Letters
Union prez: Mayor moving in right direction

As the president of Local 1197 of the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), I just wanted to voice my support for Mayor Jun Choi. I know that the mayor and my union can work together. As a gesture of good faith, Mayor Choi invited me to meet with him concerning the fiscal crisis. I appreciate the mayor’s honesty and forthrightness regarding the entire situation.

It was obvious that the way the previous administration was doing business that, no matter who was mayor, the township would face a fiscal crisis. However, I do not think that anybody could have guessed the depth and breadth of the problem we now face. This deficit was caused by one person and one person alone — George Spadoro.

The previous mayor, Spadoro, constantly worked in secret and never wanted to deal with us in a fair matter. It was difficult dealing with such a man. The 118 members, of IAFF Local 1197, are not just firefighters but residents and neighbors. We fully understand that the taxpayers are beleaguered and should not have to deal with another tax increase. We do not want to see township services pared down, but we do not have many options at our disposal.

Mayor Choi explained how he shares my same deep concern for the safety of Edison residents. By the way, in his first week as the mayor, Jun Choi managed to visit all six firehouses and do a ride-along with the police department. The mayor made quite an impression on the men of the Edison Fire Department.

The review being conducted by the New Jersey State Department of Community Affairs of the Edison Public Safety Department is an another measure that the mayor has already taken in order to improve how the police, fire and emergency services perform.

The mayor explained to me in our meeting that we have $6.1 million gap in the budget that needs to be closed by June 30, and another $4 million deficit in the following year. The mayor continued with showing me how the budget situation is further exacerbated with the use of $4.4 million in one-shot deals.

These one-shot deals are revenues that do not reoccur next year. This means that those revenues can only be replaced by increased taxes or cost saving measures. Mayor Choi basically said that he needs to find a million dollars a month to get through this fiscal year.

I personally offered Mayor Choi the help and support of Local 1197. I told him that we would help him to find cost savings. The firefighters support their town, and I know Mayor Choi is working hard to make Edison a better place. So I know our interests are the same. We both want the best quality of life for all of the residents of Edison Township.

Robert Yackel

president

IAFF Local 1197

Give the new mayor a chance, reader says

I am disgusted and disappointed how our Edison residents and council members have attacked Mayor Choi from the get-go.

They have created a poisonous atmosphere within the township administration which does not benefit anyone. We all want to have an honest, clean and efficient government, which Choi pledged to do.

But this will not happen if the Township Council consistently takes an adversarial and confrontational attitude all the time. I ask the council members to get past their own petty agenda and prejudices for the sake of Edison.

Think about this, if Bill Stephens were elected mayor and is doing exactly what Choi is doing, would the council members and Edison residents act and feel the same way?

I just got back from active duty deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and have been an Edison resident since 1991. Our nation is sacrificing a lot in an attempt to provide the Iraqi people an honest and democratic government. Could we not do the same for our town?

Ira Lacson

Edison

Resident seeks appt to Edison Planning Board

I would like to congratulate Mayor-elect Jun Choi on his recent win and wish him only the best in the future. As we community activists have said in the past, after the election we must work together to reassure the residents of Edison that we have moved away from the philosophies of the Spadoro team, whereby special interests were put first. Spadoro’s Planning Board has been the cause of many problems throughout Edison. Terms are up for four Planning Board members, who if reappointed will continue to cause problems in our great township.

I, along with a small group of residents, have continually attended meetings and rallied behind hundreds of neighbors for many years to stop the reckless developments causing detriment to many of our neighborhoods. History has shown that without voices carrying the conscience of the community on the land use boards, nothing will change.

I have served in the past on the Edison Zoning Board

and the Technical Review Committee, and I have fought tooth and nail against the types of developments that cause negative consequences in local neighborhoods. While on the Zoning Board, I also sponsored a vote to have the board meetings televised on our local Channel 22, but I unfortunately did not have the majority vote to get this done, in large part due to Spadoro’s administration.

I respectfully ask Mayor-elect Choi to consider my appointment to the Edison Planning Board. Edison must consider the development of the Ford Motor Co./Hartz Mountain Industries and Revlon sites, as well as other sites in the near future. I understand what positive effects the developments of these sites could have on the township as a whole, but we must equally be careful and mindful of the residents in the surrounding areas.

Anthony Russomanno

Edison

Accountant disputes Edison mayor’s budget numbers

There is $55 million in salaries and wages in the 2006 budget, which will increase by 4 percent in 2007. I will give Mayor Choi the $4 million increase or 5 cents, not 20 cents in 2007. I told the Sentinel and the residents in Edison a year-and-a-half ago that until 2009, where the taxpayers will have a $6 million debt service payment reduction residents, we’re going to see tax increases. I predicted this 11-cent increase in this budget over a year-and-a-half ago.

