Mayor can't shift blame

by George Wittmann Jr. (former Dover Township councilman)

I read with interest the recent discussions regarding the meteoric rise in Dover Township taxes proposed by Democratic Mayor Paul Brush. If his latest budget plan is approved, he will have raised our taxes 46 percent in his first two years alone after years and years of virtually no tax increases under Republican administrations.

Brush, an accountant, now claims that the Republicans created false surpluses in the previous years and that is the reason why he is raising our taxes. This would be a ridiculous statement from anyone, but from an accountant it is absurd. Since he proposed the budget and ensuing tax increase, he should not try to hide behind his failure to keep spending in check.

Many politicians try to make things sound complicated, but this is not something that is hard to explain. Dover Township, until the time of Brush's election, had a Republican Township Committee that paid attention to the details and spent less money than was budgeted. This created a budget surplus each year, which was used to stabilize the tax rate.

Brush is not doing his job. He has failed to exercise fiscal discipline. He has excluded the Township Council from early budget deliberations and he has raised political patronage to an art form. Then when the financial fallout hits the fan, he blames others.

He is the mayor. It is his job to formulate a budget that addresses the needs of the township within the confines of our shared finances.

Dover Township needs to have the mayor stop playing his political-blame game and instead roll up his sleeves, eliminating the tax increase by reducing spending, increasing revenue sources and focusing on the details. The taxpayers deserve nothing less.