Omert, Maute & Bobadilla Are Running For Moorestown Town Council

This Patch article is sponsored by Friends of OMB.

Barbara Omert, Doug Maute and Vick Bobadilla are running for Moorestown Town Council in the 2020 election. Learn more about Omert, Maute and Bobadilla's campaign and priorities in this exclusive Patch one-on-one:

What is your platform on taxes and Moorestown's fiscal health?

OMB: As we've talked to thousands of residents over the last eight months, it's clear that the top issue on everyone's mind is taxes. Whether it's a family worried they can't cover the increasing tax bill through their kids reaching graduation, senior citizens concerned that they can't enjoy retirement in Moorestown due to cost of living, or business owners struggling to pay their rent during the COVID-19 pandemic, residents can't afford unnecessary tax increases from the Town Council in what is already the highest taxed municipality in Burlington County.

Not only has the average property tax bill gone up by about $550 in the last two years, but the Town Council piled on higher water rates, library taxes, recreation fees, sewer rates and fire inspection fees to make life in Moorestown less affordable while adding approximately $20 million to our Township debt. Our town's perfect credit rating is now in jeopardy thanks to declining business revenues and increased government spending. This path is unsustainable and unaffordable.

If elected, our team will work hard to hold the line on taxes, working to lower taxes instead of increasing them. We will work closely with our town’s small-business community to forge a path forward following the COVID-19 pandemic, keeping lines of communication open to build a stronger local economy. We will explore new public-private partnerships to save taxpayer dollars, and will identify and apply for new grants to offset costs on key projects. Our process for awarding government contracts will be done in full transparency in an open bidding procedure, ensuring residents are receiving maximum value for the best price.

Moorestown deserves tax relief, and we are ready to deliver.

What is your assessment of the Moorestown water situation? What plans do you have to improve or maintain this status?

OMB: The Township has made great strides in rebuilding our municipal water infrastructure over the last few years, and we plan to continue on this path to ensure our water plants are delivering clean water that exceeds all state and federal drinking waters standards.

As the progress continues, however, taxpayers shouldn't be on the hook for the millions rightfully spent cleaning our water if we can hold those responsible to task. We believe the Township should work with the Erin Brockovich team and other water/legal experts as offered to explore recouping costs incurred by taxpayers and making the individuals who polluted our water supply pay. The cost of rebuilding our water infrastructure has topped $40 million — and right now, the people of Moorestown are on the hook for 100 percent of that money.

Earlier this year, when the water rate increase was proposed, Doug Maute directly asked the current Town Council what has been done to pursue a lawsuit against the polluters or even to determine the statute of limitations. Disappointingly, the answer was "nothing," as they chose instead to raise water and sewer rates on our community's residents and businesses. Rather than digging deeper into the pockets of Moorestown families, it's our strong opinion that we should leave no stone unturned to recoup costs. Making residents pay more of their hard-earned money should never be Plan A, especially with precedent of other towns successfully holding polluters accountable for 1,2,3-TCP contamination.

Do you have a plan on sustainability and open space in Moorestown?

OMB: One of the many things that make Moorestown special is our community’s long-standing commitment to open spaces and sustainability. If elected, we will continue that tradition. We have also committed to a sustainability plan that will bring forward programs that are both good for the environment and good for the taxpayers of Moorestown.

If elected, we plan to launch a pilot for a food waste recycling program that sends Moorestown's food waste to become compost or animal feed, reduces methane and saves taxpayer dollars in trash collection tipping fees.

We will identify Township properties that can be converted to wildflower meadows, decreasing the need for frequent maintenance by paid employees while increasing wildlife habitats. Our Public Works staff can then focus on other critical areas of our community, such as tree or park maintenance, emergency repairs and more.

Last, but certainly not least, we pledge to utilize our Open Space Trust Fund to maintain our 810 acres of natural treasures while exploring additional acquisitions for the future, protecting both our open spaces and our property values.

