Reader Submitted
To the editor:
Hopewell Township is a place I am proud to call home, but we must work together to make it more affordable.
Let’s start with what we have accomplished over the past two years. By zero-basing the township budget, we were able to reduce operating expenses and bring the tax rate change
down from more than 5.28 percent under Lester’s leadership to 1.1 percent per year.
We not only stayed within the state’s 2 percent cap, but also delivered spending plans below the rate of inflation. But there’s more work to do.
I am fortunate to be running with Michael Ruger for township committee. He is a proven
leader and has worked tirelessly on the Finance Advisory Committee to make government more effective and efficient.
Our total municipal spending in 2017 is below what it was in 2015. We have done all this while restoring Bulky Waste pick-up, rebuilding our public works fleet and absorbing increased costs from unfunded state mandates.
Michael and I each have more than 25 years of experience cutting costs and adhering to financial commitments in the corporate world.
We also understand what it means to do more with less, from our roles in the non-profit world and working with small businesses, including my service as Chair of the Finance Council at St. James and work with Ray Disch at Sourland Mountain Spirits.
We will continue a disciplined budgeting process, eliminating unnecessary spending, expanding shared service agreements with our partners in Hopewell/Pennington Boroughs and the schools, and returning the proceeds to you.
Finally, we must find new sources of revenue to reduce the burden of residential property taxes. This includes attracting new restaurants, medical offices and small business retailers to Hopewell Township, thereby increasing our ratables. We will achieve this within the township’s Master Plan, maintaining our open space and preserved farmlands, and preventing the extension of sewers into currently pristine areas.
Please allow us to put our experience and detailed financial action plan to work for you and make Hopewell more affordable. Vote Kuchinski-Ruger on November 7.
Kevin D. Kuchinski
Democratic Candidate for township committee
