Candidates offer solutions to increased taxes, shoaling
ELECTION 2008
By Kelly Skellinger
The Coast Star
The candidate elected to fill the available council seat on Belmar’s governing body in this November’s general election will be expected to work alongside the mayor and council over the next few years to develop short- and long-term solutions to several problems currently facing the governing body, including higher tax rates and increased shoaling at the Shark River Inlet.
Thomas Volker, Democratic candidate for council, and Richard Wright, Republican candidate for council, will battle for the single, three-year term on the council this November.
The available council seat is currently being held by Councilman William Merkler, the lone Republican seated at the dais of Belmar’s governing body.
His term is scheduled to expire on Dec. 31.
While Councilman Merkler was backed by the Belmar Republican Committee and he ran uncontested for the Republican nomination in the June GOP Primary, the councilman decided not to seek re-election two weeks ago, citing the increased time demanded by his business.
In turn, Mr. Wright was nominated by the Belmar Republican Committee to take his place as the Republican nominee.
Both Mr. Volker and Mr. Wright were recently presented with a set of four questions pertaining to the election and asked to answer the questions in 175 words or less.
The last two questions, relating to tax rate hikes and shoaling at the Shark River Inlet, appear below, along with the candidates’ answers. Candidate answers appear verbatim.
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Q:With the cost of pensions and salaries on the rise, do you feel you are qualified to make the cuts necessary to keep the municipal tax rate low? What steps would you take to save taxpayers money?
A: VOLKER: In addition to my management background, my wife and I operate a B&B, so I work every day keeping costs low, while maintaining high quality. The borough’s portion of our tax bill is 37 percent and that levy is only 16 percent higher than it was in 1990. The mayor and past councils have been able to achieve that by reducing our full-time employee count from 94 to 67 over that time. I wish the state was managed as effectively as Belmar. While we need to continue to cut costs wherever we can, the biggest opportunity keeping taxes down is by sharing services with other towns, and I would work to pursue every opportunity in this area. The state also must be more realistic when considering aid cuts to towns like Belmar that are actively seeking to share services with other communities.
A: WRIGHT: The difficult economic environment will put great pressure on public sector budgets. Belmar should expect even larger cuts in state support. We need to anticipate that our local economy will also be impacted. Now is the time to start identifying marginal programs and services which can be delivered more efficiently or suspended. Other towns have adopted four-day work weeks in order to reduce the energy cost of operating their municipal building. In order to be able to maintain the jobs for all our employees, we should sit done with their union representatives and explore revising certain benefits and sharing the cost of their benefits. Longevity pay, automatic promotions, paid holidays, retirement age, health care costs and more need to be reconsidered. Belmar should also use the fiscal pressure being felt by every municipality to break the political logjam known as home rule to make regionalization of services happen.
Years of financial experience in budget management during both economic expansion and contraction qualify me to manage the municipal budget for lower tax rates.
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Q: While the Army Corps of Engineers has attempted to thwart the shoaling of the Shark River at the Shark River Inlet by dredging on numerous occasions, the shoaling problem is not going away and continues to create dangerous rip currents for swimmers and dangerously low tides for boaters entering and exiting the inlet.
If you were elected as councilman, what steps would you take, if any, to correct the shoaling problem there?
A: VOLKER: Belmar has made a major investment in improving our marina, and it’s essential that the inlet be safe for boaters. My fellow members of the Belmar Harbor Commission and I have been pressing the Army Corps of Engineers to expedite completion of their study on the causes of the shoaling. Congressman Frank Pallone has been very helpful in this regard. Some suspect that the cutting of the jetties some years ago is contributing to the problems. But we can’t keep reacting to the problem with emergency dredging responses. We need a long-term solution to this problem, and I will work with Congressman Pallone’s office to get this done.
A: WRIGHT: After another reported incident of large swells pitching a commercial boat into a severe yaw, we must immediately press the Army Corps of Engineers to return as often as necessary to maintain the safety of the many recreational and commercial boaters who pass through the Inlet everyday. And this needs to be a joint effort with our neighboring towns of Neptune, Neptune City and Avon.
Immediately, we need to get from the Corps their promised findings as to the causes of the shoaling and their recommendations. Dredging every six months is not considered normal and the funding for that expense is not likely to continue for very long. Notching of the jetties during the beach replenishment is suspected by many as the underlying cause. Experts on beach replenishment suggested at the time that the notched jetties would allow sand to move north along the beach and not be swept offshore. That may still be true, but shoaling and rip tides may have been the unintended consequences.
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Voters can cast their votes for their candidate of choice on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 4, from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
There are four polling locations in Belmar.
District One and District Five voters can vote at the Goodwill Firehouse, located at 610 7th Avenue, in Belmar. District Two voters can vote at the Union Firehouse, located at 9th Avenue and E Street, in Belmar.
District Three voters can vote at the Volunteer Hook and Ladder House, located on 11th Avenue, in Belmar. District Four voters can vote at the Borough Public Works building, located at 800 13th Avenue, in Belmar.
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