Roughly 50 days until election day in New Jersey. Both parties in town field candidates for mayor and two open Borough Council positions. Which party has the best ideas for where Merchantville finds itself today? Taxes, a plan for the future, merger, shared services, the downtown, west end, etc. No punches below the belt please!
32 comments:
Thank you for a post about something other than merger. What do these gentleman stand for and why is this the election of "a lifetime"?. Is Brunton still running?
Thank you for a post about something other than merger. What do these gentleman stand for and why is this the election of "a lifetime"?. Is Brunton still running?
Speaking of "merger", neither candidate supports a merger -- according to each.
Brunton's out, and we have a new Republican candidate.
Mayor North wrote in his letter to the community:
"In closing, I am fairly certain that a majority if not all Members of both Merchantville and Cherry Hill councils believe a Study to be a potentially good thing. It would provide a clear and honest look at the realities of the financial standing of both communities and the expected commitment that each community needs to make to remain independent or consolidate."
Does this mean he is in favor of a Study Commission or only that he thinks the Council is? The second sentence appears to support the Study as it praises a Study as an "honest look."
Perhaps the mayor was alluding to the rumors he rebutted when suggesting a Study as an "honest look."
It is clearly not meant sarcastically, ktbfw. The entire letter is in earnest, painstaking review of the timeline.
I think it means he supports it as "potentially" good. In other words, the paragraph is written so that the Mayor could take either position (for or against a Study Commission) without contradicting himself. It's a non-committal, committal.
That letter was nothing but smoke and mirrors. If he and council honestly thought it might benefit the town to have a study or if any of them were pro-merger, a resolution authorizing the commission would be on tonight's agenda instead of this "well, i want to see what Cherry Hill's mayor wants to do" crap. They did their duty in Cherry Hill and passed it unamimously. Why is this so difficult for our council?
The study is OVER. The Petitioners have moved on to other things. Every member of council is against merger- this thing is finally blowing over.
What are the campaign issues?
Aside from the merger, the big issues are:
- tax rate. Should the local government cut far beyond what it has already cut thereby reducing the quality of life in the borough OR is there plenty of fat in the budget which could easily be cut without affecting the quality of life.
- redevelopment - Should local governemnt actively pursue the redevelopment of blighted properties, sometimes at an initial cost to the taxpayers OR should it just let blighted properties rot, dragging down the rest of the community
- high school - This has morphed into the merger issue. The merger is the best possibility in decades that this could problem could be solved.
Mental Exercise Linked to Faster Dementia Decline
REUTERS 9/1/2010 5:56:04 PM ET
While staying mentally active in old age has been linked to a delayed onset of dementia, seniors who engage in such brain "exercise" may actually have a faster rate of decline once Alzheimer's is diagnosed, researchers reported Wednesday.
The findings, published online in the journal Neurology, do not mean that a mentally stimulating lifestyle is a bad thing.
Instead, the researchers suspect that their findings may point to the "cost" of delaying Alzheimer's onset by keeping the mind active with hobbies, reading, crossword puzzles and the like.
That is, once these mentally active older adults are showing the signs of dementia and are ultimately diagnosed, they may have a more advanced stage of brain damage compared with less mentally active seniors.
This idea fits in with the "cognitive reserve" hypothesis of dementia. That theory basically holds that people who are mentally active can better withstand the gradual brain-cell damage that marks Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. But once that damage reaches a certain threshold, dementia symptoms will become apparent.
Dementia diagnosed later
So mentally active older adults may develop dementia later than those who "exercise" their brains less often. But once they do develop it, they are in a more extensive state of brain damage.
That, at least, is "the working hypothesis," said Dr. Charles B. Hall, a researcher at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. Hall was not involved in the current study, but is researching the connection between cognitive activities and dementia.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38961742/ns/health-alzheimers_disease/
Relating this research to the proposed Merchantville / Cherry Hill merger, I would guess that a Consolidation Study might cause the "more extensive state of brain damage" as the authors suggest. What do you think, Alice?
[Cruiser: tax rate. Should the local government cut far beyond what it has already cut...]
