To drum up support for the Byram municipal building bond referendum, residents were delivered an “information flyer” that omitted the excessive bond amount and the excessive size of the buildings.
Omitting these prominent facts was intentional and not an accident. After all, the best propaganda utilizes omission.
The proposed buildings should be considered as pretty much general office space. There is no jail, no 911 center and no courtroom being built that drives construction cost high.
Residents are being asked to approve an excessively large $9.7 million bond amount for an excessively large 17,100 square feet of office space.
This approach to office space is clearly a want and not a need and will crowd out other present and future needs of homeowners, taxpayers and government.
For the small number of Byram employees, with a majority being part-timers or patrolmen on the road, we are being asked to pay $700,000 a year over 20 years for office space!
Road maintenance and improvements, capital equipment purchases and/or your ability to pay your expenses, as well as future increases in municipal or other government taxes for existing services, should not be crowded out by excessive spending on office space.
That was the strong public concern expressed in years 2016 and 2017 and it is the public concern today.
That concern should have been incorporated into this design, yet no budget was ever assigned to the architect.
The initial budget and design rigor of the Municipal Building Sub‐Committee process was later silenced except for ceremonial performance.
A no vote will not reduce your government services - in fact your budget rigor today may allow for enhancements in the future while keeping the food on your table.
At $700,000 a year, this “solution” is not an acceptable expense for office space. I voted no.
Harvey Roseff
Byram Township
Editor’s note: Roseff is a member of the Township Council.