June 17, 2009 - Subject: Scharfenberger Should Look in Mirror

As everyone knows Middletown's illustrious Deputy Mayor Gerry Scharfenberger, has a real knack for writing letters; he is really quite proficient at it as a matter of fact,

As usual, Gerry points fingers at Governor Corzine and the Democrats in Trenton and blames them for all Middletown's woes. Gerry conveniently forgets that many of the State's problems started when the Republicans controlled the Statehouse.

In his letter, he rants on about how the Governor and the Trenton Democrats are driving people and businesses from the State with high taxes and uncontrollable spending even though this year's proposed State budget is almost $5 billion less than last years.

Instead of being so quick to point a finger, Gerry Scharfenberger need to take a long look in the mirror because he and the Middletown GOPer's could learn a few things about budgeting from the Governor. In tough economic times you need to decrease spending and make hard choices which is exactly what the Governor and the Democrats in Trenton have done, not bury your head in the sand, point fingers and propose no solutions.

To show how silly and asinine Scharfenberger's letter is, I replaced his references to Corzine, the Trenton Democrats and taxes with Middletown, the Republican majority and the current financial fiasco Middletown finds itself in today.

I would say 90% of the below rewrite is Scharfenberger's words, 10% are my injections. After reading compare it to Gerry's original what do you think?

"As the recession in Middletown continues to deepen, it appears that Deputy Mayor Scharfenberger and the majority in Middletown are oblivious to the struggling economy and the difficulties faced by local residents.

The latest attack on the community is a proposed 9.2% tax increase to make up for a $2.5 million budget shortfall. This will devastate residents and ultimately drive the population at large to live elsewhere. At a time when New Jersey has one of the highest property tax rates in the nation and families are being forced out of the state in droves by ever-increasing fees and over-regulation, the Republican majority is heaping even more tax demands on local residents.

With home values down across the board, homeowners will have no choice but to appeal their tax bills when the recent re-evaluation is finally certified. Either way, the already overburdened Middletown homeowner loses.

A strong commercial tax base is critical to local municipalities to keep property taxes low and people employed. If the Deputy Mayor and the Republican majority in Middletown wanted to jump start the local economy, they would not have re-zoned hundreds of acres of commercial property along the route 35 and 36 corridor in recent years to residential and passed anti-business ordinances that eliminate the possibility of major retailers setting up shop in town.

Middletown needs to cut tens of thousands of dollars in wasteful, unnecessary government spending to re-energize local businesses and property owners, not drive them out of town.

Unfortunately, it appears that higher taxes and increased spending is simply the vision that Deputy Mayor Scharfenberger and his majority have for Middletown. Sadly, the term "Republican" from these elected officials is just a metaphor for bigger government, increased spending, and higher taxes to pay for it all."

Scharfenberger and the Middletown GOP need to get Middletown's financial house in order before criticizing other.

Mike Morris
Middletown NJ