Meet the council candidates in Franklin

FRANKLIN — With the June 4 primary right around the corner, candidates for the Franklin council took some time to answer questions from the Advertiser News South.

How long have you been a Franklin Borough resident?

Nick Giordano: I have been a Franklin resident for 41 years. My family is from the Franklin area for over 100 years on my mom’s side and over 60 from my father’s.

Judith Stampone: I grew up in Pequannock and Wayne and I moved to Franklin in 2001. This seemed like a natural transition since they all have such rich histories. I have owned and operated La Mirage LLC — the hair salon on Main Street—since 2004. I opened the business under the impression that Main Street was going to be revitalized and I’d be getting established during an exciting time. Thankfully, I have enjoyed success but regret that the hopes of a revitalized, bustling Main Street will never happen. In fact, almost everyone is gone except for a few of us.

Pat Rowett: I am a lifelong resident of Franklin. My family has been here for 113 years and has run our family business since 1936.

David Fanale: I have been a resident of Franklin Borough for just over four years. My fiance and my two future stepdaughters have been residents for 16 years.

What is your prior political experience?

Nick Giordano: I have been on the Franklin council for the past 2 years.

Judith Stampone: I have owned and operated businesses that have had to follow state, county and local rules including health codes and regulations such as budgeting and finances. I also have had my real-estate license since 1982 in which I had to deal with codes, regulations and negotiating with different parties to come to a common goal.

Pat Rowett: I have attended planning board and council meetings for several years and have attended them in the past. I have been running for council since 2007.

David Fanale: I have been an active member of the Sussex County GOP since 2009 and I serve as the Sussex County Republican Committee Representative for Franklin Borough District #3. Recently, I was able to fulfill one of the responsibilities of the position during two conventions, when the committee members elected Parker Space as Assemblyman and George Graham as freeholder. I also serve as the Sussex County Coordinator for Campaign for Liberty, where I am engaged in reviewing legislation for its impact on the residents of New Jersey and activism regarding support or opposition to specific bills. I also consistently attend the Franklin Borough council meetings, the planning and zoning board meetings, as well as the Sussex County Freeholder meetings.

What party platform are you running on? Subgroup of the platform?

Nick Giordano: I am running as a Republican, though I consider myself a pretty conservative Constitutionalist. I am a member of the ANJRPC and NJ2AS.

Judith Stampone: The three R’s of Franklin’s future: Revamp our thinking and enhance Franklin’s reputation as a good place to have a business by publicizing and highlighting its location and potential. Reinvest in our community and make Franklin a destination instead of a pass-through town for those on their way to Vernon. Revitalize our future on Main Street so residents and senior centers can walk to local services.

Pat Rowett: I am a registered Democrat for tax reduction and fiscal responsibility.

David Fanale: I am a Republican and a Constitutional Conservative.

What do you think are the biggest issues facing the Borough of Franklin?

Nick Giordano: Taxes, no doubt.

Judith Stampone: The biggest issue facing Franklin right now is the deterioration of Franklin’s past with no immediate plan in place. The redevelopment plans have a 20 to 25-year expectation until completion. We do not have 25 years. The fact that there are so many properties foreclosing, unimproved properties not contributing to the tax base, properties left virtually abandoned or deemed taxable as farmland that are erroneously assessed, and bad management making critical fiscal mistakes has left this town a less than desirable place for businesses to come. We need to immediately revise the Borough Land Use regulations — including the 5-acre minimum in the HC Zone. This, in particular, needs to be amended for any future of Franklin. This town has been so neglected that the ordinances and zoning rules don’t comply with the needs of any potential prospective businesses.

Pat Rowett: Over taxation, overregulation and the borough's tax and spend mentality. Plus, the borough has a reputation for being hard to deal with, which scares away possible business investors.

David Fanale: Certainly, the recent property tax increases and commercial development are issues fresh in the public's mind.

What is your opinion of the current budget? Of the borough’s tax rate?

Nick Giordano: I am not a fan; I was the only dissenting vote on the council. We need to spend less. Our tax rate is a direct result of over assessment, the resulting tax appeals and foreclosures. It is too high and I wish it was less.

