May 5, 2014 Middletown Township Committee Meeting: Finance Committee Indeed

Last Monday's Township Committee Workshop Meeting was a short one. How short do you ask? It lasted only 17:39 minutes. If you sneezed or blinked you missed it. Good thing there is a video of  it to prove that it actually took place. It's sad when the Public Comments portion (starting at 7:25) of the meeting lasted longer than the Business portion of the meeting.

The highlight of the meeting was when Don Watson (8:05) questioned items on the Bill List and not surprising, the members of the Township Committee didn't know what Mr. Watson was asking about and had no answer for him. And these people are in charge of our tax dollars!

Years ago when Democrat Patrick Short was elected to the Township Committee, he made it a point to read the bill list every month and questioned what the township was spending money on. It became apparent very quickly that the other members of the Township Committee never looked at or questioned the bill list that was present in their meeting packets each month. For his efforts, Short was publicly ridiculed by his colleagues on the dais (all Republicans BTW) for questioning Township spending. It was a travesty to witness.

Now, once again we have evidence that the Committee members, who act as Middletown's  "Finance Committee", aren't doing their job. It's an embarrassment  when the Township Attorney has to answer basic questions about township finances on the behalf of committee members. Watch the video and you'll see what I'm talking about.



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.

Middletown’s Disappearing Boards

By Linda Baum

What do the Finance Committee, Board of Ethics, and Human Rights Commission all have in common? They are all important, and they are disappearing.

The Middletown Human Rights Commission (MHRC) is the oldest human rights commission in the state of New Jersey. Its primary mission, under state law, is to foster good will and cooperation among our diverse community groups. An 11-member board which currently has only 4 members, the MHRC is dying by attrition as terms expire and no appointments are made by the Township Committee.

Provisions for a Board of Ethics and a Finance Committee (once called “Finance and Accounting”) were originally included in the administrative code that set forth the day-to-day operations for the 1971 Middletown Special Charter, which established our form of government. However, these provisions no longer exist, eliminated in one of several updates to the code, or modernizations as they are sometimes called.

Fortunately, the administrative code can be easily amended. Appointments can be made and all of these boards can be formed or re-constituted. Our Township Committee simply needs to choose to do so. As a member of that Committee, I would insist on it.

January 18th meeting of the Middletown Library Board sets the tone for the year. The Demands, the Numbers, and the Possibilities Part 1

by guest blogger Linda Baum

This is my second post about the 1/18/12 Library Board meeting. See my January 24th post to read about the controversy over the Board’s leadership. A lot has happened since the January meeting, as you all know. Library Trustee Sherry Miloscia resigned from the Board for personal reasons effective January 20th. Trustee and Board President Randall Gabrielan resigned from the Board effective February 7th. Seven out of nine members remain, and the Township Committee now has majority control of the Board with 4 out of 7 votes. If they fill the two empty seats, the Township will have 6 out of 9 votes and a two thirds majority.

******

The January 18th meeting was the first for the newly expanded 9-member Board. The five new faces on the Board presented a challenge for Library Director Susan O’Neal, who is to be commended for responding to a great many questions with patience, good humor, and

expertise.

Throughout the meeting, there was harsh, often aggressive criticism from the new Township appointees, who had clearly decided in advance what their collective approach would be. They seemed ready to air all of their complaints on day one. There wasn’t time for all of it at that meeting, but “just wait till the next meeting”, as an anonymous commenter on this blog warned.

The next Library Board meeting is this Wednesday, February 15th at 7:30 p.m. at the main branch on New Monmouth Road. I encourage you all to attend. (FYI, the meeting actually begins at 7:00 p.m., but the Board will go into closed session for about a half hour right after the meeting is called to order.)

Much was discussed at the January meeting, which ran almost 5 hours. Since there is incorrect information “out there”, I wanted to provide all the facts, making this my longest post by far. I organized topics by heading to make things easier for readers, and had to break up the post into three separate parts for the blog, each still long. This is part one.

THE PARKING LOT EXPANSION

Early in the meeting, it was announced that resources now exist for the parking lot expansion that was put on hold last year. The initial traffic study for the lot expansion has already been completed by Maser Consulting. The key parts of the project are improvements in safety (more lighting, traffic calming, crosswalks), more handicapped spaces, a drop off zone for short term parking, and additional parking spaces (approximately 35 more spaces).

The project is expected to cost roughly $122K-150K. Available monies include reserves, largely from expense savings that the Library was able to achieve last year, plus state aid monies.

Recall that per the 2011 agreement with the Township, the Library has two options for paying for capital improvements – they can pay cash or pay the debt service on bonds/notes issued by the Township. Libraries are not allowed to themselves issue debt, so the two payment options may not represent anything new. The Board has always preferred to save up until they have enough money for a project rather than to incur debt and pay interest. The Township does the opposite.