Cruiser, you are trying to bait us.
The local government has made no significant cuts in recent years. But we will let you speak. Name one significant cut.
Mental 'exercise' linked to faster dementia decline
REUTERS 9/1/2010 5:56:04 PM ET
While staying mentally active in old age has been linked to a delayed onset of dementia, seniors who engage in such brain "exercise" may actually have a faster rate of decline once Alzheimer's is diagnosed, researchers reported Wednesday.
The findings, published online in the journal Neurology, do not mean that a mentally stimulating lifestyle is a bad thing.
Instead, the researchers suspect that their findings may point to the "cost" of delaying Alzheimer's onset by keeping the mind active with hobbies, reading, crossword puzzles and the like.
That is, once these mentally active older adults are showing the signs of dementia and are ultimately diagnosed, they may have a more advanced stage of brain damage compared with less mentally active seniors.
This idea fits in with the "cognitive reserve" hypothesis of dementia. That theory basically holds that people who are mentally active can better withstand the gradual brain-cell damage that marks Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. But once that damage reaches a certain threshold, dementia symptoms will become apparent.
Dementia diagnosed later
So mentally active older adults may develop dementia later than those who "exercise" their brains less often. But once they do develop it, they are in a more extensive state of brain damage.
That, at least, is "the working hypothesis," said Dr. Charles B. Hall, a researcher at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. Hall was not involved in the current study, but is researching the connection between cognitive activities and dementia.
The implication for the proposed Merchantville / Cherry Hill merger is that the Consolidated Study might cause "a more extensive state of brain damage". What do think, Alice?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38961742/ns/health-alzheimers_disease/
Regarding my run for mayor...
I officially resigned my candidacy last Friday.
The requirements of my job have unexpectedly changed to the extent that I would not be able to focus the time and effort on the office of mayor that it requires.
Some may characterize this development as "chickening out" on my part. Not true - I was looking forward to an energetic campaign against Frank North. To have served as Merchantville's mayor would have been a great honor, and I sharply regret having to forgo the opportunity to do so.
But -
The Merchantville Republican Club has identified a new candidate for mayor - one whose honor and integrity is, I believe, unimpeachable. You'll be learning about him between now and election day. If you listen fairly to what he has to say - his stands on the issues, his principles, his ideas and his vision for Merchantville, you might find a lot to like.
Meanwhile, it has been my privilege and my honor to serve the residents as a member of Council over the past nearly three years, and I will continue to do so until my term expires at the end of this year.
Let's all vote Republican for once!
I keep voting Republican and after the election the Republican switches to the Democrats!
They should make no application unless they confirm that the state will pay for it. Haste makes waste.
I think Alice explained that piece comes later.
Alice, you inspired me to start H. W. Brands' biography of Benjamin Franklin. Brands wrote that Franklin "proudly called himself a Briton" conceiving himself and all Americans "to be as fully Britons as the English, Scots and Welsh. He delineated for all who would listen the glorious future of Britain in North America..."
The difference he saw in Britain's constitution was that of America, with its own government, was subject simply of the King and not of Parliament. The Stamp Act (resulting in the Boston Tea Party) was a law by Parliament and therefore mistaken.
Obviously that is not a relationship, or even an anticipated controversy, between Merchantville and Cherry Hill but it brings me towards my point on a consolidation study.
Franklin was called to the Privy Council (body of advisors to the Sovereign composed of senior members of Parliament) by Lord Chancelor Alexander Wedderburn where he, Franklin, was rebuked, vilified and slandered over the American "rebellion".
According to author Brands, that 2-hour meeting reversed the course of American history "at a moment when independence was hardly dreamed of in America ... . He [Franklin] sailed for home still burning with anger and disgust, and immediately took a place at the head of the opposition to British rule. Once the most loyal of Britions, now he became the most radical of Americans, demanding independence and driving the rebellion to a genuine revolution".
Alice, it was not a study which reversed Franklin. It was a rebuke.
ktfbw,
Do you honestly want to stop a Study Commission based upon your limited view of early American history?
