Four run for council seats in Washington Twp.

Republicans Mayor Ken Short and Committeeman Bill Roehrich are running in next week's election on a platform of experience and offering voters a set of proposals they believe will raise revenue and lower expenses for Washington Township.

Democrats Harlin Parker and Barrett Jody Price say there are structural problems with the township needing long-term solutions and are running against what they term "group think."

Parker and Price pledged to not raise the tax rate if elected and were adamant that the tough economic times demanded fiscal restraint.

"If you don't have money," Parker said, "you don't spend it."

Short said he would make no such pledge, warning that promises come cheap. He said Parker, who attended budget discussions, did not offer one idea to help reduce costs, though he was invited to do so.

Short challenged Parker and Price to explain how they would honor their pledge, given that the township is anticipating $692,000 in additional costs for 2010.

"It will be hard," said Parker, at Wednesday night's debate at the Long Valley Middle School. He refused to name any specific line items that would be cut from the budget. Parker said he believes the budget process needs long-term solutions but that in the short term "some people will have to go." Parker did not specify which departments he would like to trim.

Those ambiguities, Short feels, show a naïveté on the part of the Democrats.

Short and Roehrich said they plan to reduce costs by continuing to aggressively pursue shared-services agreements. The township recently completed an agreement to rent its court building to Tewksbury once a month, a deal that will bring the township about $50,000 over five years.

Roehrich, a former school board member who was recently appointed to the committee to fill the remainder of Tracy Tobin's term, said he would like to look into sharing services with the local school district.

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