To the editor:
On behalf of the Hillsborough Republican organization, it is my privilege to endorse Deputy Mayor Greg Burchette and Committeewoman Carl Suraci for re-election to the Township Committee.
As our residents know, in recent years Hillsborough has received numerous honors as one of the best communities in New Jersey and the country. This year, Money Magazine listed us as the 30th best “small town” of our size in the entire U.S., while Niche.com ranked us as the 34th best suburb in the country. SafeWise ranked us as the 11th safest town in N.J.
These outstanding ratings do not come about by chance. Our residents are one reason, as they work hard to apply their many and various talents to keeping this a great community in which to raise children. But another important contribution comes from our local officials, who make the right decisions that keep our township on the right track.
Those local officials, including Deputy Mayor Burchette and Committeewoman Suraci, have kept Hillsborough healthy and prosperous by the responsible policies they have pursued. Our business community and our taxpayers have benefited from the innovative Shop Hillsborough program initiated by Deputy Mayor Burchette, with taxpayers receiving more than $45,000 in rebates so far.
Several years after the Township Committee’s decision to team with county to buy the former Belle Mead Depot, and following the continued advocacy of Committeeman Suraci to increase recreational facilities in Hillsborough, the Mountain View Park is now taking shape, and is set to open in the spring of 2017.
Most importantly for taxpayers, under the leadership of Deputy Mayor Burchette, Committeeman Suraci and their colleagues on the Township Committee, the township’s finances continue to be sound and well managed. This year was the fifth consecutive year leaders kept the municipal budget below the 2 percent state cap on increases, without using exceptions or tricks. This is a remarkable record for a New Jersey municipality — we may be the only one in the state that has managed it — and keeps more of the hard-earned dollars of our residents in their own pockets. It has also helped us to pay off public debt; the costs of the library expansion of 10 years ago and the mandated re-evaluation of five years ago were both paid off in full in 2015, lowering the future tax burden.
What Burchette, Suraci and their colleagues have not done is engage in wasteful spending. Instead, without cutting services, they have maintained the public employee roll at a lower level than it was in 2002, when it reached its maximum under Democratic control, and have refused to tax, borrow and spend for unnecessary projects.
Greg Burchette and Carl Suraci have earned your confidence and your votes, and I know they are eager to keep working to continue to earn them. Join us in the goal of keeping Hillsborough a great place to live, and please re-elect Deputy Mayor Greg Burchette and Committeeman Carl Suraci them to the Hillsborough Township Committee on Nov. 3.
Steven Sireci, M.D.
Former mayor
Chairman
Hillsborough Republican Party
