Council Candidates Debate on HTTV

The candidates for city council met on Sunday night to debate a myriad of hot topic issues at City Hall.

“We have been very, very lean in Summit,” said Lark, defending the city’s budget this year. He mentioned that spending went up one percent because state funding was diminished, and that a small increase was inevitable without cutting services. Lark is also calling for a zero percent increase in pay for city employees to cut costs.

While most of the candidates stressed the need to share services with neighboring towns to drive down taxes in the city, Murphy presented a clear idea to combine police departments with New Providence.

“Why do we need four lieutenants between the two towns?” Murphy asked. “Why do we need two police chiefs?” He also stressed by cutting top tier positions the towns could add more patrolmen, where people would see a difference.

“Lark has been on council for six years, taxes have gone up six percent each year,” said Murphy, before mentioning that his plan could save millions.

Lark followed Murphy by stating that the city has combined services on 12 different occasions in the past few years, and three or four other ideas are “in the pipeline.” He said that he is fighting to combine fire departments with Milburn, which could save money for taxpayers in the coming years.

Ward I candidate Nuris Portuondo, a republican running unopposed, also had several ideas to cut costs and raise funding for the city. She said the city has the option to lease unused space, sell properties that are sitting idle, and share services. She also mentioned the less favorable methods of cutting costs – furloughs, flat salaries and eventually cutting services if need be.

“No one as a politician wants to say that,” she said.

Portuando also plans on applying for grants at the state and federal level and curbing expenses by negotiating union contracts.

Ward II candidate Laura Graff Coburn, a democrat, was in favor of sharing services with neighboring towns, but also wants to open friendly negotiations with Union County to bring taxpayer’s dollars back to Summit. As of right now, approximately 10 cents to every dollar comes back to the city, while most of it is used at the county level.

Rich Madden, the republican candidate for ward II, wants to take a harder approach by sending a representative to Trenton and Elizabeth to keep politicians honest and confront them about tax money and put an end to corruption.

“The greed that killed Wall Street is now starving Main Street,” he said. “We need to spend time in Trenton, not just lip service.”

All of the candidates supported a possible switch from pensions to 401k plans for public employees – opening a door to saving taxpayers thousands of dollars in the future.

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Another controversial issue tackled at the debate was the possibility of a helipad being added to Overlook Hospital. The hotly contested issue has divided the town – those in favor think that it could save lives by flying those in need to the hospital instead of driving, and think it could add value to the hospital. Those against the helipad are concerned with air traffic safety, noise pollution and property values dropping.

Madden and Coburn were the focus of the debate because the hospital effects ward II the most, and both weren’t ready to affiliate themselves with either opinion.

Madden mentioned he knocked on 2,700 doors and spoke with many residents about the helipad. He found that about 80 percent of those that live close by are against it.

“I’m not convinced there’s a real need for it,” he said. Madden cited that he is more concerned with the safety issues of it, but would need further study.

“I’m personally not ready to make a decision,” said Coburn, after talking to many people about it, she thinks that the population is truly divided. She also said that the argument for saving more lives is a good one, so she would want to look into how many people could be helped with the addition of the helipad.

Coburn also would rather see the testimony finished and let the zoning board make a decision before commenting any further.

At-large candidates Murphy and Lark participated in a more heated debate – not about whether or not the helipad should be installed, but if they were allowed to discuss the issue before election.

Murphy said that Lark told him candidates should not comment about the helipad because it would make their opinions biased if elected to council. Murphy also said he met with lawyers that advised him that he was within his rights to speak about the controversial issue before the election.

On the other hand, Lark said he spoke with the zoning board’s attorney who advised him (and presumably other candidates) to steer clear of making comments about it.

The issue was not resolved by the end of the debate, and neither spoke about their specific opinions at the time.

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The revitalization of the downtown area, which has taken a hard hit because of the economic downturn, was also a focus during the debate.

Portuando commented on the plans for Gateway and new developments on the Salerno Duane property. She said that residential and commercial properties need to be integrated in one general area to promote a transit community and to decrease potential traffic.

Coburn said that she would like to push green initiatives when developing new properties, especially on the Salerno Duane lot – making Summit an example of a sustainable community.

Plans for a new Habitat for Humanity property on Morris Avenue were also debated between the ward II candidates.

“I personally have a problem with the location,” said Madden. Although he supports the project, he thinks traffic could pose a safety concern in the future when families move into the complex.

Coburn, on the other hand, “absolutely” supports it. She thinks that all families should have a chance to thrive in Summit and that the council has a moral obligation to create affordable housing initiatives – the last of which was built in 1986.

Transparency and bipartisanship were also discussions, mirroring the national climate of problems at the federal level.

Murphy mentioned a friend asking for a concise, two-page document summarizing this year’s budget and that the financial committee – where Lark holds a position - never provided it.

“I pride myself in transparency,” said Lark, who explained he was following the mayor’s lead by not providing the document. He said that although he didn’t follow the request, he posted the budget, actuals and audit online for the public to see.

Although the two at-large candidates opposed each other on many topics, they did seem to agree on working together for the betterment of Summit.

“To be effective there has to be some give and take on both sides of the aisle,” said Murphy.

“Clearly the people of New Jersey are fed up,” said Lark. “On a local level, it’s not about party … and that’s Summit, working with everyone.”