I read with great interest a recent letter written by a Neptune City resident expressing concern over two items in this year’s Municipal Budget. One was the Participatory Budgeting program, and the other was the redevelopment initiative.
I agree wholeheartedly with the writer’s assertion that Neptune City is a diverse community of hard-working, good people. Let me assure you that both initiatives are intended to engage and embrace the needs and interests of our residents.
There appears to be a misconception about the Participatory Budget initiative. It is a program intended to give residents insight into the budgetary process. Specifically, residents of Neptune City will have the opportunity to bring forth proposals for capital projects that will benefit the town. All project submissions will be reviewed by a committee made up of community volunteers, then fully vetted for viability by the Borough business office. All residents will have the opportunity to choose from the top qualifying projects. Voting will take place at ballot boxes at all municipal offices in town, as well as a possible online voting component. This is not a process where a “select few” will decide on how the money is spent. Also, the amount of our budget dedicated to this initiative is $20,000 per year for five years, which represents .0025 percent of the entire Neptune City budget. This is not irresponsible spending.
Participatory Budgeting is not a “rabbit hole” where money will disappear without checks and balances. It is for ideas that people can embrace and will benefit the town as a whole. A great example of a potential project under Participatory Budgeting was mentioned by a resident at a recent Council meeting regarding needed improvements to maintain the integrity and history of Bennett Cemetery, which was recently acquired by the Borough. Ideas like this are exactly the kind of proposal that I envisioned would result from establishing the initiative.
Similarly, the redevelopment plan is designed to clearly delineate what is and what is not possible in planning for Neptune City’s future. The writer expressed his opinion that any development should happen organically, and that when government gets involved “the natural process gets corrupted.” While it is true that sometimes government gets in the way because of short-sightedness and allegiance to regressive policies, proper leadership and governance can create an environment to attract smart investment to Neptune City that will follow it’s Master Plan that was set forth more than 20 years ago.
I agree with the writer’s belief that all Council members are good people and well intentioned. In contrast with what we have seen locally and nationally, I ran for Council to combat the lack of communication and cooperation. As we have seen, the process can be quite messy. I believe people get the government they deserve when they abdicate their role in the process. Everything I’ve talked about above demonstrates my philosophy on how to move Neptune City into it’s next chapter in a way that benefits all residents. Given the current political environment, I understand how there is apprehension for the “different”. People should always question and challenge such ideas in order to understand them, but should not fear them.
Lastly, I encourage the writer and anyone who has a question regarding these issues, or anything that is of interest regarding our town, to contact us. All members of Council can be reached via e-mail, a listing of which is on the Borough website. My e-mail is dcalhoun@neptunecitynj.com. and I heartily encourage anyone to reach out to me anytime.
Councilman David Calhoun
Borough of Neptune City