What's Important To Middletown Voters?

 As we enter into the 2024 Primary season and on to the General election in the fall, I want to know what's important to Middletown voters? What's on your mind and what can we do to enact positive change, not just in Middletown but throughout Monmouth County and the State?

Here are a few things that I will be basing my campaign for Township Committee on:

• Advocacy for Responsible Development: I want to prioritize responsible development practices that honor Middletown's character while fostering sustainable growth. I understands the importance of striking a balance between economic advancement, environmental conservation and the quality of life. 
• Fair Taxation: I would like to address the issue of rising property taxes, I am pledging to champion fair and equitable taxation policies that alleviate the burden on residents while ensuring essential services receive adequate funding. The annual reassessments of our property and homes are hurting families and are the cause of skyrocketing property taxes.
• Education: I would like to tackle the concerns surrounding the quality and equity of education in Middletown. I denounce the infiltration of extremist views within the education system and pledges to cultivate a safe and inclusive learning environment for all students.

By no means will the above be the only issues my campaign will be focused on. There are numerous issues that plague Middletown that get overlooked by current members of the Township Committee and residents alike. Let's shed some light on these issues and get things done that will create positive change in our community.

Leave a comment and let me know your thoughts

NEW YEAR, SAME OLD B***S***

The following blog post is from Danielle Walsh's new blog, " Keeping Middletown Informed". It's the first of many that has been promised by Danielle. I can't wait to read more.  The post below is published here with her permission. Enjoy - MM

January 04, 2019

NEW YEAR, SAME OLD BULLSHIT

'The Middletown Board of Education and Township Committee are now in a race to decide when you will vote for School Board Members with zero input from YOU'
First, I apologize for the vulgarity, but sometimes I am astonished at the lack of respect and trust the Township Committee and the Board of Education have for each other. If you thought a new year and new members would bring a change, think again.

It's no secret the BOE and the TC haven't always seen eye to eye. As I former BOE member and president myself, I've encountered the frustrations of trying to create common ground. The Middletown residents, however, have made it crystal clear that they want to see a better working relationship between the two entities to not only reduce taxes, but to keep the public better informed of issues that affect their families. And in turn, all the candidates who ran this year for both BOE and TC made 'working together' and 'transparency' a central platform of their campaigns.

So here's the latest beef as I see it...There have been passing statements made by members of the Township Committee since the election, that they felt the Board of Education elections should be returned to April. Here's where it gets a little complicated so bear with me while I give you some background...

-BOE elections are presently held in November. There are no party affiliations on the ballot and they are purposely sectioned away from party-specific positions on the physical ballot.
-November elections are directly tied to a 2% cap on the BOE's budget, meaning the BOE may not raise their overall budget by more than 2% in a given year thereby limiting any taxpayer increase. (There is a minor exception with banked cap.) The budget, in turn, does not have to be voted on by the public.
-We used to have BOE elections in April several years ago, but we moved them to November.
- Moving elections to April, would eliminate the cap of spending, and allow the BOE to present any increase they feel necessary with the codicil that is will now be voted on by the public. There were several budgets passed with increases up to 11% to the taxpayer when this was the case.
- If the budget does not pass, it would be turned over to the Mayor for revision.

Still with me? Great! At my last BOE meeting in December, these statements and/or rumors from the TC were addressed. Our attorney told the BOE (all in public and on video at the middletownk12.com website) that basically, whoever passes a resolution first gets to decide when these elections occur, (which seems ridiculous to me, but I digress). I advised my fellow BOE members, that although I did not trust the motivation for the TC's talk of this that they should reach out and try to work together as well as table the decision making until the two new BOE members were sworn in.
On January 2nd, the new BOE had a discussion about passing a resolution to prevent the move to April elections, as a number of BOE members felt strongly that the move was frivolous, among other reasons. There was also further talk of having the resolution prepared for the January 15th meeting, giving the public and the TC about 2 weeks to digest the idea and allow time for discussion with the TC.

Keep in mind here, as stupid as it sounds, whichever governing body passes their resolution first, wins this debate.

