Oakland Candidates Debate 6

The four candidates met for a debate recently in The Ramapo Reserve Clubhouse at the invitation of the community and Vincent Farinella who moderated the event. The debate was not widely advertised as the venue has limited space and limited parking. It’s unfortunate that there is no similar event scheduled in a larger facility, or that efforts to continue the debate in other small venues are not planned. But it was apparent during the course of the evening that the residents of The Reserve share the same concerns as the wider Oakland population, and Mr. Farinella devoted the majority of the allotted time to questions from residents.

Before proceeding with the details, it should be noted that all four candidates expressed an affection for the Town of Oakland and a commitment to public service. While politicians are not held in very high regard these days, there is little argument that the perks and benefits of serving in Oakland’s municipal government are limited. There may be a stipend, but for most candidates this is, for lack of a better term, a labor of love. The issues facing Oakland with regards to growth, taxes, and quality of life will continue to grow in magnitude, but the debate between the candidates showed that residents have some very good choices.

Betsy Stagg & Frank Di Pentima

The evening began with a profile of the candidates with Betsy Stagg leading the group with a brief overview of her professional credentials and personal history. A thirty year resident of Oakland, she is involved in various civic organizations, works as a civil engineer, and teaches environmental science at Passaic County College. She is running as an incumbent having served six years on the council with a focus on open space issues.

Frank Di Pentima is also running as an incumbent having served three years. He also is involved in numerous civic organizations such as the Fathers’ Club, The Knights of Columbus, and Our Lady of Perpetual Help where he chairs their finance committee. This leads into his focus on the council, which is finance; and his professional background where he provides accounting services to a global publishing house .

Pat Tirri & David Skoblar

Dave Skoblar is one of the challengers for the two contested seats on the council. He is a firefighter/EMT in another NJ municipality, and comes equipped with organizational training in emergency and non-emergency matters. He also is involved with various civic organizations such as the Fathers’ Club and The Knights of Columbus.

Pat Tirri, like the other male candidates, is a member of the Fathers’ Club and The Knights of Columbus. He is the other challenger and brings municipal experience from having served on the council in Prospect Park, NJ. His responsibilities there included chairs/co-chairs on committees negotiating contracts with unions and vendors.

The debate began in earnest on the subject of school budgets. Although this is a matter for the elected officials of the school board, considerable time was spent discussing the topic as it directly impacts taxes. The first question asked of all the candidates was their personal stance on the district being able to offer a full day kindergarten. All the candidates responded in the affirmative, but qualified that providing the service would require increased funds and potentially new construction.

Frank Di Pentima offered that the school budget defeated in 2005 included full day kindergarten. One resident in attendance responded that the kindergarten aspect was only a portion of a very poor proposal. This led to further discussion as to what type of relationship the council has with the school board with Di Pentima describing his efforts in negotiating recently defeated budgets, and Skoblar saying that there needs to be increased dialog between the town council and the school board.

As mentioned, the school budget is an issue for the school board, but it was a subject many wished to continue discussing due to the fact that the majority of taxes collected by the town go to support the local and regional school districts. Discontent was expressed with polls for board elections, which are held in April, not opening till 2pm; and a specific question as to what, if any, efforts are made by the school board to open lines of communication with the municipal body. Many in attendance expressed the belief that the school board operated outside of the larger Oakland community.

The subjects of water and sewer increases were on the mind of many residents. Primarily, sewers were a hot topic as residents of The Reserve were notified that day of a proposed sewer increase by their vendor. The proposal, which must be approved by NJ’s Board of Public Utilities, could mean rate increases of up to 84% for some residents in the development. Many residents, aware that they are not served by the very limited municipal sewer system, were eager to hear how the candidates might be able to assist.

With more than a few residents speaking on the subject with a tone of both desperation and exasperation, it brought to the surface a communal feeling in The Reserve that they are perceived as not being part of the Oakland community. There was a strong effort to prevent the building of The Reserve which many residents wanted to keep undeveloped, and there were significant slights afterward which re-enforced a sense of separation. One point specifically raised was the failure of the town to plow the roads in The Reserve for many years. Frank Di Pentima tried to capitalize on the subject by claiming for the administration the resolution which finally got the taxpayers the basic service expected by all residents. One resident made a point of clarifying the situation by stating that it was a lawsuit, won by the development, that finally brought about snow plowing by the municipality for the roads.

