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Health & Fitness

A letter from a respected friend: Actions speak louder than words in town administration

Parsippany town meetings are usually not well attended, unless there is a “big issue”. A small number of residents really inform themselves about each town issue. One of these residents is Pat Petaccia, a person who researches and pays close attention to the functions of town government.

 

She feels, as I do, that choosing a mayor should be about choosing a person who will do things to help Parsippany, rather than making decisions for personal gain or political expedience.

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She recently wrote me a letter that clearly expresses this, and has given me permission to quote it here:

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Tuesday, November 5th is Election Day. I can't stress enough how important it is for all registered voters of Parsippany to get to the polls and cast their votes. This is your chance to pick a Mayor who “you” believe is best qualified, who has the interest of Parsippany and it's residents in his heart and soul. We should remember that America is the “land of the free” this means “we” have the freedom to make these choices without fear or intimidation. It also means we can vote for any candidate we believe is the best qualified whether it be Republican, Democrat, Independent, etc.

One of the things I find disingenuous is being asked to vote along party lines. We should all be voting for the candidate who we feel is the best qualified (nothing more nothing less).

Mayor Barberio has created a lot of controversy in our town. As a resident who regularly attends town council meetings I can attest to this. Here are some of the issues to consider:

1.      Transparency- in Parsippany means we only hear what Mayor Barberio wants  residents to know:

Example 1- Mayor Barberio was part of Field of Dreams committee, which was in existence for almost a year before some council members and the public learned about it and started asking questions.

Example 2- leniency letter- Mayor Barberio denied to the press that he asked the courts for leniency for a resident arrested with 8 pounds of marijuana. The letter was OPRA'd and it confirmed that not only did the Mayor write the letter; he wrote it on township letterhead.

Example 3- A fully loaded Ford Explorer was purchased for the chief of police. Instead the Mayor took possession of the vehicle for his use. When asked why he had the vehicle Mayor Barberio did not respond. However, Council VP Vincent Ferrara's response was “The Mayor works hard and should be driving a safe vehicle and any vehicle he wants”.

That's looking out for the taxpayers? As far as I know, no other Mayor of Parsippany needed such a luxury.

2.      Ordinances- Mayor Barberio has had two very important ordinances changed that affect Parsippany drastically. These are regarding Open Space and Occupancy. The changes made were in my opinion to benefit the Mayors personal agenda and do not reflect what is in the best interest of “ALL” Parsippany residents.

3.      Economic Development Committee- was formed before Mayor Luther left office. Resident Tom Wyka was appointed by Mayor Luther to be on this committee. Mr. Wyka at town council meetings questioned Mayor Barberio as to when the committee was going to be meeting. Mayor Barberio's response was “when your term ends”. I guess Tom's term must have ended because Mayor Barberio is now putting a committee together. Because of personal feelings Mayor Barberio let 3 ½ years pass by. Could this committee have brought business into town during those 3 ½ years? I guess we will never know.

4.      Sewer Surplus- Mayor Barberio has used a total of $1,800,000 of sewer surplus monies in his budgets in the last 3 years. The Mayor is robbing Peter to pay Paul. It shows us the Mayor has made no effort to find additional ways of cutting cost with the knowledge that this surplus exists and is at his disposal. However, the Mayor reduced rates (once again during an election year) so we will have to wait and see. The real problem here is that the water/sewer utility is a self-sustaining facility and its surplus should not be touched for anything other than the needs of the facility. Now he is borrowing money to do needed capital projects on the utility facility so the taxpayers will be paying interest on loans because the money residents paid in water/sewer fees went towards a budget that the Mayor could claim was a no-increase budget!

5.      Terry Bradshaw- Mayor Barberio contracted for $20,000 to promote Parsippany without fully researching the company. The rubber stamp council approved it- also without investigating the company's claims. After residents requested more information, the township attorney – at whatever cost- was able to void the contract.

6.      Lawsuits- There is a number of them. However, workplace lawsuits (Town Hall, Police Department, etc) show me the Mayor is not paying attention to town employees’ concerns or he just doesn't care.

7.      0% tax increase for 2013- the same old game-no increase during an election year. Are we going to fall for that? Actually instead of cutting spending the Mayor used hundreds of thousands of dollars of the township’s sewer surplus (550,000.00)-banked money to be used in an emergency- to balance his zero increase budget, which means it isn't zero at all. And, since the Mayor didn't use the 2% in 2013 it gets carried over to 2014. That means in 2014 the Mayor & council can increase our taxes up to 4% or possibly more. It is my opinion that a drastic tax increase is in store for next year.

8.      Office of Emergency Management- (OEM) – Mayor Barberio advised the town council and residents that OEM should be part of the police department. In making this move the Mayor stated that there would be no extra cost to the taxpayers, since it would be one of Chief DeZenzo's responsibilities. Less than two months later Mayor Barberio wanted to promote Lt. Storm to Captain and put OEM under his leadership. Most council members opposed this and even suggested changing the ordinance to limit the number of captains in the Parsippany P.D. (this has since been done). Also, those council members who opposed the promotion (Mr. Carifi, Mr. Vigilante and Mr. dePierro) requested that the Mayor not make the promotion until council members had a chance to question the chief and possibly come up with other ideas. Mayor Barberio promised he would wait. A week later prior to the scheduled town council meeting Mayor Barberio promoted Lt. Storm to Captain. During the council meeting the three council members named above expressed their disbelief that the Mayor broke his promise to wait. So basically what happened here is the Mayor did not keep his word to council members and the public and it did cost the taxpayers' money - the difference between Lt and Captain’s salary, plus a car. The irony here is that Captain Storm took the position and then retired shortly afterward. His pension increased due to that promotion (thank you Mayor B.).

9.      Lake Hiawatha – Two years after Superstorm Irene we still have residents displaced. Where is the caring Mayor with the help for the town and people he keeps saying he loves?

10.  Waterview – the bullying and misinformation from the Mayor and township attorney John Inglesino during this process was unprecedented. Again, in my opinion the Mayor deceived the public by not disclosing all information ie: environmental concerns, traffic etc.

These are just a few of the things that I have seen (there are many more).  Given Mayor Barberio’s track record of doing the wrong thing for Parsippany, I am disappointed that the MCRC would fund such a campaign.  Elections should be more about the person than the party – especially at the municipal level. The mayor of Parsippany won’t be declaring war or deciding the abortion issue so party is irrelevant. The decision about who to vote for should be based on education, skills, character and track record.

When you go to the polls on November 5th ask yourself:

·         Do we continue with a mayor who feels it is not necessary to share information with council members and the public?

·         Do we need a mayor who doesn't answer tough questions, one who has the town attorney speak on his behalf when explanations are needed?

·         Do we need a mayor who has bullied residents when they don't agree with him, a mayor who when quoted by the press denies saying things or states “that's not what I meant”, a mayor who now has such an inflated ego he thinks he can say and do anything he wants?

·         Do we want a mayor who won't debate the issues but has the time and money to try and smear his opponent’s name (sorry it's not working)?

·         Do we want a mayor who has shown an incredible lack of leadership and has used taxpayer’s dollars for a paid mouthpiece – the township attorney?

·         Do we want a mayor who has untold dollars at his disposal to hire a high-priced public relations firm to speak for him, run his campaign and spin information for him and against his opponent?

Mayor Barberio can get all the endorsements he wants but what matters is what Parsippany residents think as we are the ones who will be affected by his decisions.

Is another term of Mayor Barberio what Parsippany really needs? I urge all Parsippany residents to get out and vote on November 5th. Be informed and make your choice. I know this Republican will be voting for Mr. Nelson.

Pat Petaccia

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