Dhiren Shah: Welcome to this interview Ms. Gaunt-Butler. Why are you running for Mayor of Orange?
April Gaunt-Butler: I am running for mayor because I love my community. The other reasons are there are challenges in Orange. Whether it’s redevelopment, or some of those benefits for those who come to the community. But we need to make sure that people who are already in the community also get benefits from those redevelopments. There are communications challenges with the current administration. So, we need to make sure that we build an effective and accessible communications system. We need a master plan. Make sure that we are not just trying to live in a greener space, green initiatives, but also space that makes sense for community.
We are a small community, we are 2.2 square miles, we have a lot of redevelopments. A lot of units over 3,000 in the last 10 years or so. But do we have an infrastructure to support it; that is the question. You can drive down the main street and that can take you 20 minutes. Do we have emergency services to support those residents who are coming to our community? So, I have a skill set that can address them. I am a prior councilperson-at-large member, so I have some collaborations and negotiation skills and experience as a leader.
DS: You were Orange Council President and lost the election in 2016. In 2016, you said that you will be involved in politics regularly. What have you done after 2016 for the residents in general?
AGB: So, I will say this. I lost the election where there were 13 people running. I do know one thing that to run the election, you need the money, and to compete with other candidates, that’s a challenge. I am facing this now as well. I have always been involved in public service whether professionally or in my leisure time. I am involved in a scholarship fund. I certainly participated in all the initiatives in my church. I also say life also happens. So, at that time, family members had challenges with their health, so I became a caregiver for two of my family members. So that took away from some of my public service. My mother was a senior at that time and my brother has challenges.
DS: Are you a dummy candidate running as a spoiler against Quantavia Hilbert and in favor of the mayor?
AGB: Absolutely not.
DS: What do you feel are the biggest issues in Orange right now?
AGB: I kind of said in my opening remarks why I am running. Redevelopment, that’s a challenge, there are other things that have challenges as well. I knock on doors; residents tell me about not having access to information about city services, residents tell me about their quality of life issues, parking, residents also shared with me that are coming from other communities. They would like some diverse retail establishments in the community. Besides many challenges, Orange can thrive because it’s a close knit community in 2.2 square miles. We built a community that has an inclusive government that is transparent and shares information, so we can run our little town well.
DS: How will you govern the city with established figures against you?
AGB: I will be fine handling it. I have an established relationship with everyone and if I don’t have an established relationship with anyone, I know how to establish a relationship. I have a skill set to do that.
DS: What do you think is Mayor Warren biggest success and biggest failure?
AGB: I don’t know. You have to ask that to Mayor Warren. I have no opinion or comment on that.
DS: What is your biggest success as a councilperson and biggest failure?
AGB: I have many successes. One success was restructuring the debt and saving probably to the city more than a quarter million dollars. It could have been more if administrations acted sooner. Another success was a toy gun legislation that keeps our young people safe. Another success was a medication drop box (to discard drugs) in a safe manner. I am not sure of any failure.
DS: When you mention toy gun legislation, can you elaborate on it?
AGB: I don’t know if you remember, when I was a councilwoman, there were quite a few incidents around the country where children were playing with toy guns and police officers were mistaking them for real guns. So, I wanted to put that in place, so those kinds of things don’t happen. You can easily identify a toy gun.
DS: Your campaign does not seem to have the reach that the other campaigns have. How will you galvanize the citizens of Orange to vote for you?
AGB: So, when I talked to people and engaged with people, they like me with my message, they engage with my message, I also tell them to watch the debate and make an informed choice. I get positive reviews as well. The community certainly supports me, because of the message I am giving them.
DS: How would you describe the state of the country right now?
AGB: Polarized certainly. but I also say it disturbs me that Orange probably is a microcosm of what we are seeing on a national level.