Trying to capitalize on a situation was not limited to incumbents. Pat Tirri, who along with his running mate David Skoblar, has knocked on most of The Reserve doors seeking voter support sought to build on the sense of separation sensed by residents and suggested that perhaps there should be council liaisons for various communities throughout Oakland. His concept was that different areas of Oakland have different priorities, and a council liaison might provide more of a voice for resident concerns. Frank Di Pentima countered that such a proposal might lead to greater contention in the community pitting neighborhoods against each other for the limited resources available. Pat Tirri also implied that the incumbents should have been aware of the critical sewer rate increase facing the residents, but this was quickly discounted by residents who clarified that the issue had only arisen that day.

The recent water rate increase, which is a subject that has been raised by residents at several council meetings, was also part of the debate. Though Betsy Stagg and Frank Di Pentima differed on the actual impetus for the review which led to the rate increase, she explained that the utility must be self funded and the 5% increase was intended to insure the funding would be available. Both incumbents explained that the delay in the state passing a budget created a delay in the town’s budget being passed, and this in turn caused the increase to be retroactive to January. The water issue gave an opportunity for Skoblar and Tirri to question why Betsy Stagg originally voted against the increase and then changed her vote several weeks later. They contended that she either did not agree it was necessary and was voting party lines, or that as liaison for the water committee she had been left out of the loop on a critical decision in the budget process.

The subject of taxes was summed up by one resident who wanted to know what residents are getting in return for the taxes being paid. This was a concern of everyone in attendance, but especially for residents who do not have children in the school system and would like to see resources devoted to projects that might impact them. In particular, it brought about discussion of what many perceive to be a significant lack of progress, and/or poor planning with regards to what downtown projects are in development. David Skoblar agreed that residents were putting out more money each year and seeing no return, and contended that municipal taxes have risen an unacceptable 51% in five years. He believes the town discourages businesses that might attract outsiders, and this puts a strain on many of the existing businesses and leads to a lack of diversity. As the subject was of interest to many in attendance, he continued to expand that the town needs to be more proactive in seeking affordable solutions to improve the image of the downtown area.

Residents and candidates alternated in presenting different perspectives on the potential for government to influence private development. The incumbents and some residents offered that planning boards have limited authority to control development on private property as long as the use is permitted; the challengers and other residents believed the town could influence developers by creating obstacles and making things more difficult for those unwillingly to work in a cooperative manner in the planning process. Residents gave recognition to the grassroots work of the late Carolyn Karg who’s organized efforts stopping Wyckoff Ford from locating across from the Oakland municipal buildings on RT 202.

Many believed the town would benefit with more retail diversity. The high proportion of banks, pizza restaurants, nail salons, and drug stores, is a common complaint that was again voiced by residents at the debate. Interest in supporting independently owned small business was another part of the discussion. While Frank Di Pentima explained that although banks don’t provide the town much character, they do provide a steady and secure commercial tax base while requiring little in services or resources from the town. David Skoblar believes the town needs to open up more lines of communication between the town and landlords such as CopperTree, and seek out greater assistance form the county and state in finding ways to alleviate the traffic problem.

The closing statements came about before many subjects were touched upon, and the challengers took the opportunity to remind the residents of some issues which they believe reflect poorly on the current administration. Pat Tirri believes definitively that the council was being disingenuous in telling the town that the premature 3.5 million dollar payment was the result of a clerk’s error. In very emphatic terms, he stated his belief that either a CFO or the council had given this employee the leeway which allowed it to happen. This led into a litany of what he described as the present council’s unwillingness to take responsibility for other contentious issues such as the Stream House and the library lawsuit. Dave Skoblar continued in the same vein of their being a need for accountability saying residents need representation, not excuses. He reiterated a theme of opening dialog with all elements of the community, and a need for the town to be proactive in finding solutions.

Frank Di Pentima closed by saying that he is responsible for the budget and that the present council has reduced spending. He referred specifically to spending at the library which has mandated funding requirements but had previously been receiving additional monies which were discontinued. He addressed the 3.5 million dollar issue and reiterated that procedures in place were not followed. He contended his work with state officials to cover the gap over a five year period will lead to no tax increases due to that situation. He continued to state the case that discretionary spending has gone down, and that the council has worked to reign in the cost of benefits relating to various municipal union benefits. Betsy Stagg summed up her case by saying that dreams can’t happen overnight. She described how her past achievements with regard to successful open space projects as being many years in the making, and looked towards the future with hopes of the town possibly acquiring the Pleasureland property, the potential for a town pool on the location, and a walking path linking the property to the existing Rec fields.

The public discussion lasted almost two hours, and residents continued the discussion with the candidates for a short period in informal conversation. The challengers have created a website with a video interview that explains their platform, and The Journal hopes to submit specific questions to all candidates that might provide additional insight into their goals and vision for Oakland.

Please use the Submit Page, or the comment box below to suggest questions. Any questions selected will not be posted publicly as a comment till a later date.