Kim talks Garwood Recreation, DPW and Finances

This year has been an amazing experience for me from working closely with our departments to engaging with many residents throughout the borough, but there is still much work to get done. The new Recreation brochure was distributed in the end of August, which is reflective of the great work we have achieved since I was sworn in back in January. I have had the opportunity to implement new programs that I am proud to say are returning this fall including bowling, kickball and a revitalized pre-school soccer program.

I am proud to stand with the residents fighting the impulsive spending that has put our borough, you the taxpayers, $7 million in debt. Your tax bills this year should have seen some relief due to the influx of funds of approximately $1 million dollars, but due to years of excessive spending, you still saw your taxes increase. The simple fact that over $10,000 in administrative raises were given without performance reviews shows the mismanagement that has occurred within the borough over the years.

In just a few short weeks I was able to identify over $55,000 in lost revenue through our Recreation Complex. This was just for a small portion, the lost revenue over the past 3 years is easily in the hundreds of thousands. I led a bipartisan effort to fix the problem by raising rates for OUT OF TOWN renters to the property but only after I contacted the organizations to ensure a continued partnership, they all agreed.

I have seen first-hand how depleted our DPW is and how much effort those individuals put into our town under very difficult circumstances. For instance, their working conditions are unsatisfactory while they still maintain an exceptional level of service, even though they have been short staffed throughout this entire summer. My Democratic colleagues on council openly suggested outsourcing garbage. In reality, the true cost savings in this scenario would be the laying off 3 full time and 1 part time employee. This was something I vehemently opposed and led a bipartisan effort to ensure it would not happen. As mayor I will continue to champion our DPW because I know we can have better days ahead with the right leadership.

We need to do better. We cannot sugar coat the issues we have in this town with traffic, safety over taxation and poor borough buildings with staged photos and the misrepresentation of the current conditions within our departments. Our residents deserve better, our residents deserve a voice and the honest truth about what is happening every day in OUR Garwood.

I look forward to your support on November 8th

Kim Salmon