ARTICLE: Keeping Garwood Affordable Together

Keeping Garwood Affordable Together

Real leadership means being honest with everyone about how we keep Garwood affordable for current and future residents.  This is what Karina Boto, Sean Foley and I are committed to doing if we’re elected.

Three years into my service on the Council, I’ve seen the hard work and painstaking detail which goes into crafting our municipal budget.  Garwood’s professionals, together with the Council Members serving on the Finance Committee, spend many days each year reviewing every budget line.  Last year, I was proud to cast the deciding vote in favor of the 2022 budget after serving on Finance.  That budget reflected the values shared by each Garwood Democratic candidate who has been elected: Hold the line on taxes as much as possible, make tough decisions to control costs, and invest responsibly for the future of Garwood.

Inflation and rising costs affected municipal budgets this year the same way they affected your wallets at home.  When seeking your vote, candidates must be honest with residents about the budget challenges Garwood faces in the next few years, while clearly stating concrete and specific plans for how they want to overcome them.  For Garwood to remain affordable while continuing to invest in its future, we not only need to control annual costs, but also must consider structural changes to municipal services.  Identifying alternative revenue sources and implementing regular reviews of fees and permit costs will help, but that alone will not be enough.  The next Council must work together answering tough questions like: What services are best provided locally?  What services are best shared?  Can any service be eliminated?

For example, discussions I had with the Council’s finance team and borough administrator about our Municipal Court this year helped lead to a shared service agreement with Fanwood which splits the cost of a court administrator, but allows the employee to serve both towns fairly.   Council Members must be level-headed and fully engaged with our residents and professionals when having difficult conversations like I did about the court.  We cannot afford to kick the can further down the road while speaking in generalities.

Finally, our team will continue to push for a complete return of Energy Tax Funding to Garwood.  This year, we were joined in this advocacy by Mayors and Council Members in over 400 municipalities across New Jersey.  A full restoration of this funding, which was diverted by the state legislature decades ago, will go a long way towards stabilizing property taxes and allowing future Councils to keep Garwood affordable. 

In a nutshell, this is our team’s plan for affordability while maintaining top notch services.  Karina, Sean and I believe in earning your vote by laying all of this out in a transparent manner.  You deserve to hear more than what we “need” to do.  You deserve to hear “the what and the how.”  Tough economic times call for tough decisions, and our team is ready to make them.

Councilman Vincent Kearney Garwood Council Candidate