The council’s public hearing meeting last month and the writer’s frustrations with township administration are discussed.
Washington Township Council adopted a salary ordinance introduced by the new mayor. Council members Longfellow, Donato and Perry all voted in favor of it while Pasqualone and Fazzio sided with the public and voted against it. Although the mayor, with only one month of governing experience, may have had good intentions in rewarding seven employees/appointees, including five with only a handful of weeks into the job, she could have used the veto power after listening to disapproval of many residents who spoke during the two-hour long public participation.
If this is not disturbing enough, the new business administrator, who lacks municipal experience, received a car at the expense of the taxpayers in addition to his increase in salary. Members of the current administration, except for the mayor, do not live in Washington Township. The combined salaries of the solicitor, B.A., clerk and CFO is more than $500,000. In addition to these employees/appointees, most of the professionals do not live in Washington Township; therefore hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not millions, in salaries and professional expenses paid by the local taxpayers leave our community. These dollars are spent in the communities where they live.
Every time the subject of businesses closing in town comes up, council members are left scratching their heads to figure out why. They still don’t realize that businesses follow the money; the more money goes out of the community, the more businesses leave. The people have had enough of the political oppression, and it seems that we have finally found the straw that broke the camel’s back, so to speak. The citizens are exercising their right by circulating a petition to collect enough signatures to put a referendum on the ballot in the Nov. 7 election. This effort is not limited to this ordinance. This petition is to send a message to our elected officials that they are there to do the will of the people, not the will of their political bosses. There are almost 2,000 signatures needed. Your help is appreciated by signing one.
Giancarlo D’Orazio
