Hutchison and Schmidt Vote Again to Put Politics Before Progress

Would Rather Failed Trenton Politicians Do Job For Them

While the rest of the Gloucester Township Council voted on accepting the Township's budget as part of the next step in the mandatory budget process in order to apply for state aid, candidates Dan Hutchison and Frank Schmidt,  chose to be the lone "No" votes, despite the fact that with the exception of contractual obligations, price increases and additional mandates, the document was comprised of expenditures equal to or below those that their party-controlled Council approved last year and does not drastically impact any essential township service.

As if their unwillingness to accept their elected duties in the budget process wasn't enough, in a shameless display of political theater and hypocrisy, Hutchison used the process to go on a well-recited tirade of recycled campaign talking points, disregarding the fact that he had just voted to ignore the very budget on which he was harping.

While it is fair to assume Hutchison was only doing what the Norcross-machine demanded of him, it is nonetheless disheartening that he chose to use an issue as important as Township services and taxpayers' livelihood as the vehicle to do his and his political bosses' bidding.

Said Mayor Cindy Rau-Hatton, "A ‘no' vote by the Council simply acknowledges their refusal to accept the budget and, thus, prevents the process by which the Township can apply for COLA and extraordinary aid.  Continuing to delay the acceptance process not only results in the inability to apply for this aid, but in essence is a vote for the state to take over Gloucester Township by recognizing it as a distressed town."

She added, "Jon Corzine and Dave Mayer severely handicapped a majority of New Jersey towns with their irresponsible policies in Trenton.  It speaks volumes that Hutchison and Schmidt would prefer Trenton politicians to run Gloucester Township rather than govern themselves.  More than anything, I guess their ‘no' vote was based on their lack of confidence in their own ability."

As noted by the Mayor in her presentation, the outstanding issue with this year's budget is the revenue gap the township faces- due in large part to the millions of dollars in lost revenue (which would have ultimately helped lower the tax rate) brought about by the very behavior Hutchison put on full-display.  The Council's insistence on putting politics above progress in Gloucester Township is appalling.