DPW was hampered by prior administrations

Last week, Judith Carletta wrote that “Jackson dropped the ball. Tried saving money by not plowing and salting the roads” (“Explanations Sound Like Excuses to One Resident,” Tri- Town News, Letters to the Editor, Jan. 28).

She obviously does not understand the budget process. The funding for snow removal was based on history and prepared in April 2009. No one yet has a crystal ball that will forecast actual winter accumulations.

The budget was scrutinized by the business administrator, mayor, the budget advisory committee, the public and the Jackson Township Council. They thought we had all budgeted sufficient funds. No one tried to save money. Check the overtime records and the bills for replenishing our salt supplies. They do not support your statements. They indicated an all-out effort to clean the roads with the manpower and equipment available.

We need to recognize that the municipal workers of Jackson did an outstanding job in dealing with the record snowfall in December. They worked tirelessly to clear our roads with antiquated equipment that should have been retired years ago.

It was shortsightedness on the part of previous administrations that created a mountain of problems that the Department of Public Works (DPW) has had to overcome. It is time for the mayor to reintroduce his phased capital budget plan to replace and modernize our fleet of equipment and for the Township Council to authorize the necessary purchases.

Rather than make the record snowfall a political issue, the members of the Township Council should focus on the real issues.

When the press recognizes the men and women of the DPW for their Herculean effort, you know that they handled the snow emergency with the dedicated professionalism we expect of them.

Kudos to the mayor and our business administrator for calling for a postmortem to review the DPW response and what could be done better.

Inviting members of the Township Council, emergency response members, public safety and other critical staff represents a step forward in getting this township to act together for the benefit of its residents.

If there was any failure in this snow removal effort, it belongs to the administrations of the last 10 years for failing to provide the DPW with the right equipment and funding. The current administration did more than was expected, given the hand it was dealt by its predecessors.

Paul Mayerowitz

Jackson