Donohue Launches “Countdown to Zero” Plan in Middle

COURT HOUSE – Republican Township Committee candidate Tim Donohue last night launched his “Countdown to Zero” plan. In front of over 100 supporters gathered at a backyard fundraiser for his campaign, Donohue unveiled a responsible and attainable plan for avoiding a tax increase in Middle Township next year.
“No lay offs. No cuts in services. No accounting gimmicks,” Donohue said. “This is a responsible approach. We reduce overbudgeting. We reinvest savings from pension and benefit reform, employee attrition and restructuring to balance the budget instead of creating more spending. Our goal is zero tax increase, and it is within our reach.
“This is not pie-in-the-sky; this is not smoke-and-mirrors and this is not an empty campaign promise,” Donohue continued. “This is real and it can be done. For once we can break the never ending cycle of property tax increases in Middle Township. The taxpayers can’t take it anymore, and we have a plan to end it.”
The Tim Donohue – ‘Countdown to Zero’ Plan:
3. Reduce Overbudgeting: Tim Donohue has identified over $700,000 in overbudgeted line items. “We have been overbudgeting these items for years and not spending the money. We could probably eliminate most, if not all, of this but it is more responsible to have a little cushion here and there in case of emergencies. However, we can responsibly cut at least $350,000 from these overbudgeted line items right now.”
2. Reinvest Pension and Benefit Savings: Middle Township is likely to realize over $100,000 in savings related to recent pension and benefit reforms. “It seems that every time there is a savings, government creates new spending with the money. We can’t do that anymore,” Donohue said. “We must use these savings to help balance the budget, not grow the size of government. We are conservatively estimating a savings of $75,000 from pension and benefit reform, that will be used to pay for increased costs, not for new spending.”
1. Attrition and Restructuring Savings: The Township has seen a number of personnel retire and several are slated to retire very shortly. This will allow the Township to potentially eliminate or combine positions through attrition and to restructure certain operations to save money. “There is no reason to believe that the Township can’t save at least $125,000 related to attrition and restructuring of employees, probably more,” Donohue said. “Again, this savings must go to offset existing expenses, not to create new spending.”
0. Zero Tax Increase: Costs go up, even in a budget with no spending increases. But we can’t ask taxpayers to pay more every year. “The ‘Countdown to Zero’ plan has identified savings of $550,000,” Donohue said. “This amount should be more than adequate to cover increased costs. “In 2011 the Township had to fill a $535,000 budget gap. So, our taxes were raised yet again. It’s time to break the cycle. The ‘Countdown to Zero’ plan will use the identified $550,000 in savings, instead of a tax increase, to cover next year’s anticipated gap.”
“With a bold and innovative approach and the courage to make tough decisions, we can finally break the status quo of never ending tax hikes,” concluded Tim Donohue. “The ‘Countdown to Zero’ plan gets us there. I am committed to making it work for the taxpayers of Middle Township.”