Two residents are running for a seat on the Jackson Township Council in the Nov. 3 election. The winner of the term will serve through June 2012. On Nov. 3 the polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Ken Bressi The candidates are Kenneth Bressi and Howard Tilis. Bressi is the current chairman of the Planning Board and Tilis is a current member of the Township Council.
Bressi has lived in Jackson for 36 years. He is employed as a facility manager at St. Veronica’s Church/School, Howell. Bressi is currently the chairman of the Jackson Planning Board, co-chairman of the EMS Efficiency Committee, vice chairman of the Jackson Veterans Memorial Garden, and a member of the Economic Development Advisory Committee, the Citizens Budget Advisory Committee, a life member of Jackson VFW Post 4702 and a member of the Jackson Veterans Commission. He served with the Marines and is a Vietnam combat veteran.
Bressi served on the Jackson Township Committee, which was Jackson’s previous form of government.
Tilis has lived in Jackson for three years. He is retired from his previous employment as an administrator in education, which he worked at for 43 years in the New York City Board of Education, the New Jersey Department of Education, the New Jersey School Boards Association and the New Brunswick Public Schools.
Howard Tilis Tilis, a former resident of Marlboro, served on the Marlboro Board of Education and the Freehold Regional High School District Board of Education.
Tilis has participated in the Reading Buddies program at Jackson’s Crawford-Rodriquez School. He has served on the Jackson Planning Board.
The candidates were asked, and responded to, the following questions:
What professional and educational skills do you bring to the table that you believe will benefit or help your
ability to govern the township?
Bressi said that prior to serving on the Jackson Township Committee in 1991, his concern with laws pertaining to horse ownership spurred him to attend planning, zoning, environmental and township committee meetings. Armed with an understanding of how municipal law affects residents, Bressi said he felt he could maintain Jackson’s rural character.
“Once elected (to the Township Committee), I stabilized municipal tax rates, initiated land use laws controlling growth and instituted open public budget workshops,” said Bressi. “This hands-on education and experience aided me in serving as mayor and deputy mayor and will serve me again as a councilman.”
Tilis said he believes that educational, professional and community experience hone the mind-set that one brings to public office and prepares one to do the service required.
“My educational and professional experiences taught me the importance of researching topics and to critically analyze each and every issue that may come before the council,” said Tilis. “My training in psychology taught me how to work cooperatively with everyone and try to bring the best out of all.”
Tilis said his professional experience of 43 years, primarily in administrative and supervisory positions in the field of education, prepared him to manage people and projects effectively, and as a school board member he said he learned how to prepare budgets. What specific areas of concern are there in the township that you would personally like to address as a township official?
Bressi said taxes, land-use laws and the state’s affordable housing mandates are the three major issues that have the biggest impact on Jackson today and into the future.
“These three issues are intertwined and without effective leadership, could lead to an imbalance that would be difficult to rebound from,” the candidate said. “As a four-term Planning Board chairman and having recently completed a full master plan review, I have the detailed knowledge that will directly benefit the residents.”
Bressi said the municipality’s new master plan details an increase in the commercial tax base from 11 percent to 24 percent, which he said will greatly help to balance the residential tax rate.
Tilis said that during the past year, he worked with the Township Council to form the Economic Development Committee.
“This committee’s function is to provide a road map to bring ‘clean’ ratables to Jackson in order to help reduce the tax burden on residents and other businesses,” he said. “As a sitting member of this committee, I would like to continue this effort.”
Tilis said he believes he needs to advocate for the children and seniors of Jackson, to make recreational and other activities available.
“These programs are what make Jackson great and need to be continued in these ‘bad’ economic times,” Tilis said. “I will continue to fight to support children and seniors.”
Beyond those specific areas, what other issues do you believe need to be addressed over the next three years, especially considering we are in an economic climate that the country has not seen in decades, and what challenges do you expect to face in the process of governing the town?
Bressi said that over the next three years it is vital that officials set priorities for their goals as the economy is in flux.
“What we must focus on is the safety of our roads, ensuring the effectiveness of our volunteer services and civic groups and caring for our seniors and youth,” Bressi said. “These are basic day-to-day concerns that affect all residents and must be carried out responsibly by public officials.”
Bressi said keeping local government open to residents and their ideas will make the process of evaluating problems easier, before they are compounded. He said many great ideas have come from residents speaking at council meetings, at workshops or even in an email.
This is the most cost-effective way to run government, the candidate said.
Bressi said government should be about doing more with what it has, accomplishing its goals without increasing the municipal debt, and safe-guarding children and grandchildren from an unnecessary burden.
Tilis said taxes are a major concern.
“The township recently completed a revaluation, the effect of which was to redistribute the tax burden more evenly,” he said. “Some residents received a tax reduction and others received a tax increase. In some cases the increase was substantial.”
Tilis said for those whose taxes were increased, he would like to study a five-year gradual tax increase until the full tax payment is realized, for example, 20 percent per year.
The candidate said a major concern that may dwarf all others is the requirements of the state Council on Affordable Housing (COAH).
“The requirement by COAH to build one affordable house for every five market-value houses has tied the hands of the Jackson Planning Board on which I also sit,” said Tilis. “There is the potential to bankrupt many municipalities and cripple their infrastructure. I implore whoever is elected governor to reconsider COAH and work with the municipalities, so that our infrastructure (schools, water, sewer and roads, police, public works) are still affordable.”