I attended the Tuesday, September 7, West Windsor Council meeting to voice concerns regarding inappropriate Council and Administration spending.
Included in its agenda were a plethora of subjective “wants” vs. “needs.” West Windsor spending remains out of control. With the next day’s headline disclosing 328 municipal layoffs in the City of Trenton, our spendthrift Council believes it should saddle taxpayers with another $4.5 million bond in profligate “candy.” The terms “accountability” and “transparency” surface only during election time. Where are the simple actions: “cost and spending reductions?” What is West Windsor’s total debt?
Is this the same Council and Administration that could find no savings within its most recent $37 million budget with a municipal tax increase?
Why would Council approve $1.1 million in September for its Road Improvements plan? Paving and construction should occur during the summer when conditions are best and disruptions the least. Approvals for this should have been done in the spring, 2010.
1. I recently sent an E-mail to Council asking each elected member to take a clipboard to record the deplorable appearances throughout the township. Only one councilwoman responded. I have suggested Council and the WW Administration dissolve and turn their respective roles over to Plainsboro Township. After all, West Windsor’s Council/Township lawyer is the same one who departed immediately prior to last night’s regular meeting to serve as Plainsboro’s Committee/Township counsel!
2. Endless no-bid professional service contracts dominate West Windsor operations. Why pay for a professional township engineer to perform clerical contract administration?
3. September 14 marks the five-year anniversary of the accidental fatality on the Alexander Road S-Curve. Council was poised to award a $35,000 engineering 2010-R203 contract for that curve when the services could have come from Princeton University’s College of Engineering. Resolution 2010-R202 awarded an additional $769,096 for actual reconstruction, which came from latent funds from years 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007 ($659K), 2008, and 2009. Um… isn’t this 2010?
4. I encourage your readers to visit the West Windsor Council agenda for September 7 to review Ordinance 2010-18 worth $4.5 million for bonds in which you will see woefully incomplete explanations for expenditures. If you the readers or taxpayers want the true answers, YOU go to the Township to find the information.
At this time, do we REALLY need $450,000 for bike lanes, $2 million for traffic safety mitigation, $277,000 for park improvements, and even $30,000 for a new Animal Control vehicle (for use in other townships)? Don’t forget the numerous ELECTRONIC GRANT APPLICATIONS made by the Township to NJDOT for FREE roadway resurfacing!
5. Council/Mayor Expense Reimbursement Policy (2010-R212): Sneaky. With all the challenges facing taxpayers, Council has managed to place its needs ahead of others’. Why do Council members need $50 for daily meal reimbursement? Either stay home or take a sandwich if you cannot afford serving the community. And the Mayor’s monthly $250 mileage reimbursement would be appropriate only if he were driving a Hummer. I asked Council to withdraw this resolution.
In summary? West Windsor Township cannot afford the current Council, Mayor, and Business Administrator. The best management decision would be for them to vacate their positions by turning over West Windsor government operations…. to Plainsboro.
Peter R. Weale
Fisher Place, West Windsor