Fast forward less than 48 hours later...The TC sends the BOE their resolution to move the elections to April. No public discussion, as the BOE did. No input from the public, which the BOE did. They sent the resolution and informed them it would be voted on at the Township Committee Re-organization meeting on...(wait for it)...Sunday morning....Seriously? The first official act of this new TC is to undermine the BOE and dictate to them, without any time for input or public opinion, when their elections should be.

Not to be outdone , the BOE quickly reacted by sending public notice with intent of their own of passing a resolution keeping the elections in November. The BOE meeting is 9 am Sunday. The TC Meeting is 10 am Sunday morning....Neither meeting is a particularly accessible time of the week for residents to get involved or give residents enough time to learn about the issue, but both are open to the public.

So the pettiness, blame-game and political battle will continue into the new year for the TC and the BOE. The audacity of the TC to presume to know what's best for the BOE without sufficient consultation with them is alarming. There are two sides to the timing of school board elections, and I see validity in both, as I outline below, but to push this through quickly, without public input or even school board input is a deceptive and arrogant move by the TC. My suggestion to you is to share this information and write the TC and BOE and demand your input be counted and transparency be a priority. Otherwise, we will continue to be dictated to and told our voices are obsolete. It is sheer hubris that allows our elected officials in the TC to presume issues are too complicated or too unimportant for our input. And I find it terribly ironic that our TC spouts about the importance of keeping taxes down, while simultaneously voting for measures that cost us more money, and have the potential to raise taxes exponentially.

Here's my take on the pros and cons of April/November Elections....

April...Pros
-Likely a more informed voter base, as school elections draw out those who know the candidates, with the possibility of less votes based on presumed political affiliation
-Public input in the budgeting process for the BOE. The Budget Ad Hoc Committee (of which I was a member) was designed to help inform and sell the public on what their money is being spent on.
-The public votes on whether to approve the budget.

April Cons...
-The additional cost of approximately $40,000 to run the elections separately will be assessed to the BOE, who has already lost $1.3 million to state cuts.
-previously elected BOE members to 3 year terms will be cut approximately 8 months, undermining the will of previous voters.
-Budgets have the potential to skyrocket if approved by the turnout of residents.
-Voter turnout is substantially lower
-If a full day of voting, another day added to the school year, if school's close.
-If a 4-9pm voting window, the possibility on minimal voter turnout broadens and could be considered voter suppression.
-2% cap is lifted on BOE budget.

If the Budget fails during April elections, the mayor would be responsible for revisions and quite honestly, I believe this is why this nonsensical pissing match is happening. The Township Committee wants more oversight of the BOE. Tony Fiori is still whining about losing his precious Stevenson Park Complex and being asked by the public to work with the BOE to upgrade fields. But ask yourself who is more qualified to make financial decisions that concern our children? The BOE Business Administrator and Superintendent in conjunction with teachers, principals, parents/residents and the 9 people elected to the BOE or our (likely) new mayor Tony Perry, who has shown himself at the very least to be dishonest in his campaign practices with zero experience in what our children need to succeed?

No other district in the state has ever gone back to April elections after moving them to November. That doesn't bar us from doing it, but it should give us pause to take our time, talk it out in public, get input and make the right decision, instead of this race to mediocrity we have in Middletown with these rash decisions, excluding all public input. Let's take a step back, take our time and do the right thing for the taxpayers and more importantly our children...

Please share, share, share and help keep Middletown Residents Informed!

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(Info provided by MiddletownDemocrat.org)

Middletown Committee Ready To Replace Steve Massell Tonight With Scharfenberger Son-in-Law

At tonight's meeting of the Middeltown Township Committee, the long anticipated replacement for Steve Massell will be appointed to finish his unexpired term.

For those not familiar, Committeeman Steve Massell, a realtor by profession, accepted an appointment  as a Commissioner of the Monmouth County Tax Board a few months back, but didn't officially resign from the Township Committee until last month. His new job is a paid position and reeks of patronage and cronyism.


The Middletown Republican Executive Committee presented the names of Patricia Snell, Anthony (Tony) Perry and Chris Aveta to the Township Committee, for consideration to replace Steve Massell, at the meeting tonight.

Who are these people you ask?

Not much is known about Patricia Snell other than she is a local realtor who seems to be relatively new to Middletown. Voting records indicated that she's only lived in town since 2012.