How would you describe the work of the Moorestown Police Department? Do you support calls to change how they are funded?

OMB: The Moorestown police are a hands-on police force, and community involvement is ingrained in all they do. Whether it's at Moorestown Day, Autumn in Moorestown, the STEM Open Space Festival, in our schools, or at countless other community events, our local police can be found engaging with families and proving that they are truly a part of our community. As we've spoken with residents, this seems to be an area where all political affiliations can agree: our Moorestown Police are the best of the best.

Our police have been active in bridging divides, having tough conversations and meeting with various groups/organizations throughout the region, knowing that listening and learning is a part of their job in public safety.

We strongly reject calls to defund the Moorestown Police Department, and believe the vast majority of Moorestonians would say the same. With high-profile targets in our town such as Lockheed Martin or the Moorestown Mall, the MPD works hard to maximize the use of every dollar they receive, and deserve our full support as they keep our town safe.

What is your assessment of the status of the Lenola Project? What steps would you take to move this project forward after continued delays?

OMB: This section of our town has been neglected for far too long, with endless campaign promises from both political parties resulting in nothing done. So, like most Moorestonians, we were excited when the Township was awarded a $1 million grant to revitalize Lenola and finally see the Camden Avenue Corridor receive the TLC it deserves.

Work was scheduled to begin in 2019, but the current Town Council majority chose to fire the firm that won the grant in the first place, causing delays that now have the project slated to break ground in fall of 2021 at the earliest, risking a loss of the $1 million grant. While they tout earning additional grant dollars for the design portion, the reality is the council has increased the design cost in doing so by hundreds of thousands of dollars. A project that is now delayed by years, costs more money, and no shovel in the ground to start work? The project is stalled at best, and moving in the wrong direction at worst.

When we take office in January, the Lenola project will be a major priority that we will ensure moves forward with a faster timeline to ensure we don't risk losing the grant money allocated to our town. We will implement the plans that were approved by the residents themselves to beautify this corridor, make it a more pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly roadway, and bring new businesses that will make Lenola a destination to shop and dine.

Do you support creating a "rain tax" in Moorestown?

OMB: We would reject the establishment of a rain tax in our community, and do not support creating a new bureaucracy that would impose new fees on our residents.

This new tax — which was opposed by major business and industry groups — will target all types of residential, commercial and industrial properties, making it even harder to make Moorestown a place to call home or open/expand a business by charging fees based on the amount of water runoff on a piece of property on buildings, driveways/parking lots and other structures on your parcel of land. We are disappointed that the current Town Council majority refused to move on a suggested resolution that would have committed to oppose the rain tax, and worry that this will be a checklist item if they are given control without checks-and-balances.

In the highest-taxed town in the county, located in one of the highest-taxed states of the country, we firmly believe this is the last thing we need.

Why should Moorestown residents vote for you?

OMB: When you sit down to fill out your vote-by-mail ballot, ask yourself what kind of future you want for Moorestown. Is it a future where taxes are lower and where projects that haven’t gotten done finally move forward? A future where clean water is a priority and the bad actors who polluted Moorestown’s water supply are held accountable for their actions? Does that future have a government that believes in true transparency and wants to make decisions with residents fully involved in the process? Would you like to see Moorestown on a path of true unity — not unity achieved by stomping out differing opinions but where we can find bipartisan answers to our problems and where diversity of thought is welcomed?

If you answered “yes” to the questions above, your choice is clear: vote for Barbara Omert, Doug Maute and Vick Bobadilla for Town Council.

We will approach every decision we make not as politicians but as your neighbors. We will find bipartisan solutions, build bridges instead of creating divides and deliver real results. By sending in your ballot for the Omert/Maute/Bobadilla team, you are voting for lower taxes, fiscal responsibility and long-term plans for Moorestown’s social and economic future. We’ll never stop working for you, and look forward to delivering a fresh start that is long overdue.