"Today, the deadline to apply for extraordinary aid from the state was allowed to pass without any application filed by Mayor Gilmore.  Such inaction is the direct result of failing to institute a long-term, multi-year financial plan, a plan that the Mayor promised to implement when he ran eight years ago," said Bencivengo.  "As Mayor, with the assistance of Council, I will institute my 'Fiscal Five' plan, the fifth point of which calls for providing an open and transparent budget process.  A piece of this process will be to institute mandatory guidelines for the municipal budget process, beginning with a requirement that all financial assistance, including extraordinary aid, be applied for at an agreed upon date, so as to be presented to the Council for review," he continued.

"We also want to institute a July 15 date for presentation of the spending plan to Council with budget workshops and capital reviews to commence within thirty days," Yaede added.  "This will allow for introduction of the budget to Council sometime in August and will prevent election year politics, as has been the case over the last several years, from playing any role in the budget process.  By following these guidelines we will be assured that the budget and annual financial statement are prepared in time to apply for extraordinary aid, as required by the state."

"We will have the spending plan published online and available at the library in time for the budget introduction, so residents can be better informed of where their tax dollars are being spent and better prepared to discuss the budget," Meara commented.  "Every effort will also be made to have the budget workshops and meetings videotaped with the intention to provide steaming video on the township website.  This will allow Hamilton's taxpayers to have easy access to any and all information regarding the budget."

"Today, Mayor Gilmore did a disservice to the residents and taxpayers of Hamilton Township when he refused to apply for state extraordinary aid that would have provided tax relief," Bencivengo said.  "Hamilton's taxpayers have seen their taxes go up 25% since Mayor Gilmore was elected and it is projected that taxes will go up another 25% this year alone; and yet, Mayor Gilmore refused to apply for state aid that could have provided some level of tax relief.  In the past Hamilton received almost $1 million in one year from the state.  To say that we didn't get anything last year so we won't apply this year is simply inexcusable and a dereliction of duty" he continued.  "The application should have been filed because even if Hamilton only received $100,000 in aid, that is still $100,000 that the taxpayers would not have to pay."

"For several months Mayor Gilmore has been asked to present his budget to the people of Hamilton and the Council and all we continue to hear are excuses as to why it cannot be presented.  By delaying the presentation of his budget Mayor Gilmore has intentionally cost the taxpayers of Hamilton even more money," stated Yaede.  "I agree wholeheartedly with Councilman Goodwin when he said that it is embarrassing if Hamilton failed to apply for aid and that such inaction by Mayor Gilmore would put Hamilton's taxpayers at risk," she added.

"It is a shame that Mayor Gilmore has once again decided to put politics before responsible government.  Any which way you cut it, it is irresponsible for the Mayor not to apply for tax relief from the state.  All he needed to do was prepare his budget and fill out an application, two responsibilities that we elected him to do," commented Meara.  "Instead, Mayor Gilmore decided to play politics with our tax dollars and that is unfortunate and unfair to every Hamilton taxpayer.  What is the harm in asking for state aid?  Even if we received nothing from the state, it is better to have asked and been turned down then to not ask at all, as the Mayor has decided to do.  This decision by Mayor Gilmore is irresponsible and unfortunately the taxpayers of Hamilton will once again have to pay the bill," he continued.

"Hamilton's taxpayers should not be forced to pay the bills for Mayor Gilmore's reelection, but that is exactly what the Mayor has arranged," Bencivengo said.  "Four years ago when Mayor Gilmore last ran for reelection he stated numerous times that there was no need to raise taxes, only to turn around and raise them twice within six months of reelection.  Just like this year, Mayor Gilmore delayed presenting his budget until after the election that year.  This is a disturbing pattern that has cost Hamilton's taxpayers millions of dollars for the sole reason of political expediency and that is just wrong," he concluded.