Heavy burden on taxpayers needs to end

It is with some degree of shock and dismay that I opened my South Brunswick municipal tax bill today. Our elected officials should be both ashamed and embarrassed at burdening taxpayers the way that they have during the past few years.

All we read in the press are pronouncements about why expenditures keep going up astronomically. We never read a word about cutting costs, reducing personnel, freezing salaries (or cutting salaries), taking a tough stand in union negotiations, or using common sense recognition in solving the heavy burden on taxpayers.

Government at all levels must change its old spending habits. There is no justification for increasing a school superintendent's salary when he is already being paid over $180,000 for example. Does he really need more money to survive? With added perks and expenses, the cost to South Brunswick's taxpayers probably approaches a quarter of a million dollars! And, it's time to stop buying land at inflated prices from faux developers under the guise of a need for open space. Capital programs should be curtailed drastically. Spending millions of dollars to try and cleanse a contaminated well like that is wasteful. Such wells should be disconnected from the system, shut down, and abandoned.

Will our officials ever learn the difference between what's wasteful and what's wise?

These are difficult times for all taxpayers. More respect should be shown to the working families and retired members of our community. Will the rampant spending spree ever end? We should stop looking to the state of New Jersey for help. They are going down the path of self destruction big time because of their past abuses. In fact, the state's money "well" is drier than our water well is contaminated.

Frank J. Chrinko

Kendall Park section

of South Brunswick