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TAXES AT THE FOREFRONT OF UPCOMING COUNCIL ELECTION
By Keith Hagarty
As Tax Day came and went last week, the six candidates vying for three available spots on the Manchester Township Council tackled the issue of providing top notch services for the residents while trying to keep Manchester an affordable place to live.
Earlier this year, the Manchester municipal budget was proposed with a 7-cent increase to the municipal tax rate. With that in mind, the six candidates running for three council seats all agree that lowering or maintaining property taxes is one of the pressing concerns for Manchester homeowners.
Running under the political banner "A Change For The People," the team of Don Bates, Robert Greger and James Poss are challenging the incumbents on the platform of providing three distinct voices who share a desire to do what it takes to reduce the tax burden facing Manchester's residents.
Their campaign theme of "Isn't it time for the taxpayers to again have a voice in town hall?" emphasizes what they believe residents are most concerned about.
A former elected official in Jackson during the 1970s, Bates first ran for Manchester's governing body 14 years ago when he moved to the town, but lost out to current Mayor Michael Fressola. Since his initial campaign, Bates said he's still waiting for the governing body's promise nearly two decades ago to lower taxes.
"They haven't done anything in 14 years - except raise our taxes," said Bates. "The municipal tax rate continues to rise out of control. The local rate this year increased nearly 85 percent over last year's increase."
As a former Jackson Township committeeman and mayor, Bates said he's proud of being on that town's governing body when they brought Six Flags Great Adventure and its immense tax ratable to town. While he doesn't expect an undertaking on that scale for Manchester, he believes solutions to reduce the tax burden are there, but aren't being properly utilized by the current council and administration.
"Someone once said that 'a man who lives beyond his means is stupid,'" said Bates. "I am not calling anyone (on the council) stupid, but I am saying anyone who wildly spends the taxpayers' dollars unwisely is certainly not very intelligent. The taxpayers deserve a break from growth in government."
Incumbents Say
Record Speaks For Itself
While any tax rate increase is an undesirable situation, the incumbent candidates are proud of their record of keeping taxes relatively stable over the last decade, while continuing to maintain and preserve programs and services.
Comprised of incumbent Councilmen Kenneth Vanderziel, Fredrick Trutkoff and newcomer Warren Reiter, the team of candidates on the "Continued Good Government" slate believe they have the experience and qualifications to keep Manchester's finances on track.
Vanderziel, a Harvard University graduate and retired financial control officer, is proud of the financial structure he's helped develop in town and is encouraged by its progress.
"We're proud of the fact that we've tried to stabilize the tax rate as best we could and provide the services our residents want," he said. "We're down to barebones with staff, believe me."
"Right now, the job is to see what we can do to control that tax, and see if we can get the state Legislature to give back some of that money they've taken away (from municipalities), indiscriminately, by the way," he said. "I do think people recognize that it's nothing that can be done overnight, or by one person. It's going to take everyone working on it."
Concern over taxes has been a heated issue for residents since Vanderziel was first elected nearly 20 years ago. Vanderziel said despite the council's ongoing efforts to keep taxes as low as possible, he's well aware of the public's general skepticism toward its elected representatives. Not just in Manchester, but for all lawmakers.
"There's always been a concern about taxes, of course," he said. "Back then, there was something that needed to go on in this town because there were no sidewalks, hardly anything for the children, or very little, and of course, it's all been developed. What I hear now is more concern about property taxes and school taxes and how it affects us all."
Like his running mate, Trutkoff, a Renaissance resident, is also a retired financial manager, serving as chief financial officer and budget director for several corporations, including the Federal Maritime Commission.
"We want to be proactive, and not just sitting back waiting for something to happen," he said, noting the mayor and council's initiative to meet with local communities and clubs about property taxes and the lack of aid coming from the state.
"We don't want rumors," said Trutkoff. "Rumors are one of the worst things that can happen in the communities and the township."
Despite the state's limitations, Trutkoff is proud of Manchester's finances and the businesses the governing body has been able to lure to the area. This is, he said., for the benefit of the residents and taxpayers.
"In my community, what they were looking for was an eatery, or a nice restaurant," he said. "Now that Applebee's (Restaurant) is going in, they're really looking forward to that opening."
While no timetable has been set, Trutkoff is optimistic in also bringing in large-scale national retail facilities to the town, such as a Lowe's Home Improvement Center and a long-awaited Dunkin Donuts to the town.
Challengers Say New Ideas Needed
With a family history in local politics in Seaside Park, Greger is excited to throw his hat into the ring for the first time in his hometown of Manchester, saying "it's time for a change with new people, new perspectives and new ideas."
"It's been all those same guys and their friends (on the council) since I first moved here over 16 years ago," said Greger. "The recent increase in the municipal tax rate is unacceptable. Every line item in the budget must be analyzed, and every dollar spent must be questioned as to the benefit and necessity of our residents."
Greger is proud of the efforts made by the other local governing bodies in controlling taxes, but hasn't been as impressed with the township's current administration and governing body.
"The school system and even the county have done a pretty good job at keeping (their budgets and tax rates) pretty level, but in the past several years, the municipal tax rate has been out of control," said Greger. "They don't seem to respond to the residents, and how we're going to deal with it."
Greger believes the incumbents have become "very complacent" and promises a new approach by the team of challengers, saying there will be no "rubber stamping" philosophy.
"We will eliminate waste throughout the budget, to produce an efficient and effective government," said Greger. "We can begin with questioning the recent pay increases the mayor and council gave themselves while simultaneously raising our taxes."
When asked what the biggest issue is in the upcoming election, Poss didn't hesitate.
"It's their spending," he said. "I go to the meetings, and it's like, ok, this is what they want, and boom-boom-boom, it's done, and nobody even questions it. To me, it doesn't seem like (the current council) is accessible to the people. Be the people's voice. You were elected by the people to be the voice of them."
Poss points to his years of experience in business as a self-employed insurance broker and a history of helping shape the financial direction of his local church as major benefits in his run for office.
"I'm going to be the voice of the people," said Poss. "When I was on the board at the church, I was known as 'the voice of reason' because I didn't spend unless it had to be spent. You had to show me that we really had to spend this money."
The Right Course Is Set
Joining the Continued Good Government, Reiter, a Whiting Station resident, said he's been pleased with the progress he's seen over the past few years by the current council. Key to that is reducing the individual's tax burden by luring businesses and clean commercial tax ratables to the southern section of town, and its large senior population.
"We owe our senior citizens a lot, and I'd like to continue with what our good government has done," said Reiter, a retired business manager for one of the largest school districts in Long Island, New York.
"Things are finally getting done (in Whiting)," he said. "We have new sidewalks. We have a new shopping center. We've got a lot of new things coming along."
However, even with developing opportunities to entice businesses to come to town, Reiter admits it's a delicate balancing act in preserving the aesthetic integrity and quiet nature of the area.
"At the same token, people still don't like to see a lot of building going on," he said. "It's the 'not in my backyard' theory- but maybe two miles away."
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