Also, the Library is now required to use the Township’s consulting engineer, T&M Associates, for any engineering work. T&M is not on retainer with the Township, so will bill for its services. Since the work is being directed to T&M without competitive bidding -- the Library Board would normally request bids/quotes for this job -- the cost could be higher than what the Library would otherwise pay.

THE POSSIBILITIES: “Restricting” about $150,000 in reserves for the lot expansion is to be discussed at the Board’s February 15th meeting. Since, by law, library reserves that are restricted for capital projects cannot be taken by the Township, the new trustees are sure to be opposed to it. I suspect they will make the case for allowing the Township to sell bonds/notes to raise money for the work. I suppose the new trustees could take a different tack and say the lot expansion isn’t necessary. However, part of the reason for the project is to improve safety, and I don’t think the Township would want to be seen as being against that.

Aside from leaving more reserves on the table for the Township’s use, the Township would benefit from the debt sale in several ways that I won’t get into here.

THE NUMBERS: If the Library pays cash for the lot expansion, their current budget will show the total cost of the project, or about $150,000. If the Library pays debt service, the budget for each of the next 20-25 years will show the lower debt service payment, say $15,000. The latter option results in a higher budget in future years, but a budget cut of about $135,000 for the current year.

A $135,000 cut in the Library budget increases the “take” by the Township by MORE than $135,000 -- by $162,000. Here’s why. Per law, the Library can keep a portion of its unrestricted reserves equal to 20% of its annual budget. If the budget is cut, that “frees up” some additional reserves on top of the amount cut from the budget. In short, for every $1 cut from the Library’s budget, the Township increases its take by $1.20. A CAVEAT: The new Board could vote to hand over 100% of the Library’s reserves to the Township. If so, then one dollar cut from the library’s budget is just one dollar of reserves available for the taking.

State aid monies are off limit to the Township, so would remain with the Library. Any restricted reserves are protected, but can always be unrestricted by a willing Board.

THE 2012 BUDGET

Ms. Murray objected to the 2012 budget being approved in December before the new Board came in and said that it should be re-opened.

Ms. O’Neal pointed out that the Township typically requires the Library Board to have the budget for a year in place by October of the prior year. The Township didn’t need the Library’s 2012 budget as early as usual, so the Board had a couple of extra months to incorporate more finalized information. So the December approval was later, not earlier, than usual. Ms. O’Neal emphasized that the budget was adopted in line with required procedure, not in anticipation of a different point of view, as has been suggested by anonymous commenters.

Board president Randy Gabrielan advised that the budget is a planning document only that is not written in stone.

And while it wasn’t said, the budget for a year is supposed to be ready before the start of that year -- that is the way most well run organizations do it, even if the Township doesn’t.

Because the January agenda was already full, Mr. Gabrielan suggested that a detailed discussion about finances be postponed until the February 15th Board meeting.

Marjorie Cavalier suggested that specific financial issues might be better handled by an ad-hoc committee. There was agreement that the Finance Committee would be reconstituted, and Ms. Murray will be on it.

Letter: Taxes Sky High in Middletown

The Following letter to the editor appears online today over at the Atlantic Highlands Herald:

Have you heard that the Middletown’s mayor and his running mate want to hold the line on taxes? Hold it where, exactly? Somewhere in the stratosphere?

I think the joke’s on us. Municipal taxes have gone up over 22% just during Mister Fiore’s 3-year term in office. Mr. Fiore voted for tax increases every year. Based on his record, I think we can expect more of the same.

Republican candidates keep talking about making Middletown an affordable place to live, and then keep doing the opposite once they’re elected. You’d think they’d be too red in the face to keep talking about it.

Mr. Fiore doesn’t seem to feel responsible for our high taxes since he is always talking about forces beyond his control. Well, that doesn’t inspire my confidence in his ability, and I won’t be voting for him.

I think it’s time we had representatives who stopped making excuses and brought sound judgment to the job. Jim Grenafege has been a voice of reason for many years now. He is both informed and vocal about issues that are important to residents. Jim strongly supports televising town meetings so that we can all see what our local government is doing. He also feels the Township desperately needs the oversight of a Finance Committee, which almost every other town has. After seeing taxes double in such a short time, I have to agree with him.

Please join me in supporting Jim Grenafege for Middletown Township Committee this Election Day.

William G. Butler
Middletown, NJ

Video: Sean Byrnes on Planning for Budgets and Projects

Middletown Township Committeeman Sean Byrnes discusses the Planning (or lack thereof) of Township budgets and projects that drive up the tax rate and cost local tax payers, at a Town Hall Meeting which took place at Panera Bread on September 27,2010

Letter: Is Middletown's Mayor Attempting To Divert Bond Money Away From Sports Fields

The following letter was received in my email last night:

Middletown is engaged in a controversy over the installation of artificial turf fields, but the debate is indicative of a much larger issue with how our Township spends taxpayer dollars.

