TUF - Prasad 1

Mr. Prasad has responded to the three questions posed by TUF

1) Change - Most candidates talk about change. What and how will you change Franklin?

We have already changed Franklin for the better by removing the influence of the Middlesex County developers as the result of the Democratic Party Leadership Reform Movement as well as the recall of Ellen Ritchie.

Franklin Democrats have taken a strong position to make this Township independent of any developer influence. That word has already filtered to the "powers-that-be" that only appropriate development will be acceptable and allowed….Franklin Township is NOT FOR SALE!

Below are some other initiatives

Franklin is the envy of communities throughout NJ based on the amount of open space that we have. We continue to purchase open space not only for the beauty of having open space, but to keep development out of large parcels of land
We have passed the Mayor/Council Resolutions on Environmental Protection to continue to work on projects to keep Franklin green
We have passed a resolution to televise political debates on FTTV-25 giving equal access to both parties and provide residents with information about candidates running for office. Hopefully this will cut down on the amount of money spent on elections and keep out the influence of political contributions on elections.
We have added 5 new police officers to the 2008 Township budget to help keep Franklin safe. The tragic murders of two of our young people requires that we do all we can to provide sufficient policing for the Township. The Franklin Police Department has done a fantastic job in keep Franklin safe, with overall crime statistics down, but we must provide them with additional resources to help them in their efforts.
The Franklin Youth Initiative which was begun in response to the murders, has formed several community based sub-committees that are working on providing Franklin youth with recreation, counseling, education and job opportunities
We have resurrected the 732-873-TIPS anonymous and confidential TIPS hotline to allow anyone to report any potential criminal activity.
We are looking at text messaging and Blogs, as a high tech means of communicating with the Police

2. Taxes - Taxes are high. What is your plan?

For the first time in Franklin's history we conducted an independent review of a defeated school budget. As a result, we were able to cut $1,000,000 out of the budget leaving services to the children untouched.

Should the budget be defeated again next year, we have already budgeted to once more bring in an independent consultant.

The school budget represents 66% of your tax dollar. Another 18% goes to the Republican controlled county coffers. The recent scandals having to do with the Parks Commission and the Sheriff's office should not go unnoticed by voters and the Freeholders should be held accountable for their actions.

The Township portion of the tax bill is 15%. This 15% provides all of the Police, Sewer, Water, Health Department, Community Development, Animal Shelter and Public Works services to residents.

Our proposals to stabilize and hopefully even cut taxes are based on the following initiatives:

Open, public bidding of professional contracts
Expand Economic Development by filling the current vacancy with a Director who can attract ratables to the township in order to reduce residential taxes
Look for additional services to utilize shared services
Foster smart growth to reduce traffic as well as the need to build new schools

3. Traffic - Traffic is horrendous. How can you help?

We hope to prevent over-development such as the Bennetts Lane plan by adhering to the Master Plan wherever possible and maintaining the prevailing zoning. Development not only increases taxes, but it obviously increases traffic. By adhering to strict guidelines of allowable development we can hold down both!

The Rte. 27 traffic is a major problem for residents not only of Franklin, but North and South Brunswick. We initiated a conference with all 3 communities and the State Department of Transportation with the help of Assemblyman Upendra Chivukula.

The State already has plans to widen Rte. 27 from New Brunswick to Bennetts Lane
We, as well as the Township Police, have requested that that widening continue further south to Kendall Park. We are working with the DOT to get this plan into their planning cycle
The stretch between Bennetts Lane and Cozzens Lane was discussed and the DOT has agreed to look into ways to improve the conditions there by better striping and improving the traffic flow patterns at the light.
We hope to implement a transportation hub program providing shuttle bus transport in Franklin with East and West loops intersecting at the Municipal Complex. This should alleviate some of the traffic congestion. This is based on a Rutgers University Traffic consultant's recommendation.

We have instituted a very aggressive road resurfacing program in order to clear up a backlog of badly needed repairs. Right now, that work is being concentrated in the 4th and 5th Wards.