At its meeting on February 19, the West Windsor Town Council approved, by a vote of 3-2, the introduction of the preliminary 2013 municipal budget. Both Linda Geevers and Bryan Maher voted against the introduction at this time, primarily because of the point made by John Church in a letter to the editor (The News, February 15) and reiterated at the meeting: that by “introducing” the budget before having informal discussions, the ability to change individual line items becomes more difficult. Any recommendation resulting in an increase of $10,000 or more (per line item) would require the item to be reintroduced and would have to be passed by a two-thirds vote of the Council. Residents Bob Akins and Jim Solloway also spoke in favor of delaying the formal introduction of the budget.
As it now stands, the preliminary 2013 budget is $37,310,000, which is $7,000 less than last year’s budget. The average tax increase for an average home will be $36. However, the one-cent reduction in the Open Space tax will actually produce a total tax savings of $16 for an average home.
There will be several budget meetings held over the next few weeks. The dates are tentatively Monday, March 4 (operating budget); Monday, March 18 (capital budget); Tuesday, April 2 (revenue review); and Monday, April 15 (public review). In addition a work session to discuss the budget was scheduled for this Friday, March 1, at 11 a.m. — announced to the public on the afternoon of February 27.
At the February 19 meeting the Council also unanimously approved the creation of a “cap bank,” which is a budgeting tool that allows the Township to “bank” unused money in the current year in the event of future unforeseen circumstances that would require additional funds. A public hearing on this issue will also be held on April 15.
The Council also passed a resolution allowing for the local examination of the 2013 budget (once every three years, the State examines the West Windsor budget; the remaining two years, the Township is authorized to self-examine the budget). The capital improvement recommendation, in the amount of $179,556, was passed unanimously, as were two bond ordinances relating to the installation of fire sprinklers and fire protection systems in municipal buildings. Public hearings on these measures will be held on Monday, March 4, as part of the discussion of the capital budget.
In other news, the pocket park was again discussed, with residents expressing mixed sentiments about the idea. Forsana Jaffrey stated that this was her first Council meeting, “and I am surprised by what goes on here. I thought we were a group of people working together to solve problems together. [Nonetheless], I don’t think the park should be dedicated to one ethnic group, but rather should be a veterans’ park. West Windsor is a melting pot.”
Resident Martin Whitfield echoed these sentiments. Resident Greg Harris asked, “Where are all of the Asians tonight who claim to be appalled by Bryan Maher’s comments? The only Asian in the room is the Mayor. The park should be a veterans’ park or honor one specific individual.”
Resident Paul Pitluk strongly disagreed. “I want to make my views very clear. I was appalled to read about Councilman Maher’s outrageous and bigoted comments on the pocket park. Maher’s rantings at previous meetings are an embarrassment to him and the Township as a whole, and I will do everything in my power to oppose any political ambitions he may have.”
Maher replied: “Believe me, I am not looking to the Democrats for any help in getting elected. An Asian-themed pocket park is just bad public policy. It is divisive. The park should be ethnically inclusive. See my letter to the editor” (The News, February 15).
Finally, Grover Farm was once again discussed. Council Member Khanna Khamal made the point that “the Grover Farm was scheduled for demolition in May, 2012. The Grover Homestead Committee was supposed to get us a report in September explaining how the house could be restored and maintained without using taxpayer funds. We gave them four extensions. The report was supposed to be given in December, then January passed and we still don’t have the report. The Committee needs to make its recommendations soon, or we should go ahead and demolish the building.
Resident Debbie Hepler, speaking for the Committee, explained that the group had a meeting on February 14, and were working towards finalizing the report, but needed additional time. “At the last meeting, Council President Borek said he would table the report until the budget process is finished, and we are OK with that. We can wait until the budget process is over before we present our report.”
