Politics & Government

Meet the Candidates: William B. 'Ben' Young

Cinnaminson Patch brings you biographies of each township committee candidate.

On Nov. 8, Cinnaminson residents will vote for two open seats on township committee. There are five candidates vying for the spots. They are Republican incumbents Anthony V. Minniti and William B. "Ben" Young, Cinndependence Independents Steve Fowles and Ken Gertie and Independent Scott Lunn.

Cinnaminson Patch sent each candidate a list of questions to answer themselves and each day this week, we will provide those answers to you. The schedule of biographies is in alphabetical order, regardless of party affiliation or running mates. The schedule is as follows:

Oct. 3 — Fowles
Oct. 4 — Gertie
Oct. 5 — Lunn
Oct. 6 — Minniti
Oct. 7 — Young 

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Each candidate submitted answers by the same due date so as to remain completely fair. So, no candidate will have seen another candidate's answers before submitting their own. Answers were edited for style, clarity and in some cases, down to the required word count.

Patch users must read our terms of service found here before commenting on this and any story. Comments will be deleted if they violate our terms of service—that includes a person's right to privacy, masked profanity, harassment, misleading information and more. 

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Remember, candidates are not required to answer questions asked of Patch users. Further questions and comments must be directed to Editor Christina Paciolla at christina.paciolla@patch.com.

Finally, we have William B. "Ben" Young, who has served on township committee since 2005.

Name: William B. "Ben" Young

Age: 69

Political Party: Republican 

Years of residency in Cinnaminson: 40 years 

Job: Founder and Owner of Techni Systems, Inc., headquartered in Cinnaminson since 1991, a consulting and construction management company providing owner’s representation to businesses desiring to be their own contractors or requiring expertise to represent their interests when managing a general contractor or construction manager; 

Education: Attended Youngstown State University and Rutgers University; Associate's degree in Business Education from Burlington County College;  Continuing education at MIT; Member of Phi Theta Kappa Honors Society

FamilyWife of 48 years, Connie Young; Three sons, Bill, Greg and Jeremy

Volunteer Experience: Trustee, Lakeview Memorial Park Association; Director, Githens Center for Cerebral Palsy; Tri-County Construction Code Association (18 years as officer and trustee); Member of Cinnaminson School District Roofing/Asbestos Advisory Board; Township Open Space Committee; Township Planning Board; Township Finance Committee.

Have you ever held a public elected office? Cinnaminson Township Committeeman, 2005-Present; Director of Public Works, 2005-Present; Served as Mayor in 2008; Cinnaminson Fire District #1 Commissioner, 1993-2005; Served 4 years as Chairman

Why are you running for Cinnaminson Township Committee? I bring a special management skill set that is needed now more than ever as we are forced to do more with less. My extensive background in construction project management has been put to good use in leading our township’s public works department. 

These difficult economic times and the rigorous state cap have required maintaining and improving services while at the same time reducing staffing levels. My hands-on leadership and implementation of major operational changes has improved efficiency and service delivery and allowed Cinnaminson to successfully meet these daunting challenges.

I am a problem solver who is committed to being accessible to you, the resident and taxpayer. I love this township and am dedicated to devoting my talents and energies to making it a better community. It’s critically important that Cinnaminson continues to have business people who know how to effectively manage resources serving on our township committee. This is not the time to turn our governing body over to those who are allied with special interests.   

Why do you feel you are qualified to serve as a member of the Cinnaminson Township Committee? I bring well-rounded business expertise to township committee with over 40 years of experience in construction, engineering applications, development, and executive management. While serving as an executive for a major builder and developer, I was responsible for budgeting, project supervision, and managing a field operation of more than 200 employees along with a management team of another 30, plus project team members. 

I was directly involved in constructing approximately half of the major buildings in Cinnaminson’s industrial zone. Serving on township committee, I have been involved in budgeting and financial affairs, and have a thorough understanding of the budget process.

What are the three biggest issues facing Cinnaminson right now? How do you feel these issues should be addressed by Township Committee? 
Holding the line on property taxes down is my number one priority. The tax issue involves three major components: (1) Developing creative ways to cut spending; (2) Aggressively pursuing grant funds; and (3) Attracting businesses to our commercial and industrial districts in order to boost ratables. 

I am willing to make the hard spending decisions so our town can thrive down the road. While the special interests have attacked me for consolidating positions, shrinking the costs of retiree health benefits and eliminating duplicate services, it was the right thing to do. Had Cinnaminson not acted quickly four years ago when the economy began showing signs of decline, our township would be a basket case today.

