Russell, Newman attacks are budget distractions
In the last couple of weeks, some Republican members of the Township Council, Mayor Stephen Acropolis and Township Attorney Jean Cipriani (of county Republican Chairman George Gilmore's law firm) have intimated that Councilwoman Kathy Russell has committed an ethics violation, but won't pursue it and are now discussing the Brick Township Municipal Utilities Authority's (BTMUA) gross incompetence for not billing former Mayor Dan Newman.

Nothing will come of the BTMUA situation either, simply because you can't charge interest for your own gross incompetence. This is business law as well.

These distractions are meant to hide the fact that Mayor Acropolis and the council have approved a 9.6-cent municipal tax increase. The increase would have been greater, but the surplus was drawn down to $29,000. In all other years, the surplus was in the millions. Here's hoping we don't have an emergency!

This is the same Councilman Acropolis and council that approved the budgets over the years. The mayor recommends a budget, and it's the council's responsibility to approve the budget or to make changes. All of this comes on top of a county tax increase of 3.4 cents and a school tax increase of 9.8 cents. The Brick taxpayers are looking at a combined tax increase of 22.8 cents.

Some of the debts Mayor Acropolis and certain members of the council have been responsible for include the purchase of Foodtown, Traders Cove and Civic Plaza. The debt payments become part of the budget.

In 2007 the budget was balanced by utilizing school deferral payments and other oneshot gimmicks as in past years.

Because the school deferrals reached the maximum allowed by law in 2007, if there wasn't a school tax increase in 2008, the town wouldn't be able to count on deferring any additional payments to balance the budget for 2008.

The town can elect to defer up to 50 percent of the amount to be raised by taxes for the school budget. As it turned out, the Brick school budget asked for an increase of $11 million. The town council only trimmed $100,000, so Mayor Acropolis can elect to defer almost $5.5 million for the 2008 town budget. For each $468,000 of expenditures, a tax increase of 1 cent is needed. If the school payment wasn't deferred in 2008, an additional 11.75 cents would be needed to balance the budget. In his position as councilman, Acropolis approved the maximum school deferral payments allowed by law.

2009 is an election year for mayor and three council seats. The mayor already has received a big setback with so many residents signing the petition to place the Ocean Ice Palace on the ballot, and now Mayor Acropolis has presented the taxpayers with a big tax increase. Obviously, the mayor thinks it's better to move the taxpayers' attention away from the issues he's created.
Joseph Lamb Sr.
Brick