EXCLUSIVE - Interview with Council Candidate Ken Freeman

Q1 - Please tell me a little about yourself.

A: Born and raised in Dumont, I have lived here my entire life, graduating as Valedictorian of Dumont High School. Continuing my education at Rutgers University as a Finance major with a minor in Philosophy, I graduated first in my class with a 4.0 GPA. After graduation, I worked on Wall Street in Investment Banking for Deutsche Bank. Since being recruited away from Deutsche Bank, I have been with an Asset Management firm in Hoboken.


Q2 - Why are you running for Dumont Council?

A: I am a Republican and I want to provide a fresh voice and an alternate viewpoint to the current all Democrat Mayor and council. My financial background enables me to give strong oversight to the town’s finances.


Q3 - What is your platform?

A: I want to bring two-party government back to Dumont, which is crucial to any town, be a point of checks & balances for all council activities, and offer some fresh ideas and alternatives.

We have seen explosive growth in taxes over the past several years and I want to dig down to not only find out why, but to see what isn’t working with the current all Democrat administration and implement the changes needed to bring back stability so that our seniors don’t “have to” sell their homes. We need to provide young families with the programs and services needed to keep them in our town.


Q4 - If elected, what are your goals for the first 100 days? The first year?

A: When elected, I will listen to the people that I will be representing. I will be visible and available throughout my term, not just during election time. In addition, I will go over past budgets with a fine-toothed comb, seeking to eliminate redundancies and increase efficiency, especially in advancing shared services with other towns.


Q5 - If elected, you will be outnumbered. How do you think it will impact your goals?

A: Clearly I will have to work to foster relations and build consensus, but, when necessary, I will be a strong voice of opposition.


Q6 - Your opponents may say that you have not participated in community activities, implying that it is somehow a prerequisite. Do you think the charge is relevant?

A: I am a lifelong resident and I understand the town and the people very well. I was a minor league baseball umpire in town, and played sports growing up and in high school. I have volunteered for the homeless in the area, participated in walks for Breast Cancer and those with disabilities and I have donated blood numerous times. I believe each candidate should be judged on what they bring to the table, their integrity and their ability to produce results.

Is There Value Left in C3's Technology?

The value proposition of C3 has been that it utilizes patented technology to get us information that is local, relevant and timely to computers and cell phones. We are paying premium because it's worth it, we are told.

Yet in the April 22 Public Meeting at Borough Hall, Councilman McQuade asked why messages directed to his cell phone were not received in a timely manner. When the answers were unacceptable, the councilman pressed on. That persistence was met with the mayor's gavel.

In recent months C3 has added Twitter feeds to Dumont's website. We see how reliable that service is.

In recent months a new service has emerged that promises what C3 offers, at no cost to municipalities. Our neighbor in Oradell recently adopted it. This is what their Oradell's alert screen looks like. Now compare that with Dumont's alert screen. One would expect the free service to look cluttered and less polished, but that distinction appears to fall on C3's $1500 monthly service.

I brought this to the governing body's attention and merely asked them to look into it. Though the mayor said they would, I doubt it. Why not? Others may start asking why we are paying for a product others are getting for free.

It seems distracting that this ugly cloud continues to hang over the web contractor and their client municipalities.

Reduce Your Property Tax and Double Dip - ALL LEGAL!

Economy got you down?

Lost your property tax rebate this year?

Lucky to receive your property tax rebate and you want to reduce it even more?

Boy are you in luck this year!!!

A recent Sunday Times Article discusses this, the only way out for county and state government is for property values stabilize or increase.

Current homeowners who no longer qualify for property tax relief from the state of NJ will likely seek alternatives. Will the property tax assessments be in the crosshairs?

The kicker is that anyone can seek an appeal, regardless of their financial condition. While those with the means to conduct thorough research may have an edge, it takes nothing to get started.

Start here: Bergen County Resources

Pamphlet from the State of NJ

Appeals Form from the State of NJ

Can you still say I never tried saving you money on this blog?

You are welcome.

Too Rich to Seek Grants?

In fall of 2008 (and in the middle of the political campaign), the borough issued a press release launching their "Green Initiative" basically detailing all the wonderful things that the elected officials have been tirelessly working for, on our behalf.

I wrote an open letter to the officials involved. Receiving no response I wrote another letter. Councilman Manna responds with what seems to be a self-contradicting tirade. Perhaps being out of his element, I stepped into his (cue video to 39:53). As a result, it seemed to take the entire governing body, led by the borough administrator, to unilaterally dismiss my ideas seemingly without consideration.

Fast forward to June 2009. In Part 2 of the 6/15/2009 meeting, the borough administrator is heard in the first few minutes of the video reporting that the borough has resumed the pilot (of using a blend of filtered waste vegetable oil in diesel fuel), presumably to save money and appear environmentally conscious. It is apparent that, six months later, our elected officials have failed to do their homework, failed to set aside politics and failed to heed science, risking municipal funds to press on with this ill-fated experiment, probably achieving neither in the end. Even the Cedar Crest senior community seems to be on the right track... any active or retired chemical engineer willing to pitch in and volunteer to help the borough?

But it did not have to happen this way. The State of New Jersey offers grants to municipalities with no expertise required, yet our borough never appeared to apply for one. Why not? Dollar amount too small? Not worth the trouble? Terms too onerous?

It would appear that the borough's green initiative is starting to take a queasy tint...

Where are the Videos?

Video recordings of borough hall can now be found on the A Better Dumont Channel on blip.tv

Recordings are of SD quality at minimum using the latest in video compression technology. In other words, the video quality is superior to what you have seen hosted on Blogger or Google.

Dating from the December 2008 M&C Public Meeting, videos can easily be found on this channel. See whether promises made were kept, who really said what (if at all) or just for the record.

If I was there to record it, videos are available for viewing on the channel generally within 48 hours of the event.

Enjoy!