To the editor:
As the Democratic candidate for Hillsdale Council, I first want to acknowledge a specific set of actions taken by the current council that I wholeheartedly support—namely, applying for and utilizing state grants to partially fund a number of town projects.
Recent resolutions show that grants are an appreciable funding source for borough projects such as park improvements, street paving, and technological updates for our emergency services. These are perfect examples of how grants are meant to help local governments.
However, there are two critical ways in which the council is falling short of establishing a healthy and sustainable budget incorporating grants.
The first problem is simply that grants cannot fully fund our town. In looking for alternate revenue sources the council has approved a bond issue. Recently passed Ordinance 19-07, which largely funds standard infrastructure maintenance and upgrades, puts Hillsdale millions of dollars into debt.
The second problem is that by focusing only on state grants, the council is limiting the possible benefits Hillsdale can receive by applying for federal grants. The federal government offers many more grants than New Jersey. I looked through the database (www.grants.gov), and there are a multitude of grant opportunities for which Hillsdale could apply. Federal funding can support projects such as park improvements, maintaining or upgrading our water pipes and other infrastructure, helping our school system, and more.
I believe our Republican council is aware of federal grant possibilities, as last year we received a $213,715 grant to support our firefighters. But a quick search through another website (www.usaspending.gov) shows that this is the only federal grant we have received in the last 10 years.
Hillsdale needs a dedicated grant writer. If even 2% of eligible grants would be of direct benefit to Hillsdale, then it makes good fiscal sense to have a dedicated resource to research, draft applications, and follow up with funders. The money per grant usually starts at six figures and goes rapidly higher, so the investment is well worth the cost.
The July council meeting was again full of unanimous and discussion-free votes, except for two short questions asked for clarity and one abstention due to a late arrival.
At the end, Councilmen Pizella and DeRosa commented how efficient the council was and how much it had accomplished. But this is not actually a good thing if their unanimous vision falls short of the greatness Hillsdale could be.
Ian Askins
Hillsdale
The writer is a Democratic candidate for council