As you know, for the past several years I’ve been involved in the community and I paid very close attention to the decisions made by the mayor and council. The Democrats actions that have occurred over the past few months have validated my growing concerns, but what has truly been disheartening is their continued politicization when it comes to our safety, resources and finances.
Most recently my opponents in November have used every single capital expenditure as a coordinated negative attack while continually voting yes to excessive spending. For example, myself and Councilwoman Loffredo were criticized for not supporting the purchase of a motorized boat for the fire department as well as scuba gear. During the Special meeting of mayor and council (5/16/22) I stated, “Just to clarify on the water rescue, saying no does not mean it is no forever I am just saying no in this year’s budget.” (1.15)
My opponents have continued to criticize me for standing up for the taxpayers by stating, I was “failing to do my job” when not voting yes on their demands.
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As elected officials, our job is to listen to ALL of our department heads as well as residents, then make a decision on capital purchases keeping in mind every aspect of the borough. It’s hard to not say “yes” to everything, but it is necessary especially during a recession. At the 5/16/22 meeting, council collectively reviewed all capital purchase requests put forth by each department. Councilwoman Blumenstock said yes to EVERY capital purchase and this is why we have seen an increase in our borough debt from $3.7 million in 2016 to $7 million in 2022. In the 2022 municipal budget Garwood received almost $1 million dollars in additional tax revenue and even with this additional revenue, my opponents still voted YES to a tax increase. The additional revenue wasn’t enough to withstand their excessive spending and led to the current tax increase. This is exactly the situation a constant “yes” across the board has put us in without properly analyzing every purchase.
Mayor and Council need to have the courage to challenge department heads and our professionals to ensure that there is a balance is between revenue and expenses. This is exactly what tried to do this year and what I will continue to do as an elected official of this town going forward.
