Middletown adopts twp. budget with 2-cent hike Short's dissenting vote furthers friction with GOP committee members BY DAN NEWMAN Staff Writer Patrick Short MIDDLETOWN - Since Patrick Short began his term on the Township Committee in January, there have been many times when the group has voted 4-1 on a variety of issues. However, Short's latest dissenting vote may have been the most surprising to his fellow committee members, who expressed frustration when he voted against the township's $59.7 million budget on Thursday night. Short, the first Democrat on the committee since 1990, said he felt there should not have been any tax increase. "I believe we should stop measuring effectiveness by how small of an increase on taxes that we have," Short said. "To the taxpayers, in the end, it's still an increase. We really ought to be thinking of those on fixed incomes when we do the budget." The approved budget means that municipal taxes will increase by about $40 annually, to $1,400, for the owner of a home assessed at $200,000. The tax rate would increase by 2 cents to about 70 cents per $100 of assessed value. Township Mayor Gerard Scharfenberger said he "was caught off-guard" by how Short voted. Gerard Scharfenberger "He voted for the introduction of the budget but now he won't vote for its approval? That makes no sense," Scharfenberger said. "He provided no basis for his reasoning at all." During the meeting, Short did not offer any specific suggestions on how to improve the budget. The following day though, he had plenty to say about it. "Things like non-emergency overtime are out of control at this point. We also need to establish discipline when it comes to what, and how we bond, as well as why we even do it," Short explained. "Costs need to be controlled and purchases must be consolidated. It's an absolute must that we buy items at the lowest possible cost. These are all ways that we can avoid a tax increase, and I wish others would realize this." The mayor responded that Short never contributed any input concerning the budget, and that it has become more difficult to work with a person who is never heard from him unless it is at a meeting. Scharfenberger said that the budget was solid and that he and the rest of the committee "are doing the heavy lifting and he's not helping at all." "This is becoming increasingly frustrating and I really don't know what he's trying to accomplish by doing this," Scharfenberger said. "In a sense, he is becoming irrational in his behavior." Short said that because he is a new voice on the committee, he is being treated as an outsider. "I guess people don't like change and that's a huge problem right now," Short said. "I have a business orientation and a business sense, and so I am always looking to get the best deal, and I'm sure that's what the people of Middletown expect this entire committee to do. "Sure, there's a lot of contention right now, but we have to deliver. That's all there is to it.," Short said.