Resident dismayed by lack of response from mayor

I was reading an article regarding Mayor Jim Phillips of Old Bridge on page 6 in the April 5 issue of the Suburban. I had to chuckle at the opening sentence, which read, "Mayor Jim Phillips wants to know what you are thinking." The next sentence states that the mayor formulated a survey and e-mailed it to 12,000 residents asking open-ended questions about what issues in town concern them the most.

I find it amusing because since last August I wrote three letters to the mayor and never received an answer to any of them. In my first letter, as a taxpaying resident of Old Bridge who feels that our property taxes could and should be reduced, I gave some observations, recommendations and a request for some information. After not receiving an answer, a few months later I wrote a second letter requesting a response to my first letter. With no response again, I sent a third letter asking (as a taxpayer) why the mayor was not responding - whether he agreed or not, I should have gotten a response. This tells me how concerned he is with the concerns of the residents of Old Bridge.

I am not going to go into what my observations or recommendations were to help reduce property taxes. The information I requested was regarding overtime. Specifically, I wanted to know what the overtime bill for the township was in 2006. My feelings are that the only overtime that should be paid out is for emergencies - snow removal, floods, disasters, etc. Employees work eight hours a day, five days a week - that's 40 hours, and there is no need for nonemergency overtime. This alone would help reduce property taxes.

This information should be available to me and to any other taxpayers who wish to see it.

Lawrence Foppiano

Old Bridge