Photo: Mitch Geier and wife Betsy
with dogs
Chey (left) and Jack (right)
(we have 3 dogs 2 cats 4 birds and 1 lizard)
Mitch Geier
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Photo: Mitch Geier and wife Betsy Mitch Geier |
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Why am I involved againAfter injuring my back during an animal rescue I decided not to run for office again. That was until the township committee not only abused their power but flagrantly abused it to hurt on of our best police officers. The actions of the committee not only affected the police officer but also his two children and his wife who has cancer. (click this link for the full story). and (this link for a press article). After working hard to get him reinstated he issued this letter of endorsement (due to new developments this is the un-redacted version). This continued abuse and political retribution has extended not only to the officer but many other community members. If you cross the administration you might get 30 summonses issued and a helicopter flying over your property taking photos. It is essential that you the voters put a watchdog on the committee to stop the abuse and monitor what is happening behind closed doors. I am that watchdog. I do not take campaign contributions from people who want jobs or contracts with the township. The others in those positions have taken monies through their PAC (Political Action Committee) and award these jobs to firms who contribute to their cause. Did I Sue PlumstedThe Dancer regime using their standard tactics to tarnish the name of any opposition would have you believe I sued the town for monetary gain. That is not true! You see Dancer has a wonderful propaganda machine and controls most of the information you receive. The truth is that I requested public documents from the township on more than one occation and was inappropriately denied that information. (You see they have a lot to hide and want to make it as difficult as possible for you to find out.) After being denied those documents the requests went to court (this complaint is called a law suit). The court ordered in both cases that I receive the requested documents and also awarded me my legal fees in the first case we are waiting ro the ruling in the 2nd case with respect to fees. I never took the legal fees from the town even though the suit was filed to protect the taxpayers I do not want your money I am just trying to clean up a corrupt abusive governing body. To read the transcript of the first case click here. Here we go againOctober 9 2009 Plumsted again refused to turn over public information I requested. Yet again I have had to resort to the court system to get the requested information. Click Here for the Press release. and Click Here to see the paperwork filed with the courts. Need I say more! Issues that must be addressedSkyrocketing Property Taxes
· Property taxes in Plumsted Township increased 23% in 2009! (from the prior year) · Property taxes in Plumsted increased 95% in 2007! (from the prior year) · Property taxes since 2000 increased 167% in the last 9 years!! · Can you afford for property taxes to continue increasing at the rate??? The Geier 5-Point Property Tax Reduction Plan
Bringing in Ratable BusinessesOne key strategy to reducing our reliance on homeowner’s taxes is to attract good, clean ratable businesses. These businesses contribute tax dollars that defray reliance on homeowner’s taxes while contributing much needed services to our community. Examples of the types of ratable businesses we intend to attract:
Grant MoneyGrant money is an important tool to supplement a municipal budget. I believe in actively obtaining available grant monies to reduce the need for reliance on municipal property taxes. It is important to understand that while our current administration has presented “grants” as if they were “free money,” that this couldn’t be further from the truth. Grant money comes from our taxes – county taxes, state taxes, and/or federal taxes. I believe we should actively apply for our fair share of all grants that will benefit our community in the short- and long-term. We should not delude ourselves, however, that grants are a free ride. We are paying for these grants out of our own pockets in other tax dollars. Unfortunately, there is no free lunch with grants. Sewers for Our DowntownWhy are they bonding your children's future? Did you know the administration has approved bonding for 3/4 of a million dollars with no spending plan in place for that money? Why are they selling out or town to big land developers? This administration has delayed, railroaded, and ignored the need for sewers in our downtown area for over a decade. Now that the pressure is mounting for sewers in the downtown, this administration is attempting to cut a “devils bargain” Selling out our lifestyle to big developers. They intend to have a big land developer bring in sewers in exchange for rezoning our township to allow for a large development. There is no doubt no matter what spin is put on it that this will add children to our schools and increase property taxes. This is not how we should be bringing sewers into our downtown! This is a bad deal for our community and will only result in increased traffic and a decreased quality-of-life, while enriching a few big players. I am committed to creatively problem solving the sewer problem by working to attract federal and state funds to allow for the proper, controlled development of our downtown without contributing to our already skyrocketing property taxes. I have previously obtained commitments form both Jon Corzine and Frank Pallone to assist with obtaining grant funding for the sewer project. I make no promises as to weather these funds are currently available in the recession it is a pity that the current administration did not act when the funds were known to be available. EducationProviding a good, quality education to our children is critical. We MUST do a superb job at educating our children. New Jersey has a regressive tax system that relies heavily on property taxes to fund education. This system is unfair to homeowners, unfair to educators, and unfair to our children. Any system that forces retired grandparents to move out of state because they can’t afford the onerous property taxes that educate their grandchildren is critically flawed. We must change this regressive, unfair, and burdensome system. I am committed to working to pressure the state to reform this outdated system. In the interim, the Township Committee has a deep responsibility when the citizens vote down the school budget, as they did this year. When residents vote “no” on a school budget, that budget becomes the responsibility of the Township Committee. They have a responsibility to approve a budget that finds efficiencies in the system, that provides a quality education, and that respects the decision of the voters. I have a long history of taxpayer advocacy and commitment to quality in education. I served on the board of Hands Across New Jersey, a grass-roots organization committed to taxpayer advocacy. I was also the Founder and Chair of Citizen’s for Better Education in his former community. This group actively worked to improve the quality of education for students in that school system. |
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