QUESTION 1:
Taxes are the most important issue this year. After promising to stabilize taxes, the Republican-controlled Committee raised the Township tax 2 years in a row (8.6% hike last year, 5.3% hike this year). With a national economic crisis and price hikes in everything from natural gas to tolls on the Parkway, the people of Barnegat are hurting. Our home values have plummeted while our taxes have skyrocketed. If elected, how will you bring much needed tax relief to the people of Barnegat?
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REPUBLICAN RESPONSE
Matthews/Lisella
Matthews & Lisella did not want to answer this question.
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DEMOCRATIC RESPONSE
Morano/Chiarelli
We believe Barnegat has had enough. And we intend to begin cutting the costs of running our town from the very minute we are elected. Clubhouse-based appointments have cost the taxpayers a small fortune. We think it is time to solicit bids from various professionals so Barnegat can be served cost-effectively. The political patronage system is costly. Millions of dollars are paid to the same old faces. We believe in free-market competition. If a competent professional will work for less than we currently pay, then that is the man or woman we will hire. Taxes in our town are out of control. The Republican majority fails to tell people the whole truth. They refuse to hold the county's feet to the fire and get Barnegat its fair share. When the county broke its promise to build a family recreation area at no additional cost to taxpayers, the Republican clubhouse advocated putting millions of dollars of additional debt onto the backs of Barnegat taxpayers. All because they were afraid to take on their own political clubhouse. We are dedicated to smashing the clubhouse system.
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QUESTION 2:
Barnegat was once the #1 place to live in Ocean County. Now we have plummeted down 13 spots in Ocean County alone, and are currently #270 in the state - according to New Jersey Monthly Magazine. What will you do - if elected - to improve our quality of life so Barnegat can be #1 again?
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REPUBLICAN RESPONSE
Matthews/Lisella
Matthews & Lisella did not want to answer this question.
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DEMOCRATIC RESPONSE
Morano/Chiarelli
Taxes, taxes and more taxes. And what do you get for paying them? Excuses, broken promises and politicians like Thomas Hartman who have cost young families, their children and seniors a small fortune. People are losing their homes to the tax man and that is heartbreaking. The Republican-led leadership of Barnegat's township committee failed to heed the warning of their own tax collector. It was Len Morano and Gene Chiarelli who spoke out when the Melchiondo administration failed to move the budget before the October 1 deadline. Where were the voices of Kenneth Matthews and Martin Lisella?
We need to get the pride back. We need to restore people's confidence in our township committee. Under the misleadership of the Republican majority, our town has become a house divided. And a house divided cannot stand. Too many people are crammed into too little space. It was Morano and Chiarelli who cried out long ago to stop the over-development of our town. The Republicans scoffed at our concerns that the quality of life was deteriorating. Real estate barons were making a fortune because land was being carved into small parcels that allowed three homes to be built on lots that should have only been permitted to have two homes. Martin Lisella is in the real estate business. Martin Lisella and some other real estate salesmen made a huge profit. It was the people of Barnegat who lost. They lost some of the beauty and peacefulness of a town that now has the word "gridlock" in its everyday vocabulary.
We propose an immediate moratorium on all new housing starts. The only thing that should be allowed is the construction of non-objectionable businesses that will ease our neighbors' tax burden. Perhaps if the Hartman-Melchiondo-Cirulli appointed clubhouse professionals were as good as they tell us they are they would have found a way to keep things under control. Kenneth Matthews and Martin Lisella were nowhere to be found when we were speaking out against more new home construction. Sitting as Chairman of Barnegat's Planning Board, Kenneth Matthews bears a major responsibility for the crowded conditions around town.
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QUESTION 3:
Why are Township Committee meetings not televised on our local cable system? If elected, will you have a contract with a cable provider that will give a local channel for Township meetings and Barnegat school sports and student activities? Why can't this be done for the people of Barnegat along with a rate reduction for our senior citizens like other towns have negotiated?
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REPUBLICAN RESPONSE
Matthews/Lisella
Matthews & Lisella did not want to answer this question.
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DEMOCRATIC RESPONSE
Morano/Chiarelli
The answer is because the Republican majority likes to do business in the smoke-filled room clubhouse. Len Morano and Gene Chiarelli do not hide in the shadows. We want people to see what goes on. Cable systems across the country have been offering public access channels for over a decade. I assure you, Morano and Chiarelli believe that we should do everything possible to make government transparent. Televising meetings is only one way. We can have live webcasts so people can offer input from their home or office. This is commonplace technology. We believe that the township committee should not turn its back on the many people who might not be able to attend a meeting because of health, child care or work. We fully support televising all township committee meetings.
The best possible deal should have been negotiated for seniors and others who need a helping hand. Once again, the clubhouse failed our neighbors. If the current cable provider cannot consider the needs of everyone, then out the door they go. There are other cable companies that would welcome the opportunity to do business in our town. And if the clubhouse has a problem with that, then it's just too bad.
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QUESTION 4:
Although our taxes go up each year, the people of Barnegat see little improvements to our infrastructure. Perfectly good sidewalks were ripped up and replaced with new ones in front of property owned by candidate Matthews, ex-Committeeman Novak, and the post office that will soon be leaving the downtown area. These unnecessary sidewalks were paid for by the taxpayer, while some areas have no sidewalks at all. Do you condone this waste of tax dollars, and if elected, how will you address our crumbling infrastructure?
