These are difficult times for everyone’s budget. Townships are suffering under the increased burden to provide services to their residents while aid is reduced and county resources take up ratable properties without paying taxes. Belvidere has the highest taxes in Warren County, over $9,000 per $200,000 of property. It is the county seat and has the county courthouse, library headquarters, and various other county buildings, yet it does not get much additional aid from the county. Similarly, Washington Boro has no county roads or buildings and yet has the second-highest tax rate in Warren County. Hackettstown, Phillipsburg, and Pohatcong are not far behind. Warren County needs real property tax relief through reducing the size of government, not with temporary budget fixes and unfair burdening of certain municipalities.

If elected, I will:
1. Require voter approval for bond debt for certain capital projects and capital improvements above a percentage of the county budget and not necessary to the regular maintenance of county facilities. Although Warren County has been conservative with the taxpayers’ money and kept debt low, it is the people’s right to approve debt that they and their children will be paying for.
2. Cut the county budget by reducing the amount of money being put into the capital improvement fund for large capital projects that have not received voter approval and serve only to increase the size of government.
3. Look closely at professional services in the county such as legal and engineering services to assure that we are getting the best value for our dollar and not unnecessarily duplicating services that can be done by a single provider at a cheaper cost.
4. Assist towns that need assistance in consolidating services, but do so without diminishing basic services to the town’s citizens such as safety and health services.
5. Examine county buildings to see if we can improve lease agreements or consolidate and sell facilities to reduce the size of government and put buildings back on the dole as ratable properties.

Due to this difficult economy, businesses have been closing consistently throughout the last year. Harkers Hallow Golf Course, Panther Valley Inn, and Pursel's Agway are among the businesses that have closed within the last few months. In these difficult times, the most important thing to do to help restore the economy and help the people of Warren County is to create sustainable, private industry job growth in Warren County. The way to do this is to understand the needs and opportunities that the current economic environment presents and then to leverage the resources that are available to us to fulfill that need and grab that opportunity. Warren County needs to improve programs to encourage and help small and mid-sized businesses to survive and grow in this county.

If elected, I will:
1. Promote business programs that will create private industry job growth and the development of small and mid-sized businesses.
2. Improve communication among the Freeholder Board, Chamber of Commerce, and various Business Improvement Districts throughout Warren County.
3. Invest greater funds in economic development within Warren County.
4. Activly pursue local contractors and businesses when possible to fulfill county contracts.

Warren County is seeing a resurgence of need for capital money to maintain the county’s aging infrastructure and improve county services. Warren County Community College received $7.4 million in bonded debt to build a satellite school in Phillipsburg. The County Library system is adding a new branch in Independence Township, and the Freeholders continue to seek solutions for the building of the new library headquarters that has failed in the past due to cost overruns. Warren Haven has requested over $5 million to maintain and improve the existing facilities that care for our senior community in Mansfield Township. Finally, the county buildings, roads, and bridges require constant maintenance and upgrading due to deteriorating infrastructure.

If elected, I Will:
1. Use my education as an engineer with a masters degree in technology management focused on project development, budget management, and advanced technology improvement. Jason knows how to manage projects and budgets to maximize efficiency and minimize costs.
2. Use my over 10 years of experience in construction management, capital project development, and infrastructure improvement working with NJ’s power companies and in the largest power plants in the state. Jason has managed multimillion-dollar projects, meeting budget requirements and project goals in the private industry where every dollar is accounted for. He will bring this experience to the freeholder board.
3. Require voter approval for bond debt for certain capital projects and capital improvements above a percentage of the county budget and not necessary to the regular maintenance of county facilities, before the projects are accepted. Although Warren County has been conservative with the taxpayers’ money and kept debt low, it is the people’s right to approve debt that they and their children will be paying for.
4. Put in place a capital planning structure similar to that which is seen in Sussex County, where every project is detailed in its description and cost and the proposed year in which it will be done. This will better allow the public to see what the plans of the Freeholder Board are and where the people’s money will be spent in the future.
5. Hold a special capital project budget meeting to review detailed capital plans for future projects with the public.

To foster greater ethics and honesty in our political system, changes must be made in the way we allow elected officials to hold office, and there must be limits on the power that they can obtain.

If elected, I Will:
1. Not hold any other paid county position other than Freeholder of Warren County nor a board position paid or unpaid that the Freeholder Board oversees.
2. Promote term limits for county officials to foster new ideas and stronger ethics in government and uphold my own personal term limit of two terms as Freeholder.
3. Uphold the highest possible standard of ethics and demand that standard from the people I work with.
4. Improve hiring and appointment practices of the freeholder board.

Moving Freeholder Board Meetings/Streaming Freeholder Meetings on the Internet Freeholder meetings are held only in the Freeholder Board Room regardless of the topic of the meeting or how it affects county residents. Freeholders rarely if ever go to township meetings even in the municipalities they represent.

If elected, I Will:
1. Attend township meetings in my appointed municipalities at least quarterly.
2. Hold freeholder meetings at various locations around the county especially where the issues affect that particular part of the county to get people more involved and more informed about their county.
3. Work towards putting freeholder meetings on the county website similar to the way they are for the state assembly and senate.

WCCC and Technical School and Boards Warren County Community College and Warren County Technical School make up a large percentage of the county operating budget, yet unlike local school boards the taxpayer does not get the opportunity to choose who represents them on these boards. Freeholders appoint some members of the college’s board of trustees and all of the Technical School Board Seats.

If elected, I Will:
1. Propose to allow for the election of some County College and Technical School Board Seats to give the taxpayer the opportunity to elect a person to watch over the education of their children and the use of their money.

Open space continues to be one of the best purchases we can make to maintain property values and reduce the need for additional services and infrastructure that we can not sustain or support in our towns. In Warren County, it is evident the value we put on open space based on the fact that 17 out of 22 municipalities have their own open space tax and often partner with Warren County’s Open Space Fund to keep their areas free of development. It is not only open space that benefits from this money, but also our county’s farmers. Farms are one of the most important resources in the state of New Jersey and our proudest county economic export. We need to continue to help farmers, especially in these difficult economic times, to preserve and protect the lands that bring such value to Warren County.

If elected, I Will:
1. Continue the purchase of open space and farmland to preserve the beauty and rural atmosphere of Warren County.
2. Promote the development and preservation of county farm land.