Mendham Primary: Take Five with Rick Merkt

Primary elections are coming on Tuesday, June 5 and we here at Mendham-Chester Patch want you to be prepared for them. So we take five with each candidate and let them answer in their own words.

Name: Rick Merkt

Political/town background:

Currently deputy mayor of Mendham Township and chairman of the Finance Committee; elected six times to the New Jersey Legislature (1998-2010); vice-chairman of Mendham Township Republican Committee;  deputy attorney general (1983-1986); Certified Public Manager; Master's degree in Governmental Administration.

How long have you been on the Mendham Township Committee?  

Appointed to vacant position on Mendham Township Committee in March 2011; elected without opposition to one-year unexpired term in November 2011.

Other boards/committees in Mendham Township?  

Board of Adjustment (1992-1997).

How long have you lived in MendhamTownship? 25- year resident.

 1. If elected (re-elected), what is the first issue currently facing Mendham Township that you would like to take action on?  

Fixing the number one threat to Mendham Township's welfare, which is its excessive long-term debt.  Debt service paid by the township today is 25% above the accepted standard for municipalities.  The delayed and over-budget emergency services building was a major contributor to this problem.  There is no quick fix to repair the financial damage already done to the township.  It will require years of consistent, careful planning and fiscal restraint by elected officials to put Mendham Township's long-term finances back in order, and I have committed to making township fiscal integrity and long-term discipline my top priority as a member of the Township Committee.

 2. How do you plan to keep the municipal budget under the 2% cap while keeping the health and safety of the community in tact?  

As chairman of the Finance Committee, I have insisted on a line-by-line review of the township's operating budget to ensure that all aspects of municipal spending are controlled to the greatest extent possible.  The result is two straight budgets without a net increase in the municipal tax rate paid by homeowners in Mendham Township.  Other steps take in recent budgets include: capital spending budget reforms to reduce township dependence on borrowed funds (thus reducing debt service) and negotiations with neighboring communities on expanding shared services to reduce spending.  We have achieved these results without sacrificing core public services needed to ensure public health and safety.

3.) What shared services, if any, can Mendham Township send out or receive in the coming years?  

There could be potentially major shared-services savings from partnering with other communities on police and public works services, both of which make up significant percentages of Mendham Township's operating budget.  However, these opportunities must be examined carefully beforehand to ensure that shared-service partnerships do not compromise the quality of public services received by Mendham Township residents or give up due accountability.

4. There has been lots of talk about Mendham Township’s strained relationship with other communities. Regardless, how do you plan to strengthen ties with your surrounding towns?  

Success in strengthening ties with our sister communities depends on identifying areas of common interest, that is, areas where all the communities involved benefit from such ties. Public officials are more often willing to cooperate when they see potential gains for their constituents, so developing "win-win" proposals is critical to making progress in inter-community relationships.  

Open, public, and frequent communications with elected officials in neighboring towns seem to me the best way to promote cooperation among sister communities, but our township must also show itself to be a reliable partner in such efforts by acting responsibly, reasonably, and transparently.  As a predicate to this, our Township Committee must listen to (and respect) the views of our residents, be as open as possible in its deliberations, work as a team in the township's best interest, and be careful in spending residents' tax dollars.  

These qualities were not always in evidence in some past township committees, and the result was an understandable reticence on the part of neighboring towns' elected officials to work with Mendham Township.  As part of the Township Committee team, I will encourage open communication and discussion of cooperation with our sister communities in ways that will benefit all participants.

5. Share something people would be surprised to know about you.  

 (I know it's a bit bizarre and completely irrelevant, but ...) One of my distant ancestors was a Holy Roman Imperial knight.