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REPUBLICAN RESPONSE
Matthews/Lisella
Matthews & Lisella did not want to answer this question.
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DEMOCRATIC RESPONSE
Morano/Chiarelli
This type of squandering of public money is inexcusable. It is clear that the self-interests of members of the clubhouse were taken into consideration. That money could have been better spent to build new and improve existing recreation areas thereby avoiding the need to take on more costly debt. The areas that have no sidewalks might expose taxpayers to expensive lawsuits if someone gets injured. And what about our physically-challenged neighbors? It seems as if the greed of some was allowed to override the needs of those who are ill or less fortunate. If Kenneth Matthews were as sincere as he wants voters to believe he is, then he would have stood up and demanded the Hartman-Melchiondo-Cirulli majority reconsider this wasteful project.
Len Morano was the only member of the committee to speak out against the controversial revaluation of homes in 2007. The Republicans all supported this measure that added thousands of dollars to your family's local tax bill. When property values went down, Len and Gene Chiarelli demanded that taxes based on your property's appraised value be reduced. The Hartman-Matthews-Lisella clubhouse opposed this idea. Then, they defaulted on the October 1 deadline and our town might now lose the extra revenue.
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QUESTION 5:
Why does Barnegat have 2 Fire companies and 2 EMS Services? Would you do anything - if elected - to consolidate these or any other services to save operating expenses and equipment costs?
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REPUBLICAN RESPONSE
Matthews/Lisella
Matthews & Lisella did not want to answer this question.
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DEMOCRATIC RESPONSE
Morano/Chiarelli
Because that's the way it has always been. And it might have been fine when we could afford it. But with the cost of living in Barnegat has reached the point where people are losing their homes to the tax man. We believe a comprehensive study of the delivery of emergency services should be done. Len Morano and Gene Chiarelli hold the men and woman of our volunteer emergency services in high regard. We consider each and every one of them to be heroes. Heroes who have saved many lives. Heroes who have protected millions of dollars of property. We know that such dedicated people understand the need to take a look at this issue in the best interests of all who live in Barnegat. By doing this, we can find the money to buy them the best equipment without raising taxes again.
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QUESTION 6:
Over the last few elections, the majority of voters felt that Barnegat needs change. If elected, what would you change in Barnegat...what would you not change?
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REPUBLICAN RESPONSE
Matthews/Lisella
Matthews & Lisella did not want to answer this question.
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DEMOCRATIC RESPONSE
Morano/Chiarelli
Right off the bat we would form a blue-ribbon, bipartisan committee of townspeople to examine the way township services are delivered. A committee of people from all neighborhoods and of all ages and political affiliations. If a certain department is top-heavy with supervisors, we need to change the way it operates. We need workers on the street delivering the services. The overall image of Barnegat is not what it used to be and that troubles us. Crime, drug use and other such things are on the rise. Irresponsible motorists speed through residential neighborhoods endangering life and property. Our school crossing guards do a magnificent job protecting our youngsters. We believe the concept should be extended.
During the 2006 election, the Republicans had police officers directing traffic at certain busy intersections. As soon as they won, the cops disappeared just as all their other promises proved to be worthless. We propose putting part-time employed traffic directors to help ease the congestion that riles tempers and burns high-priced gasoline. We also want to beautify Barnegat. Many of our civic organizations would be happy to work on such efforts if they received some simple assistance from the township committee.
What we would never tamper with is the generosity and goodness of most of Barnegat's residents. Len Morano and Gene Chiarelli will not lie to voters. We will not make irresponsible promises that we know cannot be honored. The two of us are sensitive to all of our neighbors. We know that seniors are on fixed incomes. We also know that many young families are, too. We already enjoy an open and honest relationship with our Board of Education. There is no clubhouse horn-swaggering about it. No phony handshakes just to win a vote. Barnegat is a township that was built on the principles of friendship and caring about the other person. We know many who are reading this have lost faith in local government. We know they have HAD ENOUGH. And that is the rallying call of our campaign.
Last, one thing that will happen the moment we are sworn in an end to the hateful discrimination that has come from town hall. Len Morano and Gene Chiarelli believe that all Americans have a right to live their lives as they choose. So long as they live within the law of the land, government has no right to disenfranchise them. The bigoted statements and policies that have been perpetrated by some elected Republican officials are cruel and abhorrent. They fertilize an environment of insensitivity to some great people who live next door to all of us. People who just want to live their lives in peace and harmony. Polarizing this township is despicable. Len Morano and Gene Chiarelli have spoken out publicly against it. The voices of Matthews and Lisella were silent.
In closing, we ask for your votes on November 4th. We ask you to join many of your neighbors and help close the clubhouse that is killing our town. Do not label us as democrats or politicians. Rather, think of Len Morano and Gene Chiarelli as what we truly are. Your neighbors. Two guys who wave the American flag and never forget what it stands for. Neighbors who understand that one person's problem is every person's problem. That is what Barnegat needs to get back to and we are committed to leading the way.
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