Officials talk of reform but continue agenda

I read with disgust the recent decision by the Edison Township Council about the Inman Avenue land deal. What has not been talked about in any newspaper article to date is the incompetent behavior of all our local elected and appointed officials. This deal is being concocted to balance a budget that has gotten away from local officials - it is no different than the township's political municipal budgets. It's time for this behavior to be stopped.

Councilman [Charles] Tomaro, a member of the Housing Authority, does not attend their meetings; he is appointed to that committee to oversee its operation and report problems to the council. Because of his neglect, the taxpayers are now being asked to pay $1 million for the tract minus 100 senior housing units.

Now enter the incompetence of the Housing Authority. You see, they never received an appraisal for the property before putting the tract to bid - a blatant disregard for the law - and taxpayers are now being sued. Both commercial bidders offered to give 17 "unbuildable" acres of the property back to the township and build affordable housing for our seniors, a win-win [situation] for the environment, taxpayers and seniors who need the tax relief. Records show that the list for senior housing exceeds 500 names and that the Housing Authority has closed their books on the very people they are [there] to serve.

The state is now telling us that our affordable-housing obligation will be 633 units - a fact that every one of these council members is well aware of. Even if that number is cut in half, we can be sure to see an additional 600 children walking our schools' hallways at a cost exceeding $6 million. What rationale drives a decision like this? Could it be that a favorable builder friend has his sights on another affordable-housing site, and that by doing what is right in building on this site "campaign contributions" may not be available to the council? If it sounds familiar, it's because it's happened before. Two years ago, residents soundly defeated the council's open space tax because of the same poor decisions and deal making that Edison residents have had to endure.

Another question that needs explaining is why the Housing Authority is broke. There are well over a thousand units under their control, each unit being subsidized by other government agencies and residents in those units. Landlords who own private apartment complexes show a profit every year. Why can't Edison officials just break even? They talk about reform yet continue their own agendas. With that said, I call on the mayor and the council to do a complete investigation and an independent audit of the Housing Authority's finances.

The Housing Authority is charged with offering affordable housing to our seniors and lower-income residents. Given that its members are appointed by the mayor, it is the responsibility of the mayor and the council to ensure that the community's housing needs are being addressed and our tax money is not being misused. But most important, the mayor should be sure that his authority and council are not selling or buying property set aside for this special and important need called affordable housing.

Residents must begin holding the council and appointed officials accountable. The council seems to have us believing that these debacles are just incompetence, but history has shown they are well-thought-out land deals like the Oak Tree Pond. Councilman Tomaro, along with most other council people, always seems to be in the mix.

It's time for a change.

Anthony Russomanno

Edison