Resident Mort Lipetz, a longtime resident of Holmdel, wrote this letter on Jan. 29  to Mayor Patrick Impreveduto and the Township Committee. He said he received a handwritten note back from the mayor, acknowledging his suggestions. Lipetz shared his letter with Holmdel Patch on Feb. 8.

TO: The Mayor and Township Committee

FROM: Mort Lipetz

You recently asked residents to come up with ideas/recommendations for offsetting the looming $3M budget shortfall. Our recommendations and comments follow.

• We like the idea of rezoning the Route 34 properties for retail use. That area already has a number of businesses such as a gas station, auto body shop, defunct restaurant, several farm and nursery-related stores and a mega agricultural retail “warehouse” so any rezoning would be in keeping with the character of what is already there. Also, bringing more traffic to that area might revive the restaurant. Using similar reasoning, extending this retail zone east along Route 520 should also be considered.

• We also like the idea of vigorously pursuing additional office buildings along Holmdel-Keyport Road from Route 520 to Roberts Road.

• Commercial/retail development along Route 35 to expand the current retail/commercial areas should be vigorously pursued.

• Sell the three Plum Lane building lots and any similar lots owned by the township.

• Reduce the size of the police force and its overhead somewhat more and actively look to combine both the police department and court with those of other towns.

• Take sharper look at reducing the Town Hall staff.

• Reduce all municipal employee paid holidays to no more that those normally given in the private sector, we believe that is ten. We do not see any reason why all of those extra days off with pay are justified, especially now.

• Eliminate Township Committee salaries and any benefits you may be getting. It may not amount to that much but every little bit helps and it would set a good example.

• Last but definitely not least, we oppose any increase in our property taxes. If this ultimately necessitates selling or leasing some of the Cross Farm land, so be it.

Our property taxes have risen just about every year we’ve been here which indicates that we have a situation where neither the Board of Education nor the Township Committee (TC) has had the desire to live within our means. It is high time that you both learned to do so. Over the years neither body appeared to be concerned about keeping a tight lid on costs. Municipal employees (including police) and their benefits seemed to increase steadily.  The TC was finally forced to act by extraordinary circumstances resulting in leaner and more efficient operations. This begs the question why there was so much “fat” in these operations before the recent reductions and how much did this unnecessary staff cost the taxpayers over the years?.

Similarly, it should have been obvious to the DiMaso administration beginning in 2008 that a budget crisis was coming since Holmdel was running consistent deficits. Instead of prudently reducing costs early on and looking to boost revenue as our current Administrator has now suggested, the deficits were covered up with one-time band-aids and gimmicks, hiring continued and “the can was kicked down the road”.  

The current Impreveduto administration appears to be fixated on increasing taxes and/or selling open space. It proposes to spend time and energy convincing taxpayers to agree to the folly of  “a one-time modest tax increase”, which will provide a higher base from which to raise taxes yet again next year and the year after. Instead it should do what is necessary to reduce township expenditures further. Only if necessary, should a minimum amount of land be sold to avoid a tax increase while spending cuts continue and you increase our commercial ratables. We also feel strongly that should land need to be sold, the enabling ordinance should specify only those parcels to be sold now, the three Plum Lane lots and the ten acres of Cross Farm. It should not be a blanket authorization for the Township Committee to sell anything else. Any future sales should be separately discussed and authorized.

Governor Christie gave us a 2% cap on property tax increases to prevent just this kind of tax increase. We haven’t heard any good reasons to exceed it.

In closing let us point out that not everyone living in Holmdel is wealthy. Many are of modest means, some are retired and live on fixed incomes in modest homes. To them, a $400-500 increase in their property taxes is not, in the mayor’s words, “modest” at all especially when they will have to pay it every year thereafter, and it is in addition to the inevitable Board of Ed tax increases.

We hope this has been helpful to you and that you heed what we have said.

PS. In retrospect one is also forced to ask why the previous DiMaso administration dragged its feet and seemed to have no sense of urgency in its discussions/negotiations with Somerset Development in regard the former Bell Labs site. Somerset on several occasions warned that time was running out and that there needed to be more progress, yet there didn’t seem to be any. The administration appeared to spend more energy on partisan political maneuvering and maintaining secrecy about what it was doing (or not doing)  than in moving the process forward. To say that it looked as if there was no one in charge is an understatement. Are we now paying the price for that indecisiveness and apparent lack of urgency?