In Hunterdon, race focuses on taxes

All four candidates running for two seats on the Hunterdon County freeholder board agree on one thing: The county's biggest problem is its soaring property taxes.

But while the Republicans -- incumbents Ron Sworen and Matt Holt -- believe cutting unnecessary government spending is the solution, the Democratic challengers -- Peter Maurer and David Syring -- want to consolidate local and county government services as a way to save money.

Maurer and Syring think shared-service arrangements are the best way to cut municipal and county spending, and they think the county should take more of a leadership role in facilitating the arrangements.

Syring, a political newcomer, wants to tackle rising property taxes by eliminating administrative positions in county government, such as the administrator, he said, who makes more than $100,000 a year.

Syring thinks Hunterdon's high taxes are the result of the same people running the county for too many years.

"We've had over 30 years of Republican hegemony, with the only concern being to take care of the "good old boys and girls' and keeping themselves in power so that they can," his running mate Maurer said.

Maurer and Syring, if elected, would stand up to long-serving freeholders in a way Sworen and Holt cannot because of party loyalty, Maurer said. He said it adds credibility for everybody when issues are debated in public, rather than in closed-door meetings.

In addition to taxes, Maurer said the biggest challenges facing the county are the potential for sprawl and the need to improve infrastructure, such as roads, mass transit and public safety.

On the Republican ticket, Sworen and Holt say they will work to maintain essential services while holding a stable tax rate. They point to their success in doing so the past three years, as well as their other achievements, as proof of what they can accomplish.

Sworen and Holt said they have helped cut the county budget from more than $100 million to $94 million, and they reduced county taxes by $1.2 million.

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