Our commitment to Cranbury

[Jay T.]

Dan and I sent the following letter to the Press this week. We both appreciate the support, input and comments received here on this forum, in our town and from friends. To that end, we wanted to post our letter here outlining our commitment to fellow residents.

As the campaign season draws to an end, we felt it would be useful to our friends and neighbors if we summarized our positions. Our principles are based on open government and accountability.

Open government begins with open communication. The Township Committee liaison to the board of education will be asked to make a monthly report on issues facing the school. At the same time, the liaison will make sure the Board of Education is aware of the issues facing the town. Open government means we will not use closed door meetings unless they are a last resort and mandated for purposes that strictly cannot be discussed in public such as personnel.

Our residents will be kept up to date regarding our town finances and encouraged to offer input. A financial summary will be presented on a monthly basis during the township meetings. For those who cannot attend the meetings there will be a financial section in our quarterly township newsletter. Every resident will be heard and since the numbers are transparent we hope to generate new ideas for savings.

Presently, we have 21 million in debt and16% of our budget goes to debt service. This will be considered when we look at projects and resident input will be sought.

We will proactively explore all alternatives when making decisions that impact residents. This year sewer rates were tripled. Win Cody was the only member of the committee who opposed the increase. We agreed with Win and challenged the rate increase because we did not feel it was properly investigated. Recently, a review was started to determine whether the commercial properties that came on line east of Rt. 130 are paying fees equal to their obligation. We will not rush to implement a decision that has such an impact on you.

We will look at how our town attracts commercial rateables. This means we will review the area East of Rt.130. We are open to a review of the master plan to determine how the town can benefit in the long term by attracting new businesses.

We will fight Consolidation and COAH along with our assembly and senate representatives. We will work with Senator Baroni who endorsed us and has been an advocate for our town. Decisions will be made in consideration of the effect on the community and residents. The 130D site is a prime example of this balance. In 2008 a petition was circulated asking people to support the residents of Cranbury Estates. The petition asked to keep open space bordering Ryan Rd, emergency vehicle access only, and no more than 29 units of housing. We were among the first to sign the petition and we spoke out in support before we decided to run because we felt it was the right thing to do. In addition, we encourage a slow build process and not rush to develop 29 units. Above all we believe in the need to work with our legislature to change COAH first and only build as need merits.

We will focus on speeding and traffic. We know the dangers of Old Trenton Road. We understand the Evans Tract is a cut through and speeding occurs. On Main St. we need to enforce the 25mph speed limit. Our plan is to work with all neighborhoods and the police to rectify these problems. We will make ourselves available to residents who want to raise a concern or bring forth a possible solution.

In the end, we want to see transparency, openness and accountability at the committee level. We want residents to know their input is valued. On November 3 you have a choice and we would ask you to please vote for Dan Mulligan and Jay Taylor.

Feel free to visit our website www.mulligantaylor2009.com.

Sincerely,

Dan Mulligan and Jay Taylor