People familiar with the Middletown Board of Education, will recognize the name of Chris Aveta. Aveta is a longtime friend of Tony Fiore and both moved from Carteret to Middletown around the same time. He served 1 term on the board of education before being voted off by residents. He then spent the next two election cycles trying to get reelected to no avail. He was seen by many to be divisive and counterproductive. He wasn't an advocate for the students, rather he was a proponent for cutting the school budget under the mantra of "taxpayers" first. Sound familiar?

Anthony Perry's  claim to fame according to his LinkedIn profile is that he is currently the Chief of Staff  of State Senator Joe Kyrillos as well as being a member of the Middletown Planning Board. Not listed on LinkedIn, but I believe it's so, he is also a member of the Middletown Library Board.

What I see however, as Tony Perry's biggest accomplishment and advantage that makes him the front runner in replacing Steve Massell as a member of the Township Committee, is that he married Gerry Scharfenberger's daughter! That's right, he is the son-in-law of current mayor, Gerry Scharfenberger.  
Talk about cronyism with a sprinkle of nepotism thrown in. It's truly outrageous. Should Scharfenberger to even vote on this? Isn't it a conflict he should abstain from? Seems a bit unethical if he doesn't.

It just goes to show you that the Republicans in Middletown have been unchecked and in charge for far too long here in town. To even consider this, is to spit in the face of residents and shows that they feel entitled to do whatever they want whenever they wish to do it.

Out of the three choices, I vote for Patricia Snell. Sometimes the less we know about a person the better.


Here is the Agenda for tonight's meeting.

July 17th & August 21st Middletown Township Committee Meetings

During my malaise, I missed posting the July meeting of the Middletown Township Committee. At the time, the hot button item of the day was the proposed cut in state funding to the Middletown Board of Education. Since this meeting, most of the proposed funding cuts statewide have been restored.

The one thing that stood out to me about this meeting was that before the meeting got down to business, members of the Board of Education addressed the Township Committee to express their concerns about the proposed funding cuts.  If you've been a long time watcher to the Township Committee like myself, you would have been disturbed by the utter hypocrisy of mayor Scharfenberger and his fellow Republican committee members, who in the past has disparaged the Board for not doing their bidding and using the Board of Education budget to create animosity amounts residents. The committee always points out how the Board of Education's budget is 2/3's of the local tax levy and if residents have issues with the Committee raising taxes, they should be pointing fingers towards the Board of Ed instead.

Anyway, here are the highlights from the July 17th meeting:

• Some members of the Board of Education came in to thank the Committee for their support regarding school funding.
• An ordinance was adopted that vacated a paper street behind the former Hess gas station on Rt. 35.
• Another ordinance was adopted to amend performance residential development residential requirements.

As always you can download a copy of the Meeting Agenda that contains the discussion items and the proposed resolutions and ordinances that were voted on or presented during the meeting. A box around an item is a link, bringing you further into the document to that resolution or ordinance. At the end of the resolution there will be a link bringing you back to the agenda. Attached to this agenda is also the monthly bill list, so that everyone can see how the Township is spending our tax dollars.

I only viewed about 15 minutes of the video of the August 21st meeting at this time, I plan on getting back to it in the next couple of days and comment if appropriate. Below however are a few highlights to watch and listen for while viewing thew video.

• Three new police officers were sworn in and two other officers were promoted.
• Proclamations were presented for Middletown being one of the safest places to raise a child and safest in the nation over all. September was declared Ovarian Cancer Awareness month. A proclamation was presented celebrating July 18 as Brookdale Community College Day, celebrating 50 years.
• A certificate of appreciation was presented to the Poricy Park Conservancy Board of Trustees.
• Ordinances were adopted declaring the Town Hall property as a redevelopment zone, restricting parking on Crawford Rd., amending fees for artificial turf fields and day care programs, another to approve capital funding to construct a pavillion at Poricy Park.
• Ordinances were introduced to compensate employees who opt out of health benefits, prohibiting motorized vehicles in parks, and establishing a curfew for Halloween.

You can download a copy of the Meeting Agenda... HERE and just as stated above, the agenda contains the discussion items and the proposed resolutions and ordinances that were voted on or presented during the meeting along with the monthly bill list.