The Township took out a bond in 2006 to fund the turf fields, but the money has sat idle, accruing interest on repayment, because Middletown failed to reach consensus on where to locate the fields. During a number of Township Committee meetings, the Mayor, Administrator, and Township Attorney all emphatically stated that the bond could only be used for the rehabilitation of fields at Middletown parks. However, objections to this usage have recently intensified, prompting Mayor Gerry Scharfenberger to announce he would call off the field construction and divert the bond funds to pay for shortfalls in the Township budget. I have serious concerns about the Mayor’s new course of action.

First, the Mayor appears to be acting independently of the Township Committee. Our committee consists of five members, one of whom is selected as Mayor to lead public meetings and sign local legislation. Nowhere in Chapter 4, Article II of our Township Code, which outlines the duties of Mayor, does it give that person authority to make solitary decisions on funding. A vote of the full Committee is required.

My second concern is that the Mayor, Administrator, and Township Attorney have been lying to residents about the potential uses for the bond money. First, they insisted the money could only be used for the turf fields. Now, the Mayor wants to try and amend the ordinance so it can be used for other projects. If Mayor Scharfenberger has not been deliberately misleading us, he, at best, does not care enough to understand the rules on spending taxpayer dollars; at worst, he is incompetent.

Finally, I am concerned about using bond money to patch holes in Middletown’s budget due to shortfalls in state aid. A single bond will not fix the fiscal reality our township must face as a result of the national economic downturn. The Mayor must stop looking for quick, politically convenient, fixes and present to township residents a fiscally sound plan that does not place us further in debt. Perhaps it is time to stand up that Finance Committee that Committeeman Sean Byrnes keeps calling for. When will Middletown’s Mayor start to listen to the Committee, which represents all taxpayers, and stop acting alone?

Don Watson
New Monmouth NJ

Speaking Of Budgets, Middletown's Is Done Through Osmosis

Back on Reorganization day in January, one of the many things that Gerry Scharfenberger addressed during is speech after being re-appointed as Mayor of Middeltown, was the upcoming budget process.

He told the crowd in attendance that the Township was facing a huge budget shortfall of nearly $7 million but not to worry because there was a plan on how to deal with it.

He state that even though ..."no one here is a super expert on finances by profession but if you sorta do it by osmosis..."

Which I suppose means, that if you sit around long enough thinking about it, to let it sink in you become a expert in how to deal with a $7 million deficit without a Chief Financial Officer to help in the process! Unfortunately however the process of osomsis isn't good enough now that budgets need to be submitted to Trenton by the end of the month.

Where's a Finance Committee when you need it? Oh that's right, Middeltown doesn't need one because Gerry and the boys can handle the budget process on their own.

A Blueprint For Middletown To Follow On How A Finance Committee Could Be Structured And Utilized

For the past few years Middletown Committeeman Sean Byrnes has been advocating for a "Finance Committee" to be form in Middletown so that the Township can get a better grasp on it's finances and not have to wait several months into the calendar year before adopting a budget.

Byrnes has argued that the way the budget process is now handled is inefficient and antiquated and needs to be restructured in such a way that would provide better over site of spending and identify in advance any trends that may prove problematic during the year.

Each time Byrnes has suggested the idea of a finance committee he has be rebuffed by the Republicans that have controlled the township committee for the greater part of the last quarter century.

Their reasoning behind opposing such a committee is weak at best. I have heard everything from the cost of setting up new committee (which would be negligible being it would be staffed with members of the Township Committee, the Town Administrator and volunteers) to the reasoning that Township Committee members act as their own finance committee to oversee and question spending (even though none are qualified to due so).

Sean Byrnes has counter argued that other towns, major corporations and most charities group and non-profit organization have them. It is simply a good business practice.

Recently Jack Archibald, a councilman in Atlantic Highlands and a contributing columnist for the Atlantic Highlands Herald, wrote a column explaining how the budget process works in Atlantic Highlands. Can you guess what is mentioned in that column? That's right a Finance Committee.

Archibald pretty much lays out the blueprint for Middletown on how to structure and use a Finance Committee:

"...our municipal budget began to take shape in December. At that time, our administrator, Adam Hubeny, and Chief Financial Officer Gerry Gagliano, hold kick-off meetings with various department heads and discuss their needs for the coming year. Once that is compiled, a rough draft of a budget is presented to the finance committee. In general, the finance committee is comprised of three council members who report back to either the Borough Council or Township Committee as a whole.

