I know you and Ms Baum have written extensively about how our wonder library has been treated by the town committee in the past yr.
Here something you might want to investigate. Something secret is brewing at the library. I saw the Mayor and Stephanie Murray leaving the library's office together last Thurs. & did a little private investigation. It was Murrary's 2nd visit in just a few days, and someone in the know told me that she was bringing the director very bad news about the library's budget.
After taking so much money from the library last yer, I wonder if some people were right in predicting that there was more to come. I think someone should follow up and find out whats going on.
I sent this to Middletown Patch too b'cause I'm a big lib user and dont want the library to be treated like it was last yr. I wish I knew more but my source was really nervous to tell me anything.
PS Keep up the good work. I also believe in the TRUTH!I attempted to follow-up on this information by emailing Susan O'Neal and received a response of "No Comment", which I expected. If something was going on with the Library's finances I doubt that she would confirm them to me at this time or if at all. She is in a precarious position over there and even though she has done an outstanding job as Director of the Middletown Library, she has to be concerned about holding on to her job.
So what is the likely reason why Fiore and Murray would be having multiple meetings with O'Neal? More than likely it just may have something to do with finances as my emailer pointed out but may not necessarily be a money grab by the township such as last year. Fiore and Murray may just be the barer of bad news, letting the director know that revenues are down and adjustments to the library's budget need to be made before the end of the year. You never know
Library funds must be down due to the drop in assessments and rateables around town due to the economy and those pesky residents that continue to file tax appeals that eat away at township revenues. Because of this, I would think that all of the Township's new appointees on the Library's Board of Trustees are watching every penny spent with a directive to spend as little money as possible which in turn would force the Library to use funds from its conservancy for normal operations, reducing the budget and providing the town with the surplus that they can grab to for the Township's own coffers.
Of course this is all purely speculative on my part, maybe nothing is happening and everything is swell and dandy. Maybe Fiore and Murray were just stopping by for coffee and pleasant conversation. Or maybe the person that emailed me is correctly jumping to conclusions that the Township is after surplus library funds again, to help offset an as of yet unadopted Township budget. Either way though something seems to be happening at the library.
The Library's monthly meeting of its Board of Trustees is tomorrow night, Wednesday, June 20th , at the main branch on New Monmouth
Road, starting at at 7 P.M. If anyone has any questions about what I brought up here, it seems to me that you should go to the meeting and ask members of the Board directly what my be going on. It would really be the best place to follow-up with your questions.
18 comments:
Let's hope Ms. Murray is just trying to get some shelf space for the low brow "romance" novels she publishes.
Maybe you should read the best seller, "50 Shades of Gray". Her books are not anywhere even close to the pornographic caliber in 50, yet no one says boo about that!
Heard they were talking about Middletown Day.
You need new sources!
Middletown Day?? Really? You have to come up with something better than tbat.
Anon 11:12,
The author of 50 Shades of Gray is not on the Middletown Township Committee !!!!!!!!!!!!!
11:12- who mentioned pornography here? Maybe you should put down your copy of 50 Shades long enough to actually read the posts here- or don't you have a hand free?
On Monday Resolution 12-172 was passed, which basically authorizes estimated tax bills to be sent out for the upcomming collection of property taxes. The need for estimated tax bills is due to late budget submission (again), and a present inability on the part of elected officials and upper-level administrators to determine an exact tax rate.
So, is there a revenue shortage, actual or projected, that prevents determining an exact tax rate? Is it possible that the township committee is trying to dig into library funds (surplus or otherwise) to supplement possible revenue shortfalls?
Any activity at TOMSA that may indicate another loan request to be added to the $700,000 already taken over the last two budget cycles? Any indication that there will be less money available in deferred schools taxes to supplement the municipal revenue streams?
