Brookdale Community College should be the economic engine for Monmouth County's middle class, one freeholder candidate said during a sit-down interview with the Asbury Park Press.

Instead, he claims the Lincroft-based community college duplicates services already offered elsewhere in the county, and its board of trustees should have more educators as members.

Brookdale is a perennial target for criticism at election time. But what's most surprising about the critique of Monmouth County's community college is that it came from a Republican: freeholder candidate Pat Impreveduto.

Impreveduto, 64, who now serves as deputy mayor on Holmdel Township Committeem, hopes to join the five-member Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders. He's running with incumbent Republican Freeholder Director Lillian Burry, 81, of Colts Neck, who is seeking her fifth term.

They face the Democratic team of Lake Como Mayor Brian Wilton, 42, and political newcomer Margie Donlon, 40, a doctor from Ocean Township.

The candidates sat down Tuesday morning with the Asbury Park Press.

Brookdale funding and trustees

Democratic freeholder candidates have long criticized how much money the county freeholders dedicate to Brookdale. For at least four years, they say the school board should tailor its curriculum to better fit with the vocational jobs that would build up Monmouth County's middle class.

Those were among the issues Donlon and Wilton discussed. They said more should be invested in Brookdale, the place 30 percent of the county's high school seniors attend after graduating.

This time, Impreveduto — at least partially — joined the fray. Impreveduto, a former educator who now works on school accreditation, agreed with Donlon that more educators should be on the board of trustees.

But Impreveduto disagreed with the Democrats on Brookdale funding. He said the county has been doing its part, but the state has not met its funding obligations and the college itself needs to do more to attract students.

"Brookdale needs to be more creative and innovative in helping attract students who would generate more funds," he said.

More:Brookdale names interim leader to replace outgoing president

Impreveduto said Brookdale could free up funding for other initiatives by streamlining campuses. He questioned the need for a Hazlet campus located 10 minutes from the Lincroft main campus. He also said Brookdale should work more closely with the high schools, particularly the county's vocational schools, which he said offer "virtually the same curriculum."

"Brookdale could be an economic engine for the middle class in this community and they're missing that opportunity," Impreveduto said.

Impreveduto's criticism led Burry to say that Brookdale trustees "have been somewhat dysfunctional," but that communication with the community college board has improved under interim president David Stout.

Property taxes and consolidation

The top concerns for Wilton and Donlon were property taxes.

Donlon said she believes Monmouth County residents are hitting their limits in the ability to afford property taxes. Consolidation is the solution, she said.

"I'm concerned people want to leave. We are reaching a cap of what people are willing to pay to live here," she said. "Affordability is absolutely key."

More:The average NJ property tax bill costs 9 percent of your income. Can you afford it?

Wilton said the county needs to have a broader discussion consolidating municipal services and possible mergers of towns as an avenue to curb property taxes. He said the county's efforts now are centered on sharing services and cooperative purchasing.

Wilton said that while changes are needed at the state level to ease municipal consolidation and mergers, the county should have a bigger voice in the county to encourage it. Wilton said he found little aid at the county level when a fiscal shortfall forced Lake Como to disband its police department and contract with nearby Belmar.

Burry said there is a benefit to regionalizing services, especially in schools, and those discussions have to happen at the municipal level. She said it's not the county's place to push consolidation.

"What we (the county) can do, we have been doing," she said.

More:Check out APP.com's coverage of New Jersey property taxes

Monmouth County has made strong efforts to reduce costs through consolidation such as merging youth detention and medical examiner responsibilities with Middlesex County, she said.

Impreveduto said he does not believe it's the county's responsibility to promote town mergers because people believe in "Home Rule," a concept where the layer of the government closes to the people should rule as they see fit.

Towns, he said, need to use long-range planning to both find efficiencies in shared services, but also in their municipal budgeting overall.

Open space funding

Donlon and Wilton said they oppose a county referendum that would nearly double the tax dedicated to open space preservation.

The referendum would increase the tax to 2.75 cents per $100 in property value from today's tax of 1.5 cents per $100 in property value. A taxpayer with a home assessed at $200,000 is paying $30 a year in Open Space tax. If the ballot measure is approved, that same taxpayer will be paying $55.

Donlon said the open space tax would be something she would normally support, but "people are at a tax limit."

Burry, however, said the open space money has been well spent to preserve 17,000 acres of land. The county's 43 parks attract 6.5 million visitors each year, she said.

Susanne Cervenka: 732-643-4229; scervenka@gannettnj.com