey on the township website to analyze and encourage needed businesses or services to be a part of our community. She would also create a survey to see why small businesses have left Hillsborough for other areas “creating empty storefronts in our community.”
She said the township needed to solve traffic issues created by the delay in completion of the Route 206 bypass. She thought perhaps a local jitney service for residents, using the senior citizen bus could help alleviate some of the car traffic as a temporary solution while increasing a service to the community.
Ms. Harris said the Shop Hillsborough program, with which Mr. Burchette closely identifies as founding force, “needs to be reviewed to see how efficiently it is working for the small businesses in town and how residents can utilize the program with more efficiency.”
Ms. Harris said increasing youth activities in science, technology and engineering would be a beneficial service; volunteers could create a programs to supplement school offerings and mentor the youth of the community.
Candidates’ full responses are printed on related files on the www.hillsboroughbeacon.com website.
