At its 12/7/2011 Board meeting, The Middletown Sewerage Authority (TOMSA) held a public hearing on its 2012 budget, but didn’t bother to tell the public.
I attended that meeting and was caught by surprise when, at the start of the meeting, TOMSA Executive Director Pat Parkinson asked awkwardly if there were any public comments on the budget. He never bothered to announce that it was a public hearing. Such an announcement is protocol at hearings and typically includes mention of when notice was provided to the public in line with statutory requirement.
Not realizing it was a hearing and not prepared for it, I said nothing, and the Board quickly moved to adopt the budget by unanimous vote while I was still scratching my head.
After the meeting, I did an online search of public notices and found none about the budget hearing. Because the public wasn’t notified of the hearing, TOMSA’s 2012 budget is subject to legal challenge. It seems appropriate, then, that a new hearing be scheduled. The public deserves a real opportunity, and has a legal right, to review the numbers and ask questions.
Linda Baum
Middletown, NJ
Friday, December 30, 2011
Secret Public Hearing at Middletown Sewerage Authority
The following letter appears online at the Atlantic Highlands Herald:
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10 comments:
Has anyone contacted the Sewerage Authority to find out when a legal meeting will be held to 'legalize' the 2012 TOMSA budget which will go 'live' in two days?
I understand that Ms. Baum is working on it.
Hey Legion! What you say?
I say that I know absolutely nothing about this. I have no reason to doubt Ms. Baum, but I also have no reason to question the TOMSA Board.
If a mistake was made, I presume they will take all appropriate steps to correct it.
A mistake you say?
Do you really believe that? Well, I don't believe in such mistakes. I forgot to flush the toilet is a "mistake" but forgetting to hold a public hearing with out telling the public seems a little more than a mistake.
......NO reason to question the TOMSA board? Are you kidding? Stick your head RIGHT up their butts.
Sorry about the itsy bitsy mistake, forgot about the "public" part of the public meeting. Ignorance is Bliss.
It’s not entirely true that I said nothing during the hearing. I said little, but did ask Mr. Parkinson if I could get a copy of the budget. And no joke, he replied, “You can request one.” I thought, “I just did.” If I’d been aware it was a hearing, I would have been more insistent about getting a copy right then. Parkinson could easily have walked 20 feet to the copier. He was suggesting I could put in an OPRA request, which is ludicrous and even more reason the hearing should be rescheduled. Since the budget isn’t posted on the TOMSA website, there should be copies at the hearing, especially if they aren’t going to give people the advance notice needed to actually put in an OPRA request.
I spoke to Deirdre Colvin, TOMSA Customer Service Supervisor, about the hearing notice. She said she remembers typing it. When I tried to nail her down as to when she prepared the notice, she said I would have to speak to Mr. Parkinson and was quick to end the conversation with me by transferring me to his voice mail. I gather that Ms. Colvin is not pre-authorized to submit notices to the press for publication. It appears that Pat Parkinson makes that decision. I’m still trying to figure out what role Raymond Nierstedt, TOMSA Manager, plays. As manager, he deserves some blame here.
I have now formally requested that the Mayor and Township Committee, the body that formed TOMSA and has authority over it, insist that TOMSA reschedule its budget hearing. We’ll see what happens.
Anon at 1:20
You're right your ignorance is bliss... for you!
No one has ever said anything like this about the TOMSA board before, hence, I have no reason to question them or their intent.
If - and that's a big IF - they neglected to appropriately notice the meeting, they will correct it, I'm sure.
Will Ms, Baum correct her mistake if SHE is wrong?
Linda,
It is inappropriate of you to think that you are exempt from going through the proper channels to get public information. Who do you think you are???
Anon, 1/1, 8:16 pm:
Proper channels?? The process for getting information from TOMSA can more accurately be called improper.
While TOMSA will allow you to email your OPRA request to them, they do not email responses. You are required to visit in-person just to get a list of what has been denied and what you owe before you get the rest of it. I had to have someone else make that trip for me. Now I or another person will have to make a second trip to drop off the money, and a third to get the material, all during regular business hours when I am not able to get there. You can mail a check versus making an in-person trip, but that adds to the delay.
That process has the effect of limiting, or at least significantly delaying, access to material.
The use of email delivery by TOMSA, now common practice everywhere else, would mean quick and easy access to information at zero cost because electronic delivery is free per the OPRA law. But that "proper channel" is not made available.
TOMSA could easily post documents on its website, but that “channel” is not made available either.
Who do I think I am? I’m the public, and the public deserves better.
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