Two weeks ago, I read a letter in the Examiner written by Millstone Township Committeeman [John] Pfefferkorn that spoke about $16.7 million dollars in open space and general municipal debt. I will not address the $14.3 million dollars of school debt he inappropriately threw in the mix, since that is voted on and approved by the voters, and is not under the direct control of the Township Committee.

Because I knew only of approximately $11.1 million of municipal and open space debt, I became concerned on how I could have missed the $5.6 million in debt needed to reach the $16.7 million figure presented by Mr. Pfefferkorn. In addition, I was confused about why he stated we are paying off only $247,000 in debt and increasing spending by 19 percent.

After some investigative accounting, it became clear that I had not missed anything. Mr. Pfefferkorn’s numbers were simply wrong and misleading.

At $11.1 million, it is true that municipal debt has increased dramatically during Mr. Pfefferkorn’s 2 1/2-year tenure.

Mayor [Nancy] Grbelja and I, however, have taken the steps necessary to pay off and eliminate at least $3 million-$4 million of debt this year, not the mere $247,000 incorrectly reported by Mr. Pfefferkorn. Because of our actions, the municipal debt will decrease this year for the first time in decades, not increase as reported by Mr. Pfefferkorn. The remaining debt can be paid off without any increases in the open space and municipal tax rates.

Other incorrect Pfefferkorn numbers deal with the alleged 19 percent spending increase of $627,000. As with his debt figures, which were overstated by at least $5.6 million, this purported increase is also incorrect. Although nondiscretionary costs such as health insurance, fuel, solid waste pickup and utilities will increase significantly, the Township Committee will not spend anything close to $627,000 in excess of what was spent in 2003. In fact, as we implement more cost-saving controls, we hope to decrease discretionary spending in 2004 as compared to 2003.

Ask yourselves why is Mr. Pfefferkorn inflating the debt by over $5.6 million, exaggerating its impact on your taxes, underreporting the debt that will be paid off this year, and incorrectly reporting spending increases? Those who know Mr. Pfefferkorn know why. If you do not know him, please come to the next Township Committee meeting and ask him to explain these large discrepancies.

Working this year with our municipal volunteers, professionals and personnel, the mayor and I have overhauled the municipal finances to increase the interest the town receives on its deposits, reduce the interest paid on our debt, and recover millions of dollars in grant moneys due the town (some since 2000).

Under Mr. Pfefferkorn’s watch, the town has paid inflated interest rates and under-invested your tax dollars to the tune of over $250,000 in the last two years alone. By forcing competitive bidding for the town’s deposits, implementing common-sense debt restructuring, and simply getting the two- to three-year backlog of basic administrative paperwork done needed in order to recover millions in grant moneys due the town, we have reversed this financial fiasco in less than six months. Later this year, once we have corrected the outflow of cash due to mismanagement of taxpayers’ dollars, we hope to recover far in excess of what was lost in the last two years.

Will the municipal tax rate go up? Yes. The rate was inappropriately decreased over the past two years from 10 cents to 3.5 cents by raiding the municipality’s surplus (our collective savings account). Taxes will not be increasing due to wasteful spending as purported by Mr. Pfefferkorn. Most important, taxes will not be increasing from gross mismanagement of the municipal budget. Those days are over. Mayor Grbelja and I will continue our efforts to most effectively manage your tax dollars and your municipal budget. Please remember, for the first time in recent history, millions in debt will be paid off and hundreds of thousands of dollars in waste will be eliminated. You can take that to the bank.

The time for cash management and financial planning was 21/2 years ago when Mr. Pfefferkorn promised financial reform and took office, not now as claimed by him in his recent Examiner guest column. Anyone can write letters and identify problems. Finding problems is easy. Implementing solutions takes initiative, hard work, and a willingness to put one’s reputation on the line behind a workable course of action.

Mayor Grbelja and I have taken the initiative to implement the reform you demanded in the last election. The time for numbers games, political grandstanding, media antics and rhetoric is over. The time to implement real reform is long overdue. Mayor Grbelja and I will continue making positive changes with your support and understanding.

Elias Abilheira is the deputy mayor of Millstone Township