Anon 8:45,
You shouldn't talk about our congressmen and senators like that, they work hard to maintain thier salaries and benefits (I mean get re-elected) sorry. We should not hold them in contempt, although I would like to, most have done little to nothing for the aveerage person. They make headlines by playing to the special interests and being Obama's puppets. For that maybe we should hold them in contempt of the people. The TC is doing a great job, smaller govt is in place, the thing most people don't care to acknowledge is the dramatic decline in revenue based on tax appeals being won throughout the town on large commercial properties. Yet somehow the TC has found a way to have very little tax increases. Through the years I could see a possible decrease in taxes happening if these sound fiscal decisions continue to be made going forward. I bet if the economy turns around, middletown will be very well off.
The above is a paid political announcement from your local Miiddletown political appointee.
If the economy turns around, Middletown will be very well off! Duh!
Didn't your meal ticket in Trenton tell you we are already in a "Jersey Comeback" ?
Nice response, completely factual and solid argument, will you run for office so I can elect you???
Anon 12:35 AM,
For years (10) the Republican led Middletown Township Committee appealed, avoided and put-off conducting a re-evaluation (to satisfy the land rich and cash challenged Navesink River residents) until Monmouth County forced the township to comply with the the law and told them they had to conduct a re-evaluation in 2008. Shortly thereafter the bottom fell out of the real estate market and we all were subject to a financial crisis. Had the Township done their job and conducted more frequent re-evaluations the impact on the taxpaying community wouldn't have been as severe and the tax appeal awards the community is now experiencing wouldn't have the impact on revenue that we are all now experiencing.
Regarding the smaller government you mention -- the numbers may be smaller and the cost of government is larger. OPRA Middletown for cuts in head-count since 2008 and additions to head-count since 2008. Then calculate net increase or decrease in payroll and benefit costs and see how small Middletown government really is.
If the Township Committee had planned and managed appropriately the community would be in much better financial shape than it is now.
Anon 12:35 AM
Along with tax appeals you can also attribute the dramatic decline in municipal revenue to: lost jobs, loss of commercial businesses, foreclosed homes, mismangement and poor planning -- evidence for the last two is $500,000 dollars extorted from the library last year and $700,000 taken from the Sewerage Authority over the last two years.
Yeah,the above 12:35 a.m. is that stupid broad that now has an appointment to the tax board and has a permanent bent over position from kissing CC and GS's backsides. Goes around with a "brown nose' as a result. "brownsugar" I believe is her name for it.
#89
The T.C. didn't find a way to have very little tax increases, they were given a 2% cap on the tax levy that they couln't exceed. Pension costs,health care costs, and bonding costs are outside the 2% cap on the tax levy. With the ever increasing cost of health care and the pension bomb designed by the state with no fail-safe mechanism, there is very little chance of seeing "a decrease in taxes", unless you move out of NJ. One of the ways that the T.C. "found" to have "very little tax increases" was to take $500,000 from the library budget, and to have former Republican Mayors Parkinson and Smith and the rest of the all Republican appointed Sewerage Authority donate $700,000 to Middletown municipal budgets.
So, let me get this straight, you call that sound fiscal decision making? Maybe you should run for office. You would fit right in; may be you already fit in.
Anon at 4:49
You are aware that the TOTAL tax increase, INSIDE and OUTSIDE the cap is 2% in the introduced budget, right?
So your (incorrect) blathering about what is allowed outside the cap is just bullsh*t, right?
Please try to be an educated voter, okay?
Real fiscal conservatives don't need caps and other people's "toolkits" to balance a budget. Stealing from Peter to pay Paul is not fiscal conservatism. Toto has pulled back the curtain on this TC and even Christie's rather large shadow can't conceal their stupidity.
2012 tax rate is 2.9%
Maybe the levy increase is 2.9% but the certified municipal tax rate per hundred has to be stated in dollars and cents TO MAKE SENSE !!
The cap is stated as a percentage of the tax LEVY,not the tax rate anon. know it all @ 6:36 am and it has been said estimated bills are being considered so maybe you don't know all you think you know........
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