Blackwood – After weeks of denying any knowledge of federal plans to convert prime commercial property into a tax-exempt military training facility, today Mayor Cindy Rau-Hatton’s e-mails told a different tale.A document released as a partial response to a public records request showed that the Mayor was notified of plans to federalize the large parcel in December 2008, more than 6 months earlier than the Mayor claimed in recent news articles.
The e-mail dated December 4, 2008 (attached) directly contradicts Rau-Hatton’s media claims that she was not aware of the possible federal takeover of the property until June 2009. The e-mail states: “Apparently, the army is adamant it developing this parcel, which is the lot cleared behind Kearsley and Kenwick Courts that I believe all the neighbors complained. This is a commercially zoned property that will now be tax exempt!”
Relocating a tax-exempt military facility to the proposed Berlin-Cross Keys Road location is estimated to cost Gloucester Twp. $715,676 in property taxes annually.
"Who is minding the office in town?” asked Amy Tarves, the resident who filed the request for public records. "Our mayor tells reporters that she did not know anything about the military’s plans, but the e-mail tells a different tale. Taxpayers in Gloucester Township have been squeezed enough – we cannot afford a mayor who ignores a problem that will cost our town hundreds of thousands of dollars more.”Last week, Dave Mayer, a former Assemblyman and candidate for Mayor, offered alternative sites on existing government-owned property and reached out to federal and county officials to engage them in finding a workable solution that protects Gloucester Township taxpayers while meeting the military’s needs.
“We need a government that looks out for the interests of our residents. There is no excuse for ignoring an issue as pressing as this and, unfortunately, the e-mail released today shows that Mayor Rau-Hatton knew or should have known exactly what was going on months before the truth came out,” said Mayer.
Additionally, today marks the first day that Mayor Rau-Hatton, a claimed supporter of open government, is in violation of New Jersey’s Open Public Records Act (OPRA). OPRA requires that local governments produce requested documents 7 days after the request is filed. Today, in response to a written request on Thursday, July 23rd, Rau-Hatton’s government provided only information from the Office of Community Development, including the smoking gun e-mail, and a memorandum by Rau-Hatton claiming that “[d]ue to my extremely busy schedule I require additional days to comply with the OPRA request.”
Tarves added: “With e-mails like these, you have to wonder what else our mayor is hiding? How is she too busy to turn over documents about a plan that is expected to cost taxpayers nearly three-quarters of a million dollars? What else don’t we know?”