To the editor:

“Sometimes I read things that simply astound me,” said Republican State Committeewoman Virginia Haines as she accused Mayor Brush of sole responsibility for the “largest tax increase in decades.”

Mrs. Haines is campaign manager for the Republican council incumbents who, she says, “slashed” the Brush tax increase, which she describes as “ridiculous,” but with the “budget being so late,” she says, “the damage was already done.”

GOP Council All Big Spenders; Huge Tax Hike

Mrs. Haines is, of course, completely wrong about all of this:

• The Republican council approved spending increases that added up to the largest single-year spending increase in the history of Dover Township.

• The Republican council approved funding for a total of 50 outrageous pay-to-play political appointments including 40 lawyers, numerous crony appointments and useless jobs.

Gilmore Dominated Transition Set Up Payola Scheme

• The transition to the new government was handed to Republican County Chairman George Gilmore, the pay-to-play lawyer who got $90,000 in taxpayers money to fix the administrative code to accommodate 50 political appointments.

• The spending hemorrhage was accompanied by a similar level of Republican carelessness at the municipal utilities authority which now has a $5.3 million current year budget deficit and cumulative deficit over four years of more than $14 million.

• The Republican council “slashed” next to nothing from spending; the change in the tax increase from 11¢ to 10¢ was due entirely to $600,000 in new state aid.

Haines' Greed And Incompetence Partially Responsible For DMUA Deficits

The DMUA deficits were actually started in 2001 by Haines herself as DMUA chair with a series of bad decisions after Haines and other commissioners wasted $400,000 in ratepayers money helping themselves to expensive duplicate double-dip health insurance.

Citizens Who Can't Afford Even One
Health Policy Paid For Two For Haines

Many citizens who can’t afford even one health policy were paying through the nose so Haines and the others could help themselves to two costly health insurance policies.

Wasted Taxpayers Money At The Feet
Of Gilmore, Clement, McGuckin, Haines

Mayor Brush, of course, must share the blame for the spending disaster. But the menu of wasted taxpayers money and political appointments that taxpayers didn’t want and certainly didn’t need, was initiated by Chairman Gilmore, Council President Gregory McGuckin, also a pay-to-play lawyer, and the whole Republican council.

If there is anything that should “astound” Mrs. Haines and the new Republican ghost writer, disgraced former Democrat boss "Doctor" John Moriarty, it is the level of hypocrisy that is required for her to try to blame Brush for the damage that was caused mainly by the greedy Republican chairman, the greedy council president, and the big-spending incumbents for whom she is the campaign manager.