The formation of the homeowners group: 

Responsible Citizens for Orange

"Government is instituted for the protection, security, and benefit of the people, and they have the right at all times to alter or reform the same, whenever the public good may require it."  
  New Jersey State Consitution

Responsible Citizens for Orange is a volunteer, nonprofit, bipartisan, organization of Orange, NJ residents. The group was originally formed as an organization to protest  property tax increases. Our members do not object to paying taxes as long as the money is raised fairly and spent wisely. We are pro business and support reforms that will encourage economic development in Orange and in the State of New Jersey but not at the expense of losing our homes, our retirement savings and our family's security.
 

With the impact of recent property tax bill increases caused by the State mandated revaluation as a catalyst, and the realization that the property tax system was hopelessly stacked against the individual resident appeal, Responsible Citizens for Orange  focused on the details of municipal spending and the conduct of their elected officials. Members of our group studied the budget presented by the Mayor, attended Council meetings and listened to City Department Heads present their spending proposals.
   
What we found is this: Unless there are fundamental changes made to the way the City of Orange operates, taxes will continue to increase, services will continue to decrease and the benefits of anticipated real estate development in Orange will be lost to the majority of current home owners and citizens of Orange.

The loss of  Orange’s historical industrial base over the past thirty or forty years brought urban ills normally associated with larger cities that would have challenged the most competent administrators and politicians. Unfortunately, we found that a large part of the continuing problems of this City is due to mismanagement, fiscal irresponsibility, and cronyism by the current and previous municipal leaders over the past two decades.

It has been ten years since Mayor Mims Hackett Jr. defeated the corrupt Mayor Robert Brown on a platform of ethical reform, accountability and political transparency. It is now apparent to all that the “regime change” removed some overt examples of corruption but changed very little in the way that the City of Orange is actually managed.

Municipal government in Orange is dysfunctional with the intended checks and balances of power between the Mayor and City Council dissolved by the Mayor’s control and manipulation of the City Council. The Orange municipal government, as lead by Mayor Mims Hackett Jr., is essentially a fiefdom run as a political base for the Mayor’s State political activities. Employment opportunity and job security of Mayor Hackett’s family members and friends seem to take precedence over the needs and concerns of the citizens of Orange.

In many ways, the conduct of Mayor Hackett Jr. that we are challenging is no different then that of other mayors and politicians in New Jersey. Some of the actions by the Mayor that  we object to are not illegal - but they are unethical. The fact that the Mayor of the City of Orange and other politicians and public servants in the State of New Jersey do not know the difference is reason enough to remove them from office. The scope, pervasiveness, and duration of unethical behavior in Mayor Mims Hackett’s administration has made it clear that he has little respect for the citizens he was elected to serve and must be removed as quickly as possible.
    
The Responsible Citizens For Orange does not, at this time, have, or support a candidate for mayor. We will continue to search, evaluate and, in the future, back a qualified candidate. We will continually add support for our positions and back up our charges on the pages of this web site over the coming months. We encourage you to read, discuss and become better educated on these issues. You may contact us privately at 973–678-5634 or anonymously if you wish, using the contact information on this website.

Responsible Citizens For Orange members believe that ethical, efficient government is possible and that from this foundation, fair tax policy can be realized.  We are all responsible for insuring that our “public servants” (whether elected, appointed, or hired)  act ethically, exercise fiscal responsibility, operate in a politically transparent manner, and work in the best interest of all citizens. We expext all our public servants to observe these standards now, and in the future.  

Democracy is not easy; it is not a spectator sport. Please join us in this effort for ourselves, our neighbors and the future of our city.



 

We represent a wide range of ages, professions, races, and  religions. We are all citizens who now understand that in order to make our voices heard, we must work together and actively participate in our government. We are the government and our elected officials work for us.  

Responsible Citizens for Orange members have initiated our involvement in government at the local level by studying the 2007 budget presented by the Mayor of Orange, Mims Hackett Jr. Our members have attended Council meetings, studied documents, and listened to City Department Heads present their spending proposals.  What we found is this: unless there are fundimental changed made to the way the City of Orange operates;

More Tax Increases Are Coming!