Why not place on the blog your basis for opposing the Study Commission? I find it hard to believe that you oppose it because of Benjamin Franklin's decision to join the anti-colonialists or John Adams' complaints to his wife about back room politicking. It certainly can't be because the Constitution Center failed to mention Quakers adequately? Or is that the sum of your opposition?
I don't know of a way to study "ratables" in Merchantville easily. We may however find it useful to look at the changes in assessed values.
The assessed values for all Camden County towns can be found at the Board of Taxation's website here
http://tinyurl.com/23yaoac
There has been no townwide revaluation in Merchantville in the period of Mayor North's term (2006-2010) so the years can be fairly compared to each other.
I am relating the figures but whether they directly correspond to some policy of the Mayor's is something we all can discuss.
The dollar figure is from column a in the Equalization Rate Tables and is the total of assessed property.
2005: $158,328,600
2006: $156,852,100
2007: $157,475,000
2008: $157,894,000
2009: $157,814,400
2010: $157,657,300
So in the first year of Mayor North's term, the assessed value dropped $1.476million. There has been a recovery of value in the amount of $1.205million up to 2010 for a net loss in assessed values of $671,300.
On the BOT website are also tables called "Abstract of Ratables." These break down the assesssed values to their component parts: land, improvements, telephone (which is treated separately for reason Gail can explain very succinctly). The table also shows the assessed amounts currently pending due to exemptions and abatements.
In 2005, the amount pending due to exemptions and abatements was $177,000.
In 2009 ( the last year of the table) the amount pending due to exemptions and abatements was $549,600.
I don't think the numbers cited are the numbers used in the actual local tax rate calculation. In 2006, the last year I was on the school bosrd, I remember the local tax rate being calculated based on about $162 or $163 million of ratables.
They may be the numbers which somehow factor into the county tax rate calculation.
Knowing the correct comparable information for the local tax rate will be of interest in the political side of all of this.
In answer to cruiser's question:
The figure I used is the assessed value of all Real Property.
Because this figure is all real property, it includes an amount for otherwise taxable property that is currently subject to an exemption or abatement. The value of property subject to an exemption or abatement is subtracted out in determining the tax base.
I think looking at all real property assessments best shows us how much the "ratables" have gone up or done in a period. And looking at the property subject to exemption or abatement shows what it cost us in terms of "ratables" to get that change. It also shows what will potentially come onto the tax roles as the exemption or abatement expires.
I did not use the figure for the total taxable base. The total taxable base includes taxable machinery and equipment used in the telephone business. That is why the total tax base is higher than the total real property assessment--as cruiser remembers.
I did not include the value of taxable machinery and equipment because I do not think the value of this property is relevant to the question of whether the policies of the Mayor and Council have increased assessments.
In the past, the Merchantville Taxpayers League selected a location, usually the school library or auditorium, and paid the Camden County League of Women Voters a modest fee to conduct debates among candidates for Mayor & Council and the Board of Education, when there was a contest involved.
Most recently the Taxpayers League attempted to arrange debates among Council candidates in 2007 and again in 2009. In 2007 the Republican candidates (Mark Brunton, Nick DiMatteo, and Steve Volkert) agreed to participate, but the Democrat candidates (Anthony Perno, Kim Kelly, and Christina Wintters) declined. In 2009 we asked Council candidates to participate in a debate and received affirmative responses from Republicans Jim Moore and Monica Sohler. Of the Democrats, Joe Brickley thanked us for the offer, but said a debate did not fit into their campaign plans. The other Democrat candidate, John Alloway, did not respond to several telephone and e-mail invitations. Since the League of Women Voters requires ALL candidates to participate, we could not schedule a debate in 2007 or in 2009.
I agree -- it would be nice to have a debate among the candidates, especially since there will be a contest for the mayor’s seat and 2 council seats. If you can get all 6 candidates to agree to participate, I would be happy to provide you with information on contacting the League of Women Voters. The Merchantville Taxpayers League would even agree to pay the LWV’s fee, which I think is now $100 for a moderator and a timer.
Gail Ford, treasurer, Merchantville Taxpayers League
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