In a few towns, the governing body has formed a citizens committee to review and make suggestions to the budget. While this public input is welcome, municipal accounting is a very specialized practice, and crafting a municipal budget is subject to many state regulations and caps that do not seem to make much sense to the average citizen...."

It makes perfect sense, the administrator, the CFO, 3 Committee members and maybe some input from qualified residents get together make recommendations and then draft preliminary budget document to be submitted to the Mayor and other members of the township committee to consider.

The only reason I can think of for not forming a Finance Committee is that the majority in charge doesn't want others to see where and how the Middletown taxpayers money is being spent on needless pet projects or salaries and benefits for loyal GOPers who make a living from the town in one way or another.

It's Payback Time In Middletown: So Far Township Facing $4 Million Budget Shortfall For 2010 - Layoffs Pending

I attended the Middletown Township Committee Workshop meeting last night to hear what would be said about the Emergency Appropriation Resolution 09-277.

This resolution was for the purpose of borrowing ~ $1.5 million from next years budget to pay for worker's compensation claims and other employee medical benefits that the township did not budget for this year.

There was a lively discussion on the subject that lasted nearly an hour. Committeemen Sean Byrnes and Patrick Short questioned the Township Administrator about how and why, with less than 30 day left in the calendar year, did the township find that it needed to borrow such a large amount of money against next years budget when the projected budget for next year was already a few million dollars short.

The simple answer was the Township did not foresee that worker's compensation claims and other employee health benefit claims would be at such a level as to need more money than budgeted for in the previous year's (2008) budget. And after all, the bills needed to be paid.

The money that was set aside this year for health benefits and claims was ~ $2 million less than last year. The reason being was because recent trends over the past several years showed that health claims rose and fell from one year to next. With this in mind, the powers that be who shaped the 2009 budget decided to gamble on the trends downward slope and under funded the Township's health care plan.

In the 2008 budget ~ $6 million was appropriated for benefits but at the end of the year, much like this year, an emergency appropriation 0f $500,000 was needed as opposed to an ~ $1.5 million. I would say that their gamble did not pay off.

Committeeman Byrnes was relentless in his questioning and would not support the resolution as written without assurances from the rest of the committee that further review of township finances would be made before the end of the year. To get these assurances Byrnes only agreed to support a resolution for $800,000 of the $1.5 million emergency appropriation at last nights meeting. The other $700,000 will be appropriated through a new resolution at the December 21st committee meeting if Byrnes receives proper answers to his questions about how next years budget will be addressed.

The reason why Sean Byrnes is being such a stickler over the 2010 budget is because at this present time it is being projected by the Township Committee, that there will be a minimum of a $4 million shortfall in revenues next year with this resolution and by the time January or February comes around it could be a couple of million more dollars short.

When Byrnes pressed the Township Administrator over what plans he intends to present to the Committee to curtail costs next year the administrator, Tony Mercantante said that among other things, plans were in the works for employee layoffs starting in either January or February of 2010 but paper work must first be filed with the State before any layoffs could take effect.

With this in mind I have to ask once again, why not listen to Sean Byrnes and establish a nonpartisan Finance Committee that could identify problems like this in advance and work towards budget solutions before they become problems in the first place?

It's Payback Time In Middletown: Emergency Appropriations Needed to Pay Bills - Part 2; Update, Resolution 09-277

At tonight's Middeltown Township Workshop meeting, the members of the Committee intend to introduce Emergency Appropriation Resolution 09-277 .

As I posted Thursday, the intention of this resolution is to borrow against next years budget $1.5 million, in order to pay worker's compensation claims and other employee medical benefits.

With just a few weeks left in the calendar year, this emergency appropriation is scandalous. How can it be possible, as the resolution states that "...no adequate provision was made in the 2009 budget for the aforesaid purpose..." ?

Why wasn't this caught earlier in the year when some other solution may have been possible? After all, the budget wasn't adopted until August for peete's sake. Some one must have known about this before now.

This is a prime example of why Sean Byrnes's proposed Finance Committee is needed! It shows that the individual Township Committee members do not have the time, experience or expertise to act as their own "individual finance committee" as stated by the GOP members who are opposed to Byrnes's idea.

2010 is already shaping up to be an ugly budget year, this resolution will only make it that much worse.

Tonight's meeting will be at Town Hall and will start at 8 pm, if you would like to express your concerns about this resolution I suggest that you get there early because sitting is limited.

Residents need to let the committee know that this type of appropriation of funds is unacceptable and could have been avoided if planned for properly.

A Finance Committee could have foreseen such a problem in advance and advised the powers that be of this type of potential problem.

How To Control Property Taxes In Middletown; Short Answers the Question

Back on Oct. 14th the Lincroft Village Green Association held a candidates debate at the Lincroft Village School. The two candidates running for Middletown Township Committee, as well as, the three candidates running for Monmouth County Freeholder were invited to participate.

