Voorhees Township, New Jersey

[TLamanna]

Dear Mayor Mignogna,

My name is [Name] and I am writing to you as a concerned resident of Voorhees, New Jersey. Now and in the year to come, our community will need to rely on social service organizations.

It is unacceptable that most organizations will see cuts while the Police Department will see none. In light of this reality: I urge you to significantly cut the Police Department's $10.8 million budget

I urge you to advocate for a meaningful reallocation of Voorhees Township’s expenditures: away from policing, and towards social programs and resources that support housing, jobs, education, health care, childcare, and other critical community needs.

The police are not going to feed us when we’re hungry. They are not going to house us when we can no longer pay our rent. They are not going to protect us from domestic violence, and in fact frequently perpetrate it themselves. The residents of Voorhees Township are tired of our tax dollars being used to fund a bloated, overstaffed police department while organizations that prioritize public good are fighting for budgetary scraps.

I know this is not easy, and I am hopeful you will do the right thing. While not a new concept, this topic is currently at the center of conversations across the country. Multiple cities (Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York) have already taken steps to restructure and reallocate financial resources of their police departments, and more cities are likely to follow suit in the weeks, months, and years to come. A different future is possible. Do not let our township be held hostage by a police department that has too long held sway over everything else.

Thank you,

[Name] [Address] [Email] [Phone Number]

[mahrer]

Hi @TLamanna! Thanks for your interest in adding Voorhees Township to the site. It looks like you have some unfinished content in your message:

- Email addresses (at least one) of the government officials you’d like to receive the message

Please reply here when you make those changes. Thank you!

[TLamanna]

Michael R. Mignogna Mayor mmignogna@voorheesnj.com

Jason Ravitz Deputy Mayor jravitz@voorheesnj.com

Harry Platt Committeeman hplatt@voorheesnj.com

Michelle Nocito Deputy Mayor mnocito@voorheesnj.com

Jacklyn Fetbroyt Committeewoman jfetbroyt@voorheesnj.com

Thanks for following up! I hope it's helpful! And thank you for your hard work!

[wendywx]

Hi @TLamanna ! Thanks for your interest in adding Voorhees to the site. Could you please provide more detail about the city budget to make a more compelling argument, showing the disparities in numbers?

Please see our email style guide for some suggestions and general guidelines.

Thank you!

[TLamanna]

Police Expenditures: Salaries & Wages - $5,674,800 Accumulated Time Payout Salaries & Wages - $214,000 Other Expenses - $649,900 NJ Safe & Secure Communities Grant Program - $441,400 (offset by a $90,000 grant) Eastern High School COPS in Schools Program - $124,750 (paid in full by Eastern HS) School Law Enforcement Officers - $315,000 (paid in full by Eastern HS & Voorhees BOE) Vehicle Maintenance - $210,000 Social Security Taxes - $450,000 NJ Pension Liability - $1,241,900 Insurance Expenses - $917,000 (this isn’t an exact amount, it’s just an allocation) Capital Expenses - $648,400 (vehicles & equipment) TOTAL = $10,887,150

All numbers from township financial director and 2019 budget sheet. https://voorheesnj.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/2019-User-Friendly-Budget.pdf

I apologize, I'm having a hard time getting the disparities budget-wise, the reading and understanding the budget isn't my strong suit. Hopefully the above information would be useful. If it is, I can incorporate it into the email.

Sorry for being not the most prepared, but I love this project!

[mahrer]

@TLamanna No worries, this budget is pretty hard to read despite being called "User friendly" lmao.

It looks like the total budget for Public Safety is $11.6 million, whereas Health and Human Services only has a budget of $236,800, Parks and Recreation only has $333,700, and Education (including Library) only gets $164,088 (found on sheet UFB-3). I think these disparities would be good to highlight along with anything else that sticks out to you in the budget as a local.