I’ll give Mayor Choi the $4 million increase he is proposing in 2007, but that has nothing to do with the 2006 budget. He is saying the town does not have the money to finish the current 2006 budget.

That is simply not true. I challenge Mayor Choi to show the residents where the town will be $6 million short in running the town through June 30, 2006, budget as opposed to regenerating some surplus.

For the first time, the unions conceded to contribute to health care. I am not a fan of Spadoro, but they were able to get some concessions in health care.

Choi’s first order of business was to give himself 100 percent health care. What cost will the taxpayer bear after the next round of negotiations when the employees don’t concede health-care contributions because the mayor did not?

He said the former mayor raised taxes for 12 years. Did he not expect to come in office and have to deal with these same increases?

He ran with three council members that approved these budgets. Why didn’t he bring this crisis out in the election the same way Sentinel did. How could he not know about the budget when Kevin Duffy, Ralph Bucci and I have been screaming about this for two years? What is in his budget plan because 20 cents means he has a lot of spending in mind.

The state revenues have been flat and or taken away. The only way to provide relief to the taxpayers is to find new revenue sources, cut, or operate more efficiently by sharing resources and other cooperative programs that may be available. Putting the town in debt is not an option for funding township operations. The mayor should learn from what happened to the state by borrowing to fund operations. Policy changes are needed if he expects to reduce future budgets.

The municipal budget is not easy. Choi is the mayor, it’s up to him to fix it and make the tough decisions that are required of a mayor. I am anxious to see his budget in July for 2007. We have continually attempted to assist him, but he would rather create controversy then solve the issues. This is not a problem that gets solved in one budget. It will take three to four budgets to get back to manageable tax increases.

Mayor Choi step up and tell us how your going to solve the future financial crisis. After all, this is one of the main reasons you were elected. Henry Ford said it best. “Don’t find fault, find a remedy.”

Joseph Petrucelli

certified public accountant

Edison

Political power struggle hurts residents in the end

Does this ongoing battle between Edison Mayor Jun Choi and his all-Democratic council remind anyone of that infamous boxing match between Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield?

Remember that fight? While pounding each other senseless, Tyson decided early on to try and one-up Holyfield and actually took a chunk off of Holyfield’s ear. And who ended up getting short-changed? The people who paid their hard earned money and got something they weren’t expecting in return.

Now, turn back to Choi vs. Council, now in round three of what looks to be going the distance. Don’t you think that both are forgetting something really important here? Unlike Tyson vs. Holyfield, it’s not important whether Choi or the council wins this fight.

What’s important here is the well-being of the people of Edison and not the internal power struggle between the two bodies of government they represent. The people of Edison shouldn’t have to expect this type conduct and don’t have to accept it.

You know, someone once quipped, “A democracy is where two wolves and sheep take a majority vote on what’s for supper.” The point being that democracy works best when there is an open and free exchange of ideas on the people’s issues and when debate is encouraged toward that end.

Somehow, I don’t think Edison’s all-Democratic council feeding on their young qualifies as democracy at its finest. Nor does it serve any purpose for Choi to continue with his shortsighted “end justifies the means” leadership approach with the council.

You don’t have to be a bean counter to understand that we’ve been taxed to the hilt by Edison’s all-Democratic rule over the past 12 years. The current 2005-06 budget alone has a whopping 15 percent tax increase built in.

Are there smarter and better ways to do things, improve productivity, reduce inefficiency and lessen the tax burden in this town? Yes, of course, but that won’t come to fruition with the current political discourse and banter. Seems that assertiveness in expressing one’s position has given way to abrasiveness all around. That’s too bad for us.

The best decisions about the future of Edison will come from the differing opinions of all concerned — Mayor Choi, the council and the people of Edison themselves. That requires open government. What’s going on now in Edison isn’t open government; it’s open Democratic Party feuding.

Political grandstanding, personal attacks and all this “he said-she said” about the fiscal health of the township is just counter productive and only serve the interests of Choi and the council in their internal feuding. Shouldn’t they be dealing with and focusing on the issues that affect our interests? There’s certainly enough issues waiting for them to address.

Let’s hope that Mayor Choi and the council find some common ground real soon or at least remember the outcome of Tyson vs. Holyfield — one lost the fight and the other part of his ear.

Ralph Bucci

Edison Township