Judith Stampone: I think that any budget that raises taxes on the property owners of Franklin is unacceptable. We already have the highest taxes in the county as it is. We have to sit down ask how we can cut the budget. Can we consolidate municipal departments? Share services with other towns? Can our nearly $1.5 million police department find ways to cut its pie in the sky? We have to come together as a team and make very difficult decisions in a very difficult time. It is hard work but we owe it to the people of Franklin. There are common sense solutions and raising taxes is not the solution.

Pat Rowett: Franklin has to stop the finger pointing at the county and schools, who they blame for our high municipal tax rate, when it is Franklin’s out of control spending that causes our high tax rate. This also scares away businesses.

David Fanale: As a current candidate and not having the opportunity to work with the budget committee, I disapprove of the current budget as it is. According to my sources, Franklin Borough has the highest tax rate of all Sussex County municipalities, and it must be changed. The tax rate didn't increase overnight, and gradual but steady reductions must be considered.

What is your stance on fiscal matters?

Nick Giordano: If you rely on too many commercial projects and don’t look at spending, you have problems. Franklin has more of a spending problem than it does a revenue problem (although tax appeals are certainly in the mix).

Judith Stampone: Franklin has been deteriorating for years right before our eyes. It has been a slow process with many very bad decisions along the way. One example among many is the decision to let the Hardyston Elementary School take over a prime piece of property on Route 23 and not contribute anything to the Franklin tax base. When was precedent set that every school district allows a superintendent to get paid over $200,000, including benefits? Letting prime pieces of property sit on Route 23 abandoned and or unoccupied and unimproved just left deteriorating without any ordinance violations? We have big problems in this town that always seem to fall on the property owners rather than getting together and resolve the problem. The answers are sitting right in front of us. We need the right people to solve this.

Pat Rowett: Franklin's incentive offers and tax abatements to entice developers have not worked. All they do is decrease tax revenue. I am a fiscal conservative and believe in adhering to a strict budget, with no exceptions. We have to manage on less. With the decline in ratables and population, the town has to cut spending by an equivalent or greater rate.

David Fanale: Governments obtain funding from three sources: taxes, grants and borrowing. All levels of government have one fundamentally identical problem: spending. Franklin Borough is experiencing the the ripple effects of an extremely poor economy, property tax appeals, unpaid property taxes and increased expenses, to name a few issues. When revenue is reduced, spending cuts must coincide with revenue reduction. As a New Jersey business owner, I believe that government should demonstrate the same fiscal responsibilities of the private sector.

What are your thoughts on the Borough’s development and redevelopment projects?

Nick Giordano: Ask anyone in town, they want to see new business’s come, but it’s a sensitive subject. Proper planning involves a lot of things and we have to work on that. There are areas in Franklin that would absolutely benefit from redevelopment, but my feeling is that we should focus the Route 23 corridor first. I do think that we could have less red tape and streamline it a bit more.

Judith Stampone: My problem is that 10 years has been spent studying decades of Franklin’s deterioration. Thousands of dollars of taxpayer’s money has been spent with no immediate plan to revise the Borough’s Land Use regulations. If you don’t start there, nothing will happen for decades to come.

Pat Rowett: Franklin has not seen any benefit from the plans of the last 10 years. In fact, they have been detrimental to us, as they have destroyed our property values. People do not want to invest in property in Franklin if they feel it can be taken away from them at any time. With redevelopment and the subsequent increase in taxes to pay for these excessively expensive plans, we simply cannot afford to waste more money on plans and a town planner that are totally ineffective. They have attracted no true ratables to the town. Walgreens came in on their own. Let the free market rule.

David Fanale: As a member of the Franklin Economic Development Committee, I believe that any reasonable efforts to improve the Route 23 corridor should be embraced. The planning board has designated zones which are in desperate need of development and redevelopment. Regarding Main Street: the return of a business presence is possible, but not without the assistance of absentee landlords. The zoning board's recent denial of a zoning change request to a Main Street property was prudent. It will permit future business if the building owner is willing to consider appropriate rental rates for the area. A district similar to Sugar Loaf, NY, or Clinton, NJ is a potential, attainable goal.

How do you envision the immediate future of the borough (five-year plan)?