The Independent has a good write-up on the event in this weeks addition so I wont get into much of the details of what was said or how the proceedings went, you can read it for your self.

What I do want to highlight however are a few questions and their answers that were asked of the candidates seeking office in Middletown.

The first questioned ask by the moderator that night was "How would you control property taxes in Middletown?"

Steve Massell was the first to answer, his answer was all over the place and not very focused. It seemed as if he had never thought of the question before. He gave the standard Middletown Republican answer of blaming Trenton for it's unfunded mandates, seek combined service agreements with other towns and working on the townships "Green Initiative" to trim the cost of energy. He gave no examples of how he would control budget costs.

You can listen to his answer here:

Patrick Short answered the question very concisely and to the point. He talked about how important it is to have a budget in place by the end of January as opposed to July or August as in previous years, having a budget in place would ensure that savings were accomplished throughout the year, not just squeezed in during the last 4-6 months of the calendar year.

He stated that Middletown needed to be run as a business and like a business, a strategic plan for the township was needed and a finance committee should be implemented to help steer the formation of the budget.

He went on to say that overtime needed to be managed better, sick time should be capped - either use it or lose it, and a policy of 1 job - 1 pension should be put into place.

You can listen to his answer here:

The obvious debate winner on this question was Patrick Short. He had a clear and well thought out plan and was able to articulate in terms that people could understand, unlike his opponent.

Tony "the Fibber" Fiore Suggests That The Only Place Left In Budget To Cut Is Police For Savings

Last week Middletown special financial consultant Bob Roth re-introduced the FY 2009 budget to the Township Committee. The budget, which seems as though it was put together by the use of smoke and a mirror will be voted on and approved tonight.

The budget relays on 1 shot gimmicks such as reducing the surplus reserve for uncollected taxes and deferring a portion of the townships pension obligation, so instead of a 9.2% tax increase that was proposed back in April the new tax increase to the municipal rate will be 5.8%, and we have the State to thank for it.

After months of telling the public how hard and how tirelessly they were working on the budget, meeting department heads over and over again to ensure that their budgets fell in line with township priorities, the Republicans on the Township Committee lead by Mayor Brightbill and Deputy Mayor Scharfenberger left the decision making to the state because they could not find any budget cuts or savings themselves!

The junior Committeeman, Republican Tony ”the Fibber” Fiore went as far as saying that the only area in the budget left open to the Committee in which to cut costs, was emergency services and to lay-off or furlough police officers and staff.

What a stupid thing to say!!

How could you possible say that the only place left in the budget in which to cut costs would be to trim the police department? Fiore’s statement from the dais last week was not only a head shaker, but also an outrageously gross attempt to place blame on others for the Republican’s failures to produce a budget that was inline with the realities of the day.

There were and are numerous areas and line items throughout the FY 2009 budget that could have been cut or trimmed in order to lessen the financial impact on residents if the Republicans truly wished.

Fiore, for all of his efforts and work that he put into the budget could not even implement any of his infamous ideas from the 8-point plan that he introduced back on February 2nd. Other than the suspension of the township committee’s yearly stipend, none of his ideas listed below were worthy enough for consideration:

1. Suspend the entire Township Committee’s salaries.
2. Freeze all non-essential hiring not required by law.
3. Freeze all union and non-union salaries.
4. Evaluate all non-essential, non-revenue generating programs for elimination.
5. Seek out additional shared service arrangements.
6. Sell surplus township property and assets.
7. Eliminate all non-essential Township subscriptions and dues payments.
8. Eliminate all conference and travel expenses unless required by law for continuing education requirements.

Now, how can someone have the nerve to sit in front of others and say with a straight face that the only remaining area in the budget in which to cut or reduce would be police manpower? Were the other 7 out of 8 recommendations that Tony Fiore proposed deemed to essential by his fellow Republicans and therefore taken off the table?

I have a several budget savings ideas, in no particular order, that I would like to recommend to Tony Fiore and his Republican colleagues to consider before the next time they infer that the only option left open to the Township Committee is to cut the budget by reducing the size of Middletown’s police force:

1. Privatize the Cultural Arts Center or change its mission to allow for-profit organizations to rent and utilize the building.
2. Reduce the number of township supplied employee cars.
3. Reduce the operating hours for the Kanes lane recycling facility.
4. Privatize a portion of public works.
5. Fund Middletown Matters by sell advertisments instead of by tax payer dollars.
6. Consolidating purchases, printing and advertising.

Based on the horrible outcome of this year’s budget process to the residents of Middletown, it is essential that the Township Committee establish a Budget/Finance Committee that would interact with township personnel well before the end of the calendar year and make specific recommendations to the Township Committee on budget matters. To leave important budget issues up to the State, like was done with this years budget, is irresponsible.

