As an advocate of our excellent Middletown Township library system, I am very concerned about the ordinance being presented at Monday's (12/19/11) Township Committee Meeting regarding the addition of two Library Board members. This ordinance allows for the current seven member Board to be expanded to nine members as appointed by the mayor and his governing body. One Board member is the school Superintendant's alternate pick (and therefore not chosen by the Township Committee).
Some may see this ordinance as a well intended gesture to “increase public participation" in the Library Board decision making process. However, based on the events of this past February, I am skeptical that the addition of two members is anything but a political move to put people in place to advance the agenda of the Township Committee.
Can we trust that the intention of this ordinance is not to divert money to the MTC budget when Committeeman Settembrino, in his role as Library Board member, pushed to have $500,000 transferred from the Library budget to the MTC budget, thereby depleting the library reserves? Mr. Settembrino acted in accordance with his role as a Committeeman to advocate for the taxpayer and provide property tax relief to our residents by plugging a budget hole with this money transfer. However, his action neglects his Library Board Trustee duty to be an advocate for a robust library system.
How can this new, larger Board remain independent when its members may be beholden to the desires of their appointees? The interests of the Township Committee may permeate this independent Board and take precedence over the best interests of the library and the public whom the Board is meant to serve.
The Library Board members must first and foremost be advocates of the library, and their fiduciary responsibility would require them to protect the library budget so that it meets the needs of the library and its patrons. Can we trust that Mr. Fiore will require his appointees to serve our needs, and not his own?
Thank you for all that you do to keep residents informed of the actions of their local government.
Warm Regards,
Note:
For more on this topic read "The $500,000 Raid On The Middletown Library Won’t Be The Last" and the comments that accompany the post along with APP: Middletown requests library hand over surplus of over $542G and Meeting Minutes From Library Board's January 19th Meeting Contradicts What Was Said By Township Committee Members At Last Wednesday Night's Meeting. You can also access the archives of this blog for various updates and opinions on this topic.
12 comments:
You always hear about When there are politicians on boards things get done quickly and more efficiently......NOT! The TC has it's eye on the excess cash the library has and this is a Purge and Destroy tactic of the TC to take it for themselves to control. It's a sad world we live in. Thank you Middletown residents who only vote Republican and have not educated themselves about the absolute crooks we have running this town.
Can you imagine the nerve of the TC to want members of the Library Board who "advocate for the taxpayer?"
LOL
Perhaps the thought is that the Library Board members need to remember who they are actually there to represent. (I'll give you a hint: it's not the Library staff and the Library Association...)
Well said Melanie. Thank you for caring so much for our library and fighting to maintain its' excellence.
I'm afraid if the TC gets their claws imbedded in it, they'll end up destroying that too.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Why don't they spend more time on correcting the mismanagement of the swim club? That sure needs some fixing.
Legion, nice way to accuse without actually making the accusation or having to support it with fact. I'm guessing you work for the town. The library board is charged with doing what's in the best interest of the library, and they serve residents that way. You are suggesting that they are somehow lax or forgetful of their obligations, and that's ridiculous. The library trustees have behaved responsibly in a way the township has not, and the town committee continues to avoid answering for decisions that have cost taxpayers a fortune. I guess it's easier for the town committee to put a bullseye on the library to shift the focus.
Hey Legion,
Now that the Asbury Park Press has instituted controls on posting comments on it's pages ,is this your only outlet for your opinions because you can't post multiple,biased and bigoted opinions on the newspapers pages any longer without disclosing who you really are??
Since when do you think you know it all anyway ?? We are all entitled to our own opinions as you certainly think you are and never hesitate to offer them!
WHO IN HELL CARES WHAT YOU THINK ??????
Legion,
The Township Committee should start with doing their job of advocating for the taxpayer first. Taking money -- so far a total of $750,000 -- from TOMSA and $500,000 from the library to help balance a budget that has been badly mismanaged for many years, which is hard to disguise given the drop-off in revenue due to the national/regional/global financial crisis. And, add the $1,300,000 in deferred school taxes.
Short and Byrnes and even former CFO Roth pointed to poor practices on the part of the majority and so have members of the public. Even the new CFO Mr. T. has made policy changes that emphasize using notes versus the endless unnecessary bonding of the past.
The committee ignored calls for change for years and now the taxpayer is paying the price for the Committee's incompetence and in this economic climate there is no place to hide.
It will be very interesting to watch the upcoming budgeting process and how far they go beyond the 2% tax LEVY cap this year. Taking money from the library is still taking money from the taxpayer. I wonder what the 2.9% tax levy last year would have looked like if the library dollars weren't given away last year and if the TOMSA board led by Parkinson wasn't in the Committee's back pocket? Maybe some will take the time to make the calculation.
Fortunately for the taxpayers of the township, the leadership of the town does know what it's doing, and it is working to lessen the impact of this terrible economy on the taxpayer.
Also fortunately for the town is the fact that the voting citizens of the town continue to elect and re-elect members of the TC who will work for the best interests of the town.
The couple of commenters here are so far out of touch and have opinions that are so deeply embedded into the minority that it seems likely they'll be Democratic candidates for TC next year.
Good luck with that.
In the meantime, the Library Board will be changing dramatically for the better, what with the new public input and all...
Legion,
I'm sure the town would like everyone to believe the economy is the problem. While state aid may be down a million or so, collections from property tax revenues remain at close to 99% of taxes billed. The big hit is coming from tax appeals, and while many towns are seeing an increase in appeals resulting from fluctuating property values, Middletown is in a much bigger hole due the its failure to re-assess for so long and the eventual outcome of that management decision. What's the price tag for that now, $4 million, $6 million, or much more? Let's ask Fiore on 12/19. And while we're at it, let's find out if the township has bothered to analyze its health care costs, considering other towns are saving by switching to insurance through the State Health Plan while Middletown continues to self insure. Management, not economy.
Hey Legion how was your vacation? I heard Brian Nelson was away and just got back. We haven't heard a peep from you until last Sat. hmmmmm.
It's been so dull around here.
There hasn't been anything worth commenting on until now.
I DO liven up this otherwise dull blog, don't I?
Legion/Brian, yes you amuse us.
That runt really only amuses himself.
Little of stature and big of mouth.
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