Vote Toth for Good Government

To the Editor: 
I have been following Tim Donohue’s campaign in Middle Township.
Donohue says that he was elected to bring good government to Middle. As we all know, Conifer is the developer who developed and owns the affordable housing units in Middle. I am asking for an explanation as to why Conifer, who neither required nor asked for the PILOT (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) program, was given it.
The program gives Conifer a property tax break for 30 years from its inception. This puts the additional property tax responsibility on the rest of us property owners in Middle.
Donohue blames the previous Democratic-controlled township committee for that approval when in fact it occurred during the Republican-controlled administration that he initially was a part of, shortly after he was first elected to office. He voted for it.
Conifer got another big break by getting Superstorm Sandy funds to build their housing units. Donohue knew that and still gave them the PILOT.
The State of New Jersey has yet to decide what qualifies as affordable housing. Middle may already have more than enough qualified affordable housing units, not counting the Conifer units. Other communities in the state are cautiously awaiting a definition before jumping to conclusions.
Whatever happened to the ‘Countdown To Zero Tax Increase Plan?’ Donohue says he did not raise taxes, but in 2012, the tax rate went up in Middle.
No tax increase should have been necessary if Conifer did not have the PILOT. To keep the taxes low, Donohue cleaned out the surplus to dangerously low levels, in spite of being warned not to do so by the township’s hired accounting firm.
Three years ago, Donohue vowed to work with the local American Legion post to see to it that homeless veterans found a place to live. I did not hear any more about that once reelected, and since I see nothing in his campaign statements about it; I have to assume that he did nothing about it. It made good headlines. We will probably hear something about it now since I brought it up.
I hear Donohue taking credit for improving recreation in Middle. I know it is Mayor Michael Clark and Deputy Mayor Jeffrey DeVico who actually are working on getting the improvements, but there is Donohue grabbing the credit.
After all of these years with poor quality water in Del Haven, Donohue now says he is working on bringing public water there. Someone recently asked about other areas in the township that need public water, so Donohue modified his statement to say that he is working on getting public water to all areas of need in Middle Township. How nice, but he is not bringing to light the details of his plans, just hollow statements.
Donohue has just apparently realized that there is a drug problem in parts of the township. I know this because he is just now talking about it.
I find it so interesting that Donohue only talks about the issues when he is up for reelection. Following through on these subjects is something that Donohue does not do.
So, when is Donohue going to actually bring good government to Middle Township? Since I am tired of waiting, I will answer. Never. That’s because it is time for him to be voted out of office, all talk and no action.
We can’t afford three more years of Donohue, plain and simple. No plans, no vote.
I live in a home that I can afford. To me, that’s affordable housing.
Vote for Frank Toth.