And to suggest that the only option left to the Committee to reduce spending is to lay-off township police officers, is just plain stupid.

A Quick Synopsis Of The Middletown Budget Mess

Last night Middletown re-introduced the FY 2009 budget and to summed up in very plain and simple language, it is a MESS !!

The budget has been put together by the use of smoke and mirrors - no cost reductions or spending cuts of any kind to speak of.

Here is a quick synopsis of last nights meeting, I'll have more to say and discuss over the next few days once i have sufficient time to review my audio recordings of the meeting:

Contrary to previous reports Bob Roth really did not find any hidden monies, when he presented the budget to the local finance board in Trenton, the state told Middletown that they could reduce the amount of reserve for unpaid taxes to the state mandated minimum which saved the township $1.2M.

Next week there will be another ordinance to be voted on by the township committee that will take another reserve fund, that has been laying around since 2006, and put it into the budget for another $399k 1 shot revenue gimmick .

The "tireless " hunting for savings that the Majority search for resulted in a few minor reductions and few increases in line items throughout.

I have to hand it to Bob Roth, after over 20 years of being CFO, he really knows his stuff. the man had explanations for everything that was brought up, but overall there were no real cost savings in this budget, just the 1 shot use of surpluses that were moved into the budget.

Now that Middletown has used these 1 shot gimmicks, there will be no substantial reserves to work with next year. It will be interesting to see how that will work.

The bottom line is this, even after the use of the surpluses it did not save the township from a significant tax increase of 5.8%. And by deferring payment of half of Middletown's pension obligations of $600K, which was a requirement by the state to qualify for the cap wavier, it will cost Middletown an additional 4% interest over the next 12 years on that deferral.

Where is the saving there? If Middletown did a better job at managing it's finances and did not need to seek a cap waiver, Middletown would not have to defer payments it's pension obligations.

This is just another case of mismanagement of the towns finances by the majority of the Committee and really gives credence to Sean Byrnes request to establish and head a Finance committee.

Tony Fiore came out to say that real cuts to the budget would have meant reducing police staff and other essential services that he would have been unwilling to make, which is utter nonsense! There are other areas in which to cut like travel, magazines,office supplies, utility costs at the Arts Center, Parks and Rec, Middletown Matters, the possibilities are endless if he and the majority were willing end the cronyism and patronage that they practice.

What this budget shows me is a total lack of leadership by the Republican majority who were and are, unwilling to make hard and necessary choices.

What this budget really does is it pushes harder decisions off until next year, it creates a huge hole in next years budget due to the fact that there is no surpluses left to raid.

How much will it cost us then ?

Middletown Republicans False Rants and Drivel Continue

When I opened up my inbox tonight I found the following letter from Lincroft resident Barbara Thorpe.

Mrs. Thorpe has lived in Middletown most, if not all of her life. She has been very active in town and has seen many changes to to the community over the years and when Barbara Thorpe talks people listen.

She wrote this letter in response to some very uninformed and totally untrue drivel that Tristen Nelsen wrote about Middletown Democratic Committeeman Sean Byrnes and his efforts to establish a finance committee to recommend, advise and to help the Township Committee with preparing the yearly budget.

For those of you who do not know who Tristen Nelsen is, she is the failed Republican candidate for Township Committee that came in 4th behind her runningmate Gerry Sharfenberger and Democrats Sean Byrnes and Janet Moscuzza two years ago. But I'll have my own rebuttel to her letter later, below is Mrs. Thorpe's:

"The republican political hacks in Middletown continue the ridiculous drivel they have become noted for these many last months and perhaps years. This now includes the candidate who lost to Committeeman Sean Byrnes two years ago. Hasn't Tristen Nelsen ever heard ,no one respects a sore loser ?? Sean Byrnes out qualified her plain and simple Maybe her most notable qualification was her last name and whatever connection she has to the newly appointed township attorney .

The people in this town want fair representation of each resident,regardless of partisan politics.and Sean Byrnes and Patrick Short try to provide representation of all the people of Middletown. It's no longer business behind closed doors as it's been for so many years in the past under an unchallenged majority of republicans.

Speaking to the budget in Middletown.this township has no approved budget because the Republican majority has stonewalled every attempt at reaching a consensus for a budget in Middletown. They are so used to doing whatever they wanted without restraint. They can't cope with two Democrats now involved in making policy here in town. The Republicans have their heads in the sand and are oblivious to current economic conditions in this town,this county ,this state and this country. Rhetoric doesn't solve problems. Action solves problems ! A budget committee is a good idea as suggested by Committeeman Byrnes.

