Lockwood Files for Third Term

COURT HOUSE – Middle Township Deputy Mayor Dan Lockwood has filed his petition seeking a third term on Township Committee. Lockwood, who served as Mayor in 2012-2013, teamed with fellow Republican Tim Donohue to bring the first GOP majority in decades to Township Committee in 2012. Together, the two have kept the municipal levy below the all-time high of 2011 for four consecutive years.
“I’m proud of the good work Tim Donohue and I have done in partnership with our great employees,” Lockwood said. “We have worked hard to keep the levy flat for four straight years. When businesses are taxed less, they have more money to expand and hire employees. When families are taxed less they have a few more dollars to invest in their retirement, shop in our local businesses or fund their child’s education. When our Seniors are taxed less, they don’t feel the pinch on their fixed income caused by constantly rising taxes. Our commitment to spending tax dollars wisely and reluctantly has kept millions of dollars in our taxpayers’ pockets that otherwise would have gone to support the never-ending tax increases of the previous administration.”
Lockwood was emphatic that now is no time to return to the tax and spend polices of the past. He cited the average levy increase from 2001 to 2011 of 11.42% per year. The municipal levy doubled between 2004 to 2011. If these increases had continued the past four years, the levy would now be over 19 million dollars. Instead, the proposed levy for 2105 is just 12.3 million dollars.
“We have brought bold and innovative solutions to local government that have reduced spending while allowing us to maintain great services and grow our police department from forty-three to forty-eight officers,” Lockwood said. “Better long range planning means we are bending the cost curve downward on many of our re-occurring expenses. Thanks to increased fiscal discipline, we will see over a million dollars a year in debt service come off our books by 2016. Our goal is to avoid borrowing for most projects and pay as we go as much as possible.”
Lockwood, who holds a degree in accounting, cited the upgrade in the Township’s bond rating last year as proof that Middle Township’s fiscal management was on the right course.
“Over the last few years, Mayor Tim Donohue and I have instituted best practices across the board by demanding hard work and accountability. Good employees will thrive in this environment,” Lockwood explained. “We have put together a forward thinking group of department heads under the leadership of our Business Administrator Connie Mahon. Together, we have streamlined and consolidated departments to lower costs and improve efficiency. We have implemented improvements to employee training practices, increased employee recognition and established an employee wellness committee. Our record is proof that towns can control spending without layoffs or reductions in municipal services, while still rewarding deserving employees.”
Lockwood believes the solid foundation of reform laid in the past three years will create conditions for responsible growth, improve recreational opportunities and bring a better quality of life for Middle Township’s families.
“As a father and local business owner, I’m running to continue our mission of building a brighter future for our families,” Lockwood said. “I’m enthusiastic and energized as I enter my sixth year on Committee. There are many positive developments for the Township on the horizon. To get there we must stay on our current course. We have come too far to return to the ever-increasing taxes, visionless leadership and special interest politics of the past.”