This edition of It's Your Town newsletter covers the Middletown Township Committee Workshop meeting that was held on Monday, August 1, 2011 . There were only a few resolutions voted on and 11 items on the agenda for discussion. However, most of the discussion items were not discussed. When a resident asked about the lack of discussion a very interesting response was given.
Tony Fiore, Middletown's acting mayor, said that there was no need to discuss agenda items in public because members of the Township Committee members receive their meeting packets on the Friday before every meeting. If a question arises, a Committee member will call a fellow Committee member, Township Administrator or someone else for clarification prior the public meeting, hence no need for discussions in public.
While this practice of Township Committee people calling others for clarification and information pertaining to items in meeting packets prior to open discussion of an item it not technically a violation existing sunshine laws, it is an extremely questionable practice that limits information being disseminated to the public by open and transparent means.
Read the newsletter for yourself, it's all covered here in this issue.
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