Midland Park November 2, 2011 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 3 Republican Patrick “Bud’ O’Hagan and Russell Kamp, an independent, are vying for the mayor’s position in Midland Park. Republican incumbents Michael Junta and Nicholas Papapietro are being challenged in their bid for reelection to the borough council by Mayor Joseph Monahan, now seeking election to the council as an independent. The Villadom TIMES asked the candidates to respond to the following questions: Why are you seeking the position? What specific plans would you wish to implement if elected? And what would be your priorities in seeking to stay within the 2 percent cap. Their responses follow in alphabetical order: Mayoral, council candidates provide their vision Monahan’s leadership, has done a good job identifying shared service opportunities, but more remains to be done. The goal is to maintain and / or enhance the services that are currently received, but in a cost effective manner. In addition, I would seek to identify infrastructure opportunities paid through enhanced revenue attributed to the attraction of additional quality business. “The two percent cap doesn’t give us much wiggle room to continue to invest in our community’s infrastructure. However, if we are smart about identifying shared service opportunities and grants, we can then utilize the savings and enhanced revenue to provide for more room in our budget. Please go to www.kampmonahan2011.com to view more information on our priorities.” is a compact between the town council and the various departments. We have arrived at operating and capital monies that fulfill the obligations and services to our town without overtaxing our residents. We do not budget in one area and then spend in nonborough functions. For every tax dollar collected, the cost of running Midland Park’ municipal government is just $0.23, including the library and sewer authority; $0.12 is our county assessment and $0.65 is school related. We are not flush with cash. We can only spend what we have, and those monies are non exchangeable. “My opponent’s stated goals are the very same conditions that we have implemented over the past two decades. My opponent for mayor has not one day of experience budgeting, planning and overseeing borough departments. He has no experience in governmental financing or spending. He has never attended any budget workshop meet- ings, and yet he professes to have sound fiscal management. In the nine years he was on the local Board of Education, the budget escalated from $10 million dollars to $15 million dollars. He is also the same person that had said, ‘If residents can’t afford the property taxes, then they should move.’” Mike Junta – Council Candidate “As part of our council team of proven leadership, I have worked very hard over the past three years, and often with challenge, to keep our great town debt free, making decisions I feel were in the best interest of everyone in town. Along with the other five council members, I have worked diligently to keep Midland Park’s finances under control so as not to mortgage our children’s future with today’s debts. With new state laws and much tighter budgets, we must check and double check every penny we (continued on page 8) Russell D. Kamp Candidate for Mayor “I believe that Midland Park is at a crossroads between desiring quality services and infrastructure development and being able to pay for them. I believe that I possess the skills to help Midland Park navigate through these difficult economic times, and I very much look forward to finding effective and efficient ways to work with the residents, business community and our neighboring towns to achieve this critical objective. “I would first review each budgeted item to see if there is an opportunity to leverage an existing capability elsewhere in our community or in neighboring towns. The Midland Park Council, under Mayor Patrick “Bud” O’Hagan Candidate for Mayor “The core issue in this year’s election comes down to experience versus someone who has not served on any town council, electoral seat or support committees. The challengers do not respect the current council membership nor the time and effort it takes to be good community leaders. They have termed our duties as volunteer positions. “I have been involved with service to the people of Midland Park since 1980. Knowing how office departments function, how Police, Fire, Recreation and our D.P.W. provide necessary services is essential to lead our borough into the future. Today’s budget