It’s incredible how fast another year has blown by. November, 2015 and it’s almost time for Christmas already! So, knowing that. I want to impart a few things going on in Shamong as well as bid you all a fond farewell.
As you know from my previous ranting both in print and in public, our town has some financial challenges facing it over the next few years. Our roadways are a big part of those challenges. Overall, if we were to address every road that requires attention, it would cost the township millions of dollars. So, earlier this year, your township committee got together and developed a roads program to deal with this issue. We have broken the program into phases starting with the micro-surfacing of all roads that are not yet showing signs of deterioration and following up with the repaving of 4–5 streets. This phase will most likely be completed in early April. The next phase will see additional streets being repaved and so on until all the roads have been addressed.
The ambulance squad has informed the Township Committee that there are a couple of mobile units that require replacement rather soon due to age. These units are not cheap and the committee is seeking the most cost effective route to facilitate these units for the ambulance squad.
So, you may be asking, how are we going to pay for these expenses? Well, the plan is NOT to raise your taxes, so let’s get that straight from the start. We are in the midst of developing a few revenue-generating initiatives that include a cell tower, a cemetery, and redevelopment zones. The cell tower initiative will see the erection of a multi-carrier pole located on Atsion Road which will net the township over $30,000 per year for 20–25 years when fully leased. The cemetery is an initiative that a few of the farmers in our town have requested for the past 10 years or so. After four years of doing an exhaustive search for the right piece of ground, the committee has finally identified the land. We have purchased the former Cowperthwaite farm (minus the residence) and will be using Green Acres funds for most of it. There is approximately seven acres on Willow Grove Road surrounded by hedgerows that is perfect for a country setting oriented cemetery. This initiative will serve the residents of Shamong and the surrounding municipalities and will generate revenues to help keep taxes in place and maybe even lowered for many years. The last initiative is a two-fold one whereby the town will be designating areas as redevelopment zones. The first two areas are located on the west side of Oak Shade and encompass the business district and a portion of Route 206. These zones will allow the township to retain important commercial neighbors such as Opici Wine Distributors and see the construction of new possibilities on 206 such as a craft beer brewery and dining hall. In addition, the zones allow the township to lower real estate taxes for the proprietors but the taxes collected will go to the township for its uses (such as roadway improvement, ambulances, and other needs in the future).
We have all seen our taxes rise this year and almost every penny of that increase was due to our schools (local and high school) taking the two percent cap and more through loopholes that we, as taxpayers, cannot stop right now. We have seen the amount of money the state provides Shamong be reduced annually and it will continue to be reduced as the state faces the pension crisis and other areas of fiscal mismanagement from the past. I have lost sleep over how we are going to achieve and maintain the services, aesthetics, and safe roadways we have all come to expect to be provided. I know the Committee cannot control what the school board does in its fiscal maneuvers, but we can be creative and entrepreneurial in our endeavors to keep township-oriented taxes in check. And, I believe, we have done just that. The potential revenues that the township can realize from our initiatives can more than pay for the needs and services of the township for years to come.
And now, I want to thank you all for allowing me the privilege of being your Mayor and serving you for the past 6 years. It has been an honor and I wanted this year to be one where I could leave the town in better shape than I found it. I believe that with the revenue initiatives, Shamong will be better off in the years to come than it has been for a while. Also, it is my hope that these initiatives will create jobs for some of you, as well as serve you in bigger ways than you are being served presently.
So, I am leaving public service on Dec. 31 of this year and I wish you all a happy holiday and wonderful new year in 2016. Thank you, again, for the honor to serve you.