Nick Giordano: My five year plan would involve revitalizing the pond recreation areas. If we can work on this, people will enjoy the area more and it will attract people to the town. More people will attract more business. We have to stop the downward spiral. Stabilizing taxes is really the biggest thing, though.

Judith Stampone: If we do not revise the Borough’s Land Use regulations there cannot be a five-year plan.

Pat Rowett: I believe if Franklin blindly continues on the path that it has followed for the past 10 years, it will drop deeper into bankruptcy. Its five-year plan should be one of austerity, downsizing, reduction of overregulation and, most of all, attracting small business by making it a relatively simple and inexpensive process to start and run a business in town. Other towns have done it and we can too.

David Fanale: Prudent planning, vision, and persistence are needed to bring Franklin to a state of prosperity which was enjoyed by previous generations. Community support, not opposition, will bring businesses and employment opportunities to the area.

What are your thoughts on the controversial Walgreens project and approval?

Nick Giordano: I will point out that the council has no influence over this. However, as a councilman, I would love to see Walgreens in Franklin. As a resident, I understand the position of the community the business has been approved in. The area where it is being proposed is a small, quiet community. Kids play on the street, people like being in a quiet neighborhood. I know a lot of those residents; I delivered the paper there when I was a kid. Having grown up on Route 23, I understand what they worry about. I have reviewed the proposed building and I think it may be too big for that area. It was not planned well and it should be 20 percent smaller or be in a different location.

Judith Stampone: I thought Walgreens coming to Franklin was a good idea. They are a well-established, neighborhood friendly corporation. Did I think it was the ideal spot? No, but I was glad we were replacing a ratable. Not only do we need to replace the ratables, we need more ratables. I was embarrassed that we put Walgreens through six months of jumping through hoops. Another example of a potential business who wanted to come to Franklin, a town that has a reputation of discouraging businesses from opening up here, having a difficult time. I also believe as an American, people that are most affected by Walgreens have every right to go through the legal process to have their issues resolved, and I respect that.

Pat Rowett: The Walgreens project is private enterprise at its best, an agreement between seller and buyer. The neighbors had a chance to voice their opinions, unlike those of us in redevelopment area E, who had redevelopment and eminent domain forced upon us, leaving us with an uncertain future for our lives and property.

David Fanale: The Walgreens debate is outside the judgement or authority of the council. However, I believe that if the residents of Franklin desire a reduction in property taxes while maintaining the current level of services, we must embrace any opportunity for new revenue sources, employment opportunities, and improvement of the general appearance of the borough. It is incumbent upon the community to support projects which will contribute to the prosperity of future generations of Franklin residents.

What is one other fact you’d like the voters to know about yourself?

Nick Giordano: I am proud to be from Franklin. I am open minded, caring, and more than anything, I want to see Franklin come back. My father and grandfather were members of the Franklin Fire Department. My brother is in Afghanistan working for a better way for the Afghan people by training their police.

Judith Stampone: I care very much about this town. I live here, own a business on Main Street and have children going through our school system. It saddens me that so many people have given up on this town. Our children are going off to college and they are not coming back here to buy a house and raise their families, like so many generations in Franklin have enjoyed in the past. They are leaving and going to a more progressive town where it is more affordable. The apathy in this town that stood out the most was the 2012 Christmas tree at the pond. What this tree represented to me and the people that drove through this town is that the town of Franklin just doesn’t care. Most words that were expressed were, “Why bother?” This might not be the most important thing in Franklin, but it was the first thing people saw in Franklin. I want people to care and be proud to live in Franklin again.

Pat Rowett: I believe in private property rights and that property owners should be able to use and enjoy our property as we wish. We certainly pay enough to live here. Franklin should listen to its citizens and what they want — an affordable town that we can enjoy without the heavy hand of town government crushing us and emptying our wallets.

David Fanale: As a Franklin Borough Council member, I pledge to keep our community informed of issues using methods which have yet to be utilized. My oath to uphold the Constitution shall not be compromised and the consent of the governed will take priority regarding ordinances and the interests of Franklin Borough and its residents. I believe that council members derive their just powers from the consent of the governed. I will always consider individual rights as a priority, and objectively consider issues before voting on behalf of the community. My consistent dedication to local interests, political activism, nine years of public safety experience and ten years operating a successful business will be an asset to my fellow council members and the community.