NJFOG: Spotswood BOE meeting minutes don’t make the grade

PRESS RELEASE
For immediate release
September 1, 2016


An initial hearing will be held on September 28 in New Brunswick before Middlesex County Assignment Judge Travis L. Francis for a lawsuit alleging that the Spotswood Board of Education has violated the Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA) and Open Public Records Act (OPRA).

The complaint (docket no. MID-L-4615-16) was filed jointly this August by non-profit organization the New Jersey Foundation for Open Government (NJFOG) and Heather Grieco, who is a member of the organization.

The case is the first lawsuit brought by NJFOG in Middlesex County as part of its statewide affirmative litigation initiative to increase OPMA and OPRA compliance by public agencies. Meetings Act compliance, in particular, is sorely lacking in the state. A favorable ruling in the case would help to strengthen enforcement throughout Middlesex County.

The suit follows a July 7 OPRA request by Grieco for the minutes of the Spotswood School Board’s eight most recent nonpublic meetings (executive or closed sessions), the resolutions that authorized them, and fifty-seven sets of minutes for public meetings (open session) held in the last few years.

Public bodies in the state are required to keep minutes of their official proceedings, both those open and closed to the public, and must have a written resolution setting forth the specific valid reasons for entering closed session.

The meeting minutes that were provided in response to Grieco’s request fall well short of the “reasonably comprehensible” standard required by the Meetings Act, NJFOG claims.

The lawsuit points out that most of the closed door meetings held from August 2015 through this April lasted thirty minutes to an hour or more, while the minutes for those sessions state only that "the Board discussed legal issues" or "the Board discussed goals" or "the Board discussed personnel issues" or that the Board accepted the Superintendent's recommendations without stating what they are.

There is no mention of the parties to any contract or legal matter, specifics that should be disclosed in the executive session resolution, according to NJFOG. “Without that information, a member of the public wanting to know more about a specific matter wouldn’t know what records to request,” said attorney Walter Luers, who serves as NJFOG vice president.

Further, the minutes don’t list the time and place of the meeting or the members present, as the Meetings Act requires.

NJFOG also alleges that the Board either did not advertise its meetings in two newspapers or failed to accurately convey in the minutes the manner in which notice was given. Both are OPMA requirements.

“Their minutes are some of the worst I’ve seen,” said John Paff, who is NJFOG treasurer as well as chairman of the organization’s Affirmative Litigation Committee.

More than two years ago, in January 2014, Paff himself contacted the Spotswood School Board regarding some of these same inadequacies, and the Board’s attorney assured him that the Board would endeavor to be compliant with the law.

In response to Grieco’s July 7 OPRA request for the meeting minutes, the School Board’s Business Administrator directed her to the Board’s website.

All of the requested nonpublic meeting resolutions and minutes – or, rather, what the Board is calling minutes – were there, but they offer almost no information at all, as already mentioned.

Missing, however, were two thirds of the public session minutes that Grieco requested. All but one were subsequently posted to the site on August 1; the remaining set was not yet provided as of the date the complaint was filed.

“While records custodians sometimes respond to an OPRA request by directing someone with internet access to a website to retrieve a record, the record needs to be there,” said NJFOG president John Schmidt.

The Open Public Records Act says that a “government record shall be readily accessible”, not eventually accessible, NJFOG argues.

“OPRA requires not only that records be provided, but that they be provided promptly,” Paff said.

The September 28 hearing is scheduled for 10:30 AM and will focus on the OPRA portion of the case.

NJFOG has brought successful lawsuits against several other public agencies, including the Little Egg Harbor Fire District #3 earlier this year and the Island Heights Board of Education in 2014. Both are in Ocean County. Additionally, NJFOG won a case against the Trenton Board of Education in Mercer County in 2015.

NJFOG is represented by attorney Anthony H. Ogozalek, Jr. of Cinnaminson.


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The New Jersey Foundation for Open Government (NJFOG) is the only non-profit organization in the state dedicated solely to improving public access to governmental records and meetings. We work to educate the public about the Open Public Records Act and Open Public Meetings Act as well as increase governmental compliance, transparency, and accountability.