During this time, my colleagues on township committee and I successfully landed over $5.4 million in grant funds. These record grants have allowed us to rejuvenate our parks and recreation facilities. As a fiscal conservative with a strong private sector background, I know the importance of effective long-range planning, resolve at the negotiating table, and debt avoidance. You can count on me to do everything possible to keep your taxes down.   

Economic development is a big issue in Cinnaminson. How do you think the Rt. 130 corridor can be improved? I am proud of Tony Minniti’s accomplishments in re-invigorating Route 130, and have utilized my business and development expertise to assist him. Despite the difficult national economy, we actively pursue new leads to fill vacancies and add new ratables. Because of ordinance changes I helped enact, property owners up and down Route 130 have renovated their sites. 

There’s a domino effect to these investments. Other firms pay attention and it becomes easier to entice new businesses. Going forward, I’m committed to replacing the remaining motels with other uses which improve our quality of life and do not drain our budget.   

What do you feel is Cinnaminson's biggest asset at this time? How would you exploit that asset to the township's benefit? Cinnaminson has many important assets. Our location within the Greater Delaware Valley and along the eastern seaboard is second to none, especially with a convenient transportation infrastructure surrounding us. Our schools are a vital asset. People relocate here all the time to take advantage of the first-rate educational opportunities we offer our children. Our parks and recreational facilities are another strong community feature, and they’re getting even better. 

Cinnaminson hosts vibrant youth sports, civic groups, and churches and houses of worship. We have attractive neighborhoods and safe streets. Our local  purpose tax rate and per capita spending rate are among the region’s lowest.  Plus, Cinnaminson’s loyal citizenry are a wonderful resource. Seniors want to remain here when they retire or downsize. Children who grew up here can be found buying homes to raise their own families. Civic pride abounds. You can see it on display at our township’s Memorial Day ceremony, summer park concerts, Cinnaminson Day festivities, and Christmas tree lighting event. 

Cinnaminson Township Committee needs optimistic, forward-looking members who are able to recognize and leverage our unique assets. Our community should be wary of nay-sayers and mud-slingers who seek political office for all the wrong reasons.   

How do you plan to balance spending and revenue in tough economic times? By law, we have to balance our budget. And by law, we must operate within a strict 2 percent state cap. As tough and challenging as it is to operate within this environment, these are actually good things since it forces you to be lean and innovative. 

Since Cinnaminson has always been frugal in administrative staffing, we were especially challenged to find spending to cut. But we’ve met the challenge. We had to restructure full-time positions into part-time jobs, downsize through attrition, pursue shared services at every opportunity, shrink retiree health benefits, and implement cost-saving technologies. 

By enacting one of the strictest ethics codes in the region, which has mandated fair and open competition for all contracts, we keep costs to a minimum. I helped lead the fight against excessive state low-cost housing mandates. Our success in this regard has spared our municipal and school budgets from millions in future costs.   

Do you feel the current committee is effective? How so or why not? Where do you think the governing body could improve? Cinnaminson Township Committee is widely regarded as one of the strongest and most effective governing bodies in Burlington County. Other towns have followed our lead. While there are differences of opinion among members, we work well together, always demonstrate respect and civility, and strive to reach a consensus as we look for the best solutions. For example, we achieved an innovative agreement with a faith-based nonprofit to renovate the former Cinnaminson Home with significant benefits for taxpayers, community organizations and local seniors. 

We successfully fought in court against tax abatements for the Harbour housing project and saved millions for taxpayers. We also successfully fought to keep adult entertainment businesses out of our town.

After recent retirements left our police force without staff qualified to take the chief civil service test, township committeee recruited a top-notch, award-winning law enforcement professional, Michael P. King, to lead our force as public safety director. At the same time, we saved taxpayers $95,000 in salary and benefit costs.  

 Your Call—A final response to the people of Cinnaminson: While unemployment plagues our nation, township committee has succeeded in improving the job climate at home. By attracting EMSL Analytical, Inc. to renovate and reuse the old Schulman Records building next to the Pep Boys Plaza, we brought nearly 400 new jobs to town. Another 100 jobs came by encouraging Sea Box, Inc., a rapidly growing international shipping container manufacturer, to build their new world headquarters at the old AFG site in East Riverton.

In these economic times, that’s a home run for any community. I will ensure Cinnaminson’s aggressive approach to economic development continues at full speed.    


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