To the Editor:
If you are a Hopewell Township resident, you will notice a unique question on the ballot this year. There is a question to establish a Charter Commission under the Faulkner Act (Optional Municipal Charter Law) to study the forms of government available to Hopewell Township and potentially make a recommendation on a new form of government.
Why consider a new form? Hopewell Township’s population has more than tripled since 1950 (growing from 4731 residents to roughly 18,500 today). Geographically, it is the 22nd largest municipality out of 565 in the state of New Jersey. Yet, it has the same form of government it had in 1798. The current committee form of government has no directly elected mayor, only five representatives (instead of 7 in other forms), no opportunity for wards to allow for regional representation and no initiative or referendum for citizens to make changes to their local laws and ordinances. All of these items can be considered in a new study under the Charter Commission.
We have all noticed the growth in our community. Our town budget has increased by 46% in the last four years. We have a myriad of PILOT agreements that have brought a tremendous amount of development without a great deal of transparency. Having a more efficient and effective government structure is critically important to best manage our growth now and in the future.
We encourage you to vote YES on the ballot question, and then elect our truly independent slate of candidates (Chad Goerner, Michael Markulec, Tamera Matteo and Stephen Klopfer). The other candidates were recruited by members of the current Township Committee and how we got to this point is worth knowing as you review your ballot.
In New Jersey, in order to change a municipality’s form of government, one must follow the options outlined in the Optional Municipal Charter Law (also known as the Faulkner Act). There are essentially two ways to initiate this change. The first is to file a citizens’ petition, which requires a stated form of government to go on the ballot for voter approval, and the second is to form a Charter Commission to study the issue and potentially make recommendation.
In the beginning of this year, ChartNewCourse.Org was formed to begin a petition effort to change the form and put it on the ballot this fall. However, as soon as the effort was announced and it had its first successful weekend, collecting a substantial number of signatures, the Hopewell Township Committee caught wind of it and acted to pass an ordinance to short-circuit this effort. Under the Faulkner Act, a municipality cannot have two efforts ongoing at the same time. The Committee may say that they’ve been considering this for some time, yet there were no public mentions and records to support this. Was it a coincidence that they acted right after ChartNewCourse.Org? We will let you be the judge.
We decided to run for the commission to offer residents an experienced team of candidates that are truly independent from the current governing body. We are a team of former mayors, a small business owner and a financial manager. Hopewell Township has many current and future challenges. Putting in place a more efficient and effective form of government in place is the first step. Join us at hopewellcitizens.org.
Sincerely,
Chad Goerner, Michael Markulec, Tamera Matteo and Stephen Klopfer