The Township of Middletown also needs a forensic audit by an accredited accounting firm with no ties to any politician in this township. The need is long overdue. The question is, what are the republicans trying to hide ?? It's time to find out !!!

Barbara R.Thorpe
Lincroft,N.J.

With 19 Other Committees and Advisory Boards in Middletown, Nelson says "NO" To The Establishment of Finance Committee

If Middletown's form of government was intended to get away from committees and advisory boards, as Township Attorney #2 Brian Nelson suggests in the audio clip from the June 1st Township Workshop meeting, then why do we currently have 19 committees and advisory boards sanctioned by township?

Why is it inadvisable to form a Finance Committee to suggest budget savings to the members of the governing committee, but totally fine to have advisory boards look over and make suggestions to the committee about such things as community affairs, strategic planning or parks and recreation? Shouldn't the Township Committee members be just as involved and hands on in these areas as they want everyone to believe they are with the township's finances?

WHAT DO THEY HAVE TO HIDE ?

Again, the need for a Finance committee is evident in light of this years budget fiasco, a budget that has a shortfall of $2.5 million and a proposed tax increase of 9.2% (could be as high as 10%), which would be the highest in the State.

Middletown has had to ask the State for assistance by requesting permission to wave the 4% cap on budgets, which is very unlikely to happen given that Atlantic Highlands and others requester have been turned down.




Below are 19 Commissions and Advisory Boards that are currently recognized by the Middletown Township Committee:

Clean Communities Advisory Committee
Community Affairs Council
Environmental Commission
Municipal Alliance for the Prevention of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse
Human Rights Commission
Landmarks Commission
Local Assistance Board
Lincroft Senior Citizen Housing Corporation
Open Space Preservation Committee
Parks and Recreation Master Plan Steering Committee
Planning Board
Recreation Advisory Board
Safety Council
Sewerage Authority
Strategic Planning Committee
Zoning Board of Adjustment

Middletown GOP: What Do They Have To Hide?

An anonymous poster left the following comment to Friday's post Green Team - Finance Team, Can Someone Explain the Difference? I find it interesting that others are now starting to understand that business as usual can not continue in Middletown as it has for the past 20 years:

"This township desperately needs not only a Finance Committee but also a forensic audit done by an accredited firm with no affiliation with the politicians in this township.

It is clearly evident the republican majority in Middletown is trying to hide a great deal from it's citizens. This new attorney seems to be complicit in this endeavor.

It's the residents and their taxes that pay the bills.They are entitled to an honest,clear picture of finances in Middletown.The Republican majority clearly stonewalls any attempt at full disclosure!

Fiscal irresponsibility is the mantra of this bunch of ethically challanged individuals. WHAT DO THEY HAVE TO HIDE. The stench now reaks throughout the township...... "

The entrenchment of the Middletown Republicans has gone on long enough, nepotism and cronyism has lead to the current financial mess the township finds itself in, more so than any unfunded mandates that they like to blame on Trenton.

Because of their continued stonewalling of financial matters, the '09 budget is short on revenues by $2.5 million, will contain a 9.2% (or higher) tax increase and will be 7 months late.

All of this will force the township to send out estimated tax bills to Middletown residents which will lead to utter confusion, long lines and needless anger at the tax offices.

There are curently 19 advisory boards and commissions recognized by the township governing body, all with various volunteers and elected officials as members. Why a Finance Committee would be any different from any one of the other boards or commissions is beyond me.

Unless of course the Middletown GOP HAS SOMETHING TO HIDE !

Green Team - Finance Team, Can Someone Explain the Difference?

I received my copy of the Independent yesterday and while thumbing through it, I noticed an article buried deep within on page 16 titled “Mid’town looks at energy efficiency programs” with a subtitle of “Twp. To form ‘Green Team’”.

It peaked my interest so I gave it the once over.

What I read was very interesting and seems on the surface a very good idea, I am not going to go in-depth and analyze the article for you, you can read it for yourself HERE.

What struck me however was that the Township Committee can form an advisory board, a so called “Green Team”, which would be “comprised of staff members in the township as well as community volunteers who are already involved in various environmental initiatives in town including Community Affairs and the Environmental Commission.” with a goal towards controlling costs and saving money by taking steps to sustain the quality of life in town for the long term.

Now that sounds an awful lot like another advisory board that has been proposed by Democratic Committeeman Sean Brynes and backed by fellow Democrat Patrick Short, It sounds exactly like what a Finance “Team” (Committee) would be.

But, according to Township Attorney #2, Brian Nelson, who has done some extensive research into the subject, says it would be against the Township charter to form such an advisory board.

Can some one please explain to me how a “Green Team” advisory board can be formed by the Township Committee to identify and recommend potential energy saving projects but a “Finance Team” advisory board, put together to identify wasteful Township spending and potential cost savings is against the Township charter?

