Chesterfield had a part-time Township Administrator for years. Under Republican leadership, a full-time administrator was hired and this ultimately caused the administrator salary to go from approximately $60,000 to over $140,000. When the full-time administrator left, Democratic leadership brought the position back to part-time and we have seen excellent quality of service from our current administrator without the additional $80,000 per year required in our budget. We are also seeing savings in healthcare and pension costs related to this change, further reducing our annual expenses while maintaining the quality our residents expect.

The Stormwater Management rule changes mandate townships across New Jersey to perform street sweeping and other public works services on their local roads. Our professionals estimated the annual cost in our budget for street sweeping alone to be about $60,000. Remember that we cannot avoid this expense or we will be in non-compliance.

We listened to our professionals and considered the long-term financial impact to our community. By investing in a street sweeper and offering shared services to neighboring towns, we transfer an annual fluctuating expense into a steadier capital expenditure with a fixed rate. Sharing services gives us a revenue opportunity to offset maintenance and capital expenses, providing a long-term investment in our future.

Yes. Looking at the municipal tax rates from 2015 to 2025, the tax rate rose more than twice as fast under Jeremy and Lee’s leadership than under Shreekant and the Democratic majority. You can see the chart here and the table of rates and year-over-year rate percentage changes here.

Democrats achieved a majority on the township committee for the first time in 2018. All prior tax rate changes, including the significant hike in 2012, occurred before we had an opportunity to change our financial direction.

Shreekant Dhopte joined the resident advisory committee in 2012 and he was an important voice to convince the township committee to reverse course and lower the tax rate the following year. Later, he ran for township committee to be a voice for others who wished to see a new direction for our town’s finances.

Yes. Planning Board meeting minutes show his attorney, John Gillespie, speaking about the “Liedtka property.” John Gillespie is also the attorney appealing the township affordable housing plan and the “Liedtka parcel” is mentioned extensively throughout the court filing.

Jeremy and Lee have voted to support preserved farmland and recreational facilities. They also supported replacing a golf course on property zoned for agriculture with a massive warehouse and Jeremy was involved when the pipeline was ultimately approved for Chesterfield.

The neighbors challenging the warehouse project were told to “take one for the team,” rather than respecting the promises made to our farmers, especially those neighboring the warehouse project. Once constructed, the warehouse will be the largest building in Chesterfield and will stand as an icon that is inconsistent with our town’s agricultural roots. Agricultural land is more than simply farmland; it includes forests, parks, and other open spaces. These are important qualities of our natural heritage.

Yes. Anyone can search https://elec.nj.gov to see how money in the election is being spent and received. Chesterfield is a small town that usually doesn’t see large sums of money being spent. This year is different. Over $18,000 has been received by Jeremy and Lee’s campaign and the source of the majority of those funds is a Political Action Committee devoted to encouraging major infrastructure development projects. You can see the contributions here.

If we are nearly built out and there is very little land left for development, it is curious why a special interest PAC is pouring money into our local election this year.