Earlier this summer the Republican candidates, Anne and Bill Leonard, hosted a Senior brunch at the Glen Rock Inn. The purpose of this meeting was to hear the concerns of one of the most important, but less heard, group of residents – the seniors.
The gathering not just included Republican voters, but democrats and independents. Bill and Anne Leonard talked about their 27 years of residency here in Glen Rock in addition to why they want to run for council.
Anne stated she wants to run because “! Feel compelled to give back to the town that has given her and her family so much. As a long-time resident, she feels she can offer the perspective of someone who has experienced most of the resident life cycle, from raising a young family to the challenges of shepherding children through the high school and college years to joining the ranks of seniors.”
What can residents expect from Anne Marie, if elected? “The safety and security of Glen Rock residents will always be my top priority, and the filter through which I will view all relevant issues.”
Bill wants to run for council, “I see an opportunity to improve the process through which the borough government establishes priorities and generates solutions to problems. He believes that including different viewpoints within borough government will lead to better solutions.”
What can residents expect from Bill as a council member? “My focus will be 100% on issues that can be directly acted upon by the Mayor and Council of the borough of Glen Rock or that would benefit ALL residents of our town.”
There major topics were brought up at the brunch.
Why was there no explanation sent with the tax bills, as has been done in the past?
Bill and Anne’s response was, “this year’s municipal tax rate increased 8.7%. The increase was somewhat masked by the 2.5% increase in the school portion of your bill (about 70% of total). This increase is significantly more than school or county, and significantly more than in any recent year. Why the sudden huge increase? It takes time for a taxpayer to pore through year-over-year budgets to discover this on our own. We are unsure why there was no explanation this year.
Lack of safety of the residents:
Bill and Anne commented by saying, “Obviously, the shooting at Memorial is top of mind, as well as the subsequent violent incidents when the court was reopened. Add in the string of burglaries and break ins (as detailed in the weekly police blotter) and people are rightly concerned about safety in our town. What has changed? And what can be done to make Glen Rock a less inviting target? No community is immune to these issues, but what actions will our public safety officers be taking to mitigate the risk? Safety and Security is not the only concern of local government, but it must be the PRIMARY concern.”
Lack of Communication from current council and mayor.
Bill and Annes response: “ In recent years, the town has provided more information via the website, weekly emails, periodic physical newsletters and “reverse-911” style calls. But more needs to be done, especially on issues of greatest concern to residents. The financial and safety issues mentioned above are two of them. Ongoing concerns about water quality and about action (or lack of) at the Nabisco site are two more. We have had numerous residents tell us that emails to M&C are not adequately responded to. And there was recently a three month lag in approving and publishing meeting minutes (as well as missing minutes from several M&C meetings from last year). We need to do better.
If you have any questions for Bill and Anne Leonard, email them at: [email protected]
** Banana Tree News was invited to cover this event. We have told the Democrat candidates that we would be glad to cover one of there events to get their point out also.
