From time to time I will use my blog to communicate what holding elected office means to me; here are some of my random observations after my first 6 months on the job:
1. The elected office is bigger than any person; people come and go but the title of the elected office prevails. Even on the local level, this premise holds true.
2. 2010 being my first year on the Finance subcommittee, I look forward to serving in the same capacity during next year’s municipal budget preparation. I am following our different department’s spending patterns so as we go through this budget cycle next year I will have had the advantage of observing a spending cycle.
3. It has been a busy 6 months- some of the issues that I spent substantial time with included the defeated fire budget, the Wahba hearing, preparing the municipal budget, and the defeated school budget. All of these issues were very important and I could not imagine not giving each issue 110% of my effort and time.
4. The June primaries have resulted in most likely two new committeepersons being sworn to office in January 2011- Vigdis Austad, and Sue Campbell. Congratulations to them both and I look forward to working with them. I have heard some folks grumbling about why Sue and Vigdis haven’t yet attended a committee meeting and I have this to say: I didn’t begin to attend regularly until after the November elections- out of respect for the person I was replacing on the Committee. After November I began getting my involvement with more intensity so I would be able to hit the ground running in January. So Sue and Vigdis- enjoy your nights for now because work awaits you!
5. I am planning on spending the remaining 2010 working on 1) next year’s municipal budget, 2) help the Board of Education- however I can- on completing their addition on time, 3) working with the Land Use Board and Environmental Commission with some ordinances that have been “hanging around” for awhile, 4) continue to work with the Recreation Commission on their projects and programs, and 5) whatever else pops up on the radar.
6. I have begun exploring the options/costs for a “community shred” at one of our household cleanup Saturdays… a shred event for sensitive papers, etc. Some towns do it and I am following up on some internet resources I found. If anyone reading this is a) vehemently opposed to this, or b) is in favor and would like to help, please email me or call 908-797-4140.
7. The online news sources are here to stay. I still subscribe to the Hunterdon Democrat newspaper but I also read the local online news sources- including the comments section which I joking refer to as the peanut gallery. The comment section on the online news provides people with a way to be heard with an option of not revealing one own’s identity; views range from contributory and sensitive, to the inaccurate and hurtful. This anonymity bothers some people, others are indifferent to it, and some ardently support the right to anonymity. I fall into the indifferent category. One thing I’ve learned while a committeeman- my thoughts and decisions are public fodder and are attributed to me- for better or for worse and it would be nice if everyone could contribute to the issues with the same courtesy. I consider “peanut gallery” comments a fact of life, and something that has a place in the public record so type away keyboard cowboys but before hitting “send” I ask that you read what you have typed aloud and imagine saying it at a packed public forum.
8. At the June 7 Board of Ed meeting Rich Cavallaro spoke to the Board about the possibility of a public park at the parcel behind the school that the Board owns. This discussion has sparked the debate about the need / desire to have a public park, and if so, where, and what will it have? The Township Committee has requested that the Land Use Board take the helm on this one and prepare a Recreation Element for our Master Plan. An example of a Recreation Master Plan Element can be found for Hopewell Township here: http://www.hopewelltwp.org/Open_Space-Recreation_Plan_Element.pdf Each town is different, and we have a lot of this information already, it has not been collected and reviewed as a whole. The master plan is considered the guiding document of a municipality and with a Recreation Element we can make sure that any public time or monies that are invested into a park we will know that the decision to do so was made with up to date, accurate information with the recommendations of the Land Use Board. I fully expect the Recreation Commission to have a say in the preparation of this Element so stay tuned.
Overall, I am truly enjoying being a Committeeman. The subject matter is exciting, the work is for a good cause. As always, I want to hear what you have to say so speak up, it is your right.
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