If you ask me, something is rotten in Middletown and the stench can be smelled throughout the townships 46 square miles. What does the GOP majority have to hide?

Below you can hear the audio from the June 1st, Township Workshop meeting where Committeeman Brynes, once again gives his reasoning behind forming a “Finance Committee” and the oppositions continued arguments against it.

Gerry and His Buddies Just Don't Get It, Once Again a Big "No" To Finance Committee

Last week at the monthly Township committee workshop meeting, Gerry Scharfenberger and the GOP majority expressed once again how the Township does not need to set up a "Finance Committee" to oversee the budget process. They went as far as having Township Attorney #2, Brian Nelson, "research" the structure of the township's governing body in order to justify the rejection of the Finance Committee.

Nelson said that he spent some time looking through the governance by-laws of the Township and came to the conclusion that a Finance Committee would be against the Township's charter because it would take powers away from the Administrator and Township Committee.

That is total BS if you ask me.

Gerry and his GOP buddies feel that everything is great with the way the township puts together the budget. He works very hard at it and would not want to give up any control over the process, it is very effective, He says. After all Middletown does have a Double AA bond rating and gets kudos from the League of Municipalities for how the budget is constructed, so why change? Simple, it is broken.

Finance Committee would be the watchful eye over the budget to ensure that we aren't "blindsided" by budget shortfall as we were this year.

Here is Gerry's definition of effective management...

A 25% increase in taxes for the last four years

A 9.2% (possibly higher) tax increase for this year's budget

Asking permission from the State to go $2 million dollars over the $4% cap budget cap

2 Township Attorney's salary's

Deferring this year's Pension payments for 15 years

Building a budget when you have "no short term and long term projections that took into account this economy."

The way that Gerry and the boys (sorry Pam) put together a budget is not very efficient or effective and it needs to change. The proposed Finance Committee would look at the budget and give recommendations throughout the year not just during budget time. The Committee would act as an advisory board to the township and would be an effective tool to ferret out wasteful spending in order to save the tax payers money.

The audio clip below is from the June 1st workshop meeting it is Gerry Scharfenberger's reasoning behind not supporting a Finance Committee

Audio: Finance Committee? Who Needs a Finance Committee in Middletown, The GOP Majority Does a Great Job of Raising Taxes On their Own

During Committee comments at last nights township committee meeting in Middletown, Democrat Sean Byrnes once again implored the Township Committee to establish a "budget finance committee".

 The Finance Committee's purpose would be to oversee the budget process and look for potential cost saving within the budget. The committee would begin to look at the townships revenue streams from the moment that the new fiscal year starts on January 1st, not the day after election day. In this way the township can begin to identify possible saving early in the budget year and have a budget ready by the following January, not 5 1/2 months past. 

Because of this lack of financial planning  Middletown has needed to rely on temporary budget resolutions to keep the township operating, so far almost 50% of the current fiscal year budget for 2009 has been spent without any cost saving measures.  This type of budgeting by the GOP majority can not go because it has lead to the need to have proposed budget tax increases of 25% over the past 4 years.

Here is Sean Byrnes's opening comments from last nights meeting as it pertains to the Finance Committee:

After Byrnes finished  his opening statement, Patrick Short backed him up by stating that at the next workshop meeting he will re-introduce Byrnes's ordinance to form a finance committee.

Short's announcement flabbergasted Deputy Mayor Gerry Scharfenberger, as the senior member of the township committee and leading member of the GOP majority, Scharfenberger needed to state his opposition to the a finance committee.

Gerry feels that he and the other members of the majority do a great job overseeing the budget process by allowing their department heads to dictate to the committee, their needs as opposed to the other way around. Again I will point out that he and his GOP buddies have done such a great job at handling the budget process, that Middletown finds itself lacking $2.4 million and looking at a 9.2% tax increase to come up with the funds. Also to be noted is the fact that because of a one shot budget gimmick last year (selling the township's cell tower leases), we are left with an almost identical budget shortfall this year as last.

Listen to what Gerry had to say about the Finance Committee:


After Mayor Pam Brightbill made her usual incoherent opening statements the meeting was opened up for public comments. A few residents addressed the issue of the finance committee and thought it was a good idea.

Locust resident Jim Grenafege, who is no stranger at township meetings, blasted Gerry Scharfenberger for his arrogance and his lack of experience on budgeting matters outside of the township:

Mr. Grenafege was right on target, so much so that the Mayor had to cut him off by telling him he was out of speaking time.

It is really a shame that most residents do not see how members of  GOP majority,their elected officials, behave and treat citizens who disagree or question their authority. 

Hopefully these audio clips from last nights meeting will help them to understand who are the real tax and spenders in town.