DS: Residents have expressed concerns about the rising taxes for Orange over the past 12 years. Although some revenue has increased due to new developments being approved, this additional revenue has not yet offset the continuing increase in taxes for homeowners. During your last tenure, you voted for some budgets that increased the tax burden for residents. What is your plan to address current homeowner concerns over these continuing tax increases?
AGB: My message is to taxpayers, and to the community at large, that we need to reshape our focus. We do need to develop a master plan that not only develops a residential development, but also brings in commercial development, and this way the taxpayer will share the burden with the commercial businesses, so they create some kind of tax equity. When you bring in all this redevelopment, and they are getting tax abatements, and they are paying PILOT (Payment In Lieu Of Taxes), they are not paying fully assessed value and it does not benefit at all.
DS: What are the tax percentage the developers are paying under the PILOT programs?
AGB: They vary for each development. One thing that I would say is when I was on the council, there were committees. I don’t know if they still exist. I was also on the finance committee. I can say that as a finance person, to meet the developers and negotiate something, we would either seek a shorter term or ask for some community benefits, repaving the roads, making sure there was some green space.
DS: Usually, it is 10 to 15% for PILOT programs, Am I right?
AGB: Yes. It is not nearly what they need to pay.
DS: Who controls the PILOT program money?
AGB: I think that it can be a negotiation.
DS: Is the mayor most of the time?
AGB: Absolutely. The mayor should be involved in that decision making.
DS: With the increase in developments being approved, parking issues continue to be problematic for residents after they return from work. Although Orange’s ordinances are written to have more than 1 space per unit be made available for the new buildings, there have been instances where developments have been approved and the parking space requirements were bypassed and lessened to under 1 space per unit for developers. How will your administration address resident concerns over available parking?
AGB: I do. I also talked about that in my opening statement as well. So, I have some concerns about parking. And it’s a concern for many, many years. Orange is a small community, and we are basically landlocked. So, I think we need to go back to empowering the planning board and our zoning board and those members to make sure that they are not disempowered or disenfranchised and make sure they can hold the line for the community members.
DS: While surrounding cities have announced ongoing construction for new and improved libraries, the current plans for the improvement of Orange Public Library is relatively unknown. It is known that in the recent past, Orange missed the application deadline for millions in state funding for library improvements. Do you have a plan to secure more funding or revenue to upgrade Orange Public Library?
AGB: I agree with that statement that Orange is in dire need of upgrades. There are challenges, but we need to hold now-elected school board members and those elected to make sure they take care of our community accountable, things like the Orange Public Library. Those elected board members are doing what is in the best interest of our community and our residents hold them accountable. Other thing is that as an administration we must do our due diligence, especially if there is any money to support the valuable assets of our community. Make sure we are applying within the time frame. I dedicated my life for the education of young people.
DS: Two times matching funds were approved for the library. One time, during the time of Mayor Mims Hackett and another time, I think it was under Mayor Warren. Why has no one raised the funds to get the 50% (matching fund) to improve the Orange Public Library?
AGB: I think sometimes it is a matter of priority, and we find the importance of such an institution, and holding the people accountable. It could be why it has not occurred under both administrations.
DS: Right now, nine board members of the Orange Board of Education, all except one, are supporting Mayor Warren. The YWCA got about $7 million for the bond. They paid about $1.2 or $1.6 million to the city per what I heard. What can you do to repay that money back to the board of education? And if you have an opinion, why has Mayor Warren not paid that?
AGB: The YWCA is another very valuable community center that was thriving at one point, and we certainly need to get it back up and running. I am not sure what the mayor has done about it, but I would say when I got into office one of the things I wanted to do was a forensic audit; what we have and what we don’t have and how can we build. So we can offer some community space for learning and thriving for the residents of our community. I can’t tell you why he hasn’t.
DS: I heard that the second floor would be reserved for people other than the Orange community. Obviously, it might be paid for, but why? It’s a community facility, so why can’t the community use it?
AGB: I agree, but that’s a question you should ask the mayor. I would like to know as well.
DS: Thanks for your time.
