Nearly three years ago I wrote a letter to the editor of this newspaper concerning the proposed change in the Jackson government. Here is the last paragraph of that letter:

"The criteria that should underline whether changes need to occur are simple and straightforward: will the interests of the community be better served, will government be more or less honest, will it be more efficient and will it cost more, or less money. Using these criteria, and looking at what has taken place in the towns around us and is still happening, it would seem that change is not a good idea."

Since then, voters did decide to change the Jackson charter, and they subsequently elected the current mayor and Township Council.

To the best of my knowledge, this is what the Jackson government has done for us so far: it has raised the municipal tax rate by more than 30 percent, it has voted itself a salary hike, and most recently it has decided in its wisdom to disregard the warnings by various experts of gypsy moth infestation and has not conducted any spraying, with results that have been extensively reported.

The mayor has become well known for stating that his hands are tied, when asked about continued unchecked development, even in the middle of a housing slump. He has refused to try and fight judgments which favored the developers, citing possible costs - why, then, does the township retains the services of law firms?

The administration has made no effort to monitor and stagger the road work in various areas of Jackson, resulting in occasionally nightmarish traffic jams, and in the meantime other roads opened up by developers are in various states of disrepair. In other words, those who voted for the current government have elected people who seem incapable of doing anything.

The controversy over the gypsy moth spraying has occurred for two reasons. The first is, obviously, the absence of any action.

The second, which could have easily been averted, is the arrogant and evasive attitude of the mayor and the council who, instead of simply admitting that they had made a mistake and offering to help solve the problem, have used lame excuses and have resorted to accusing former township officials of playing politics - the most outrageous comment, beside that of the council president who stated that he did not have any infestation where he lives, as if that mattered, was the argument that the spraying would have cost money.

Well, so would snow removal if the winter had been severe instead of mild. Would the township stop clearing the roads because that costs money?

I have lived in this town for over 34 years and have seen many administrations, from both parties. I must say without any hesitation that I believe this one to be by far the worst.

I am an independent voter. I do not belong to any political organization and have never endorsed any candidates for public office.

Claude Tygier

Jackson