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[Editor’s note: City manager John “Jack” Kelly began his service to the city Monday, Feb. 1]

Editor, the Asbury Park Sun,

It is a a new year and I’d like to welcome Mr. Jack Kelly, our new city manager. I understand from reading about Mr. Kelly he is a fiscal hawk. Boy, is he in the right town. Let me make a few suggestions for Mr. Kelly to explore. May I suggest:

1. No more tax abatements for developers, which should include PILOT programs as well. The city should not be in a continuously disadvantaged position and be forced to give in to the whims of developers. We have progressed too far and there should now be many developers who will partner with the city rather than trying to extract additional benefits at our expense. The taxpayers can’t afford it!

2. As much as I admire our brave police men and women, and firefighters, is it really necessary to allocate $900 for uniform allowances for each? Don’t we pay them enough? That needs to be renegotiated. The taxpayers can’t afford it.

3. Do we really need overpaid city employees with fancy job titles? Some, in actuality, do very little. Come on now, the taxpayers can’t afford it.

4. May I recommend a citizens’ budget committee? A real committee that has authority and influence. Your predecessor had setup a committee but nothing was accomplished. It was purely a political move to placate the taxpayers — a real waste of time. We pay the taxes and we want to know how our money is being spent. We’re broke and our taxes are the highest in Monmouth County. Isn’t that just ridiculous? The taxpayers can’t afford it.

5. We need to encourage more home ownership. The tax base is too small. Additional renters are not really helping. The taxpayers can’t afford it.

6. City employees, and more broadly, all government employees, need to chip in more — particularly for health care. We appreciate their job service to the city, but the city taxpayers can’t afford it.

And one more:

7. Did anyone happen to notice the test scores for students in the city’s school? Deplorable. What’s going on? How much do the taxpayers have to cough up to get better results? This is a disgrace. We can’t afford it.

Mr. Kelly — best wishes. I look forward to speaking with you.

—Rita Marano, Asbury Park

[This letter represents the opinion of its writer and is not representative of any opinion of the Asbury Park Sun staff. All readers are welcome to submit Letters to the Editor to news@asburyparksun.com for our consideration. For guidelines on letter-writing and submission, click here.]

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