To the editor:
The masters of deceit are it again. In an attempt to once again change the subject about their secret negotiations on the satellite campus and not answer questions, they are cranking up the rumor mill. I guess out of desperation they think such shameful tactics can rescue their floundering.
So let me set the record straight. Despite the efforts of the Town Hall staff, the mayor and council have not provided any relevant documentation on their plans for bringing a Stockton satellite campus to Hammonton. Shouldn't the taxpayers know the truth about how much they will have pay out of their pockets to finance this deal?
So I requested the state of New Jersey determine why the mayor and council have not honored my request. I would like to emphasize the point that there is no court action involved. No one is suing the town or encouraging litigation. I am running for office to protect the taxpayers of Hammonton, not take anything from them.
Even the state inquiry has so far failed to produce documents. Whoever filed for the grant or is leading the project should have provided the information to the town clerk but failed to do so for some unknown reason. So now we have a $4 million project that involves the town, a state college and the federal government with no audit trail.
The questions begin to mount. Who actually filed the requests for the project? Was it the mayor, was it a councilman, or was it a supporter? Did that person act with authorization from the Town Council? Why did they fail to provide the town clerk with copies of this information? Was it incompetence or the desire to hide something from the taxpayers? Is the information sitting on someone's home computer?
What other projects lack traceability: the Town Hall, the Canoe Club or the $800,000 toilets at Boyer Field? And then there is the question that started it all: How much will all of this cost the taxpayers?
The mayor and council and their friends will give you long statements that never really answer the questions. They will attempt to blame everybody else but themselves. They will even bluster about open government. But the reality is that their overarching desire to improve the value of their own properties is creating a financial weapon of mass destruction for the taxpayers of Hammonton.
The time for change has come to Hammonton. We cannot afford individuals whose profits are based on the decisions that their appointees to the planning board make.
We do not need people whose thoughtlessness lead to Attorney General investigations. My team and I will provide the open and honest government that Hammonton deserves. We will provide the leadership that the 21st century demands of us.
This November, let's make the right choice.
Joseph Ingemi
Democratic candidate for mayor
Hammonton
