Middletown Township CFO Trasente Resigns

Here we go again...

Seems as though last Friday, October 4th, was Middletown CFO Nick Trasente’s last day on the job.


There was a resolution ( see below) adopted at the Township Committee’s Workshop meeting this past Monday night, October 7th, which states that he has agreed to work on an interim basis – at $80 per hour for up to 10 hours per week – until January 31, 2014.

We are told that Trasente, who had been Township CFO since March 2010 and was earning close to $143K a year, resigned to take a job with Somerset County.

There was a sugary article in Tuesday’s APP about it with accolades from the mayor for Trasente, whom we are told simply left for an opportunity that better suited him.

However, there’s reason to suspect there may be more to the story than just the usual departure for greener pastures.

It was recently revealed on this blog that Trasente lied in a May 10, 2013 memo he sent to Township Committeeman Fiore. Trasente implied that the Township’s accounting system had been updated timely to reflect accurate library reserves when it was not. Trasente’s claim was repeated by Fiore himself in an email Fiore sent to the library board on May 14th, an email Fiore has done his best to downplay.

In a comment submitted to my Sept. 12, 2013 blog post “No Action Taken At Last Night's Library Board Meeting”, Linda Baum stated:

“It has occurred to me that when he wrote his May 10th memo to Committeeman Fiore implying that the Edmunds accounting system was updated in 2012, CFO Nick Trasente had to have known that wasn’t true. He had to have known because this year’s delay followed similar lengthy delays for at least the two prior years. He had to have known because repeated appeals from library staff to move the money into a spending account visible on the accounting system would have tipped him off. He had to have known as a result of the late April communication between his office and the library which led to the system update. So when he wrote his May 10th memo implying the system was updated in 2012, he knowingly lied. He lied to an elected official no less.”

Baum questioned why we weren’t hearing anything about Trasente’s firing given the seriousness of his offense.

And now just a few short weeks later….


RESOLUTION NO. 13-246

TOWNSHIP OF MIDDLETOWN
COUNTY OF MONMOUTH

RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING INTERIM CFO APPOINTMENT AND AGREEMENT

WHEREAS, the Township’s Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”) has secured employment with another large government entity commencing effective October 7, 2013, and has offered in the interim to assist the Township on a limited part-time basis while seeking a new CFO; and

WHEREAS, the Township Administrator has negotiated the terms of an Agreement with the Township’s former CFO to continue to serve as the Township’s CFO for an interim basis through January 31, 2014; and

WHEREAS, the services of a certified municipal chief financial officer are required until the position can be filled on a permanent basis.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Township Committee of the Township of Middletown in the County of Monmouth, State of New Jersey that the Mayor is hereby authorized and directed to execute an Agreement with former Township Chief Financial Officer Nicola Trasante to serve as the Township’s Interim Chief Financial Officer on a part-time basis for up to 10 hours per week at a rate of $80 per hour for a term commencing on October 7, 2013 and ending on January 31, 2014 unless and until extended by mutual agreement, if needed, subject only to certification of the availability of funds for the same.

Most Middletown homeowners will see a 2.9% rise in their municipal taxes for 2013

by Linda Baum

Middletown’s municipal tax rate will be increasing from $0.482 in 2012 to $0.496 this year per the proposed 2013 municipal budget, introduced on March 28th. Residents whose property assessments haven’t changed since last year will see a 2.9% jump in the municipal portion of their tax bill.

The 2013 municipal budget of $66.4 million reflects an increase of 4.4% – almost $2.8 million – over the 2012 budget of $63.6 million. The portion of this year’s municipal revenue to be collected through taxation is $48.6 million, an extra million or so more than last year, or a 2.2% increase.

The Township pointed to Superstorm Sandy as a primary reason for the budget and tax rate increases. The 2013 budget includes a $500,000 debt payment for storm costs, one of five equal payments over the next five years. Overall, Sandy costs comprise 4.2% of the budget, and debt service for all obligations comprises 11.7% of it, according to Township CFO Nick Trasente.

The combined impact of tax appeals and storm-related re-assessments has resulted in a $68.5 million reduction in the town-wide assessment base for 2013, a change of less than 1% that Trasente described as an assessment reduction of about $4,500 per home, on average.

The CFO talked about anticipated FEMA reimbursement for Sandy debris clean-up and emergency response costs. The budget assumes 75% reimbursement of the $14 million spent on storm clean-up. Trasente said that a 90% recovery is possible, but didn’t say how much money had already been received from FEMA or when the Township expected to receive any additional amounts. FEMA monies not anticipated in the 2013 budget upon its adoption in late spring or early summer will not offset this year’s municipal tax rate, which is set when the budget is adopted.

Pension and healthcare expenses are two other cost drivers. Healthcare costs are projected to increase $630,000 this year, resulting in a net cost to the Township of $8.4 million net of employee contributions, putting the gross amount of healthcare expenses in the $9.5 million range.

The slide show presentation by the CFO was relatively brief and was presented to a room that consisted of only a handful of people. Low turnout for the March 28th meeting may be due in part to the holiday weekend, but may also stem from inadequate notice by the Township of the change in the meeting time from 6:00 to 5:00 p.m. The earlier time may also have prevented some residents from attending.

In addition to the 2013 municipal budget, the 2013 solid waste budget was also introduced at the meeting. There will be no change in the rate per one hundred of assessed value for those who have Township-provided garbage collection.

It's Your Town Newsletter Volume 3, Issue 7- 4/04/11

This edition of "It's Your Town" Newsletter covers the Middletown Township NJ monthly workshop meeting of the Middletown Township Committee. It was at this meeting that the proposed Township budget for FY 2011 was introduced without public comment. A budget hiring has been scheduled for May.

During public comments, a number of residents living behind the new MJ's restaurant on Hwy 35 complained about the the increased neighborhood traffic along with sound and light pollution that is being generated by cars coming and leaving the parking lot.

Also there were questions about the corrective action plan that the Township needed to be filed after a 2009 financial audit turned up irregularities.

The newsletter contains links to all the ordinances and resolutions that were presented. There are also links to the 2009 financial audit and the action plan filed by CFO Nick Trasente.

Here is a link to the >>> proposed FY 2011 Township budget

Read the Newsletter >>> Here

Middletown Special Budget Meeting: 15 Minutes Will Getcha 11.79% Municipal Tax Increase

I wasn't able to make it to last nights special budget introduction meeting in Middletown, I had a prior commitment that I needed to attend. However, even if I had been able to attend I may not have gotten there in time anyway, by all accounts the meeting lasted only 15 minutes. It was called to order at exactly 6pm and was over by 6:15pm, I'm told.

Given the fact that there was a major power outage just prior to the start of the meeting, which made traveling the roads nightmarish for many, it is outrageous to think that the Township would not have held up the meeting for a short while to allow people to get to Town Hall in order to hear the presentation of the amended Municipal Budget.

But I guess when you have to announce something as painful as a 11.79% increase to the municipal tax rate the sooner that you can get the meeting over with the better.

From what I have been told by a few that were in attendance, it was like mayor Gerry Scharfenberger, Town Administrator Tony Mercantante and CFO Nick Trasente had this big secret to keep. None of the 3 wanted to directly answer questions about the resolution that was introduced for the purpose of amending the proposed budget, which originally had called for a 13.87% tax increase.

When asked directly, by what percentage the tax increase to the Municipal budget was going to be, Scharfenberger kept responding "2.9%" (which has been Scharfy's standard line). The question was repeated a few more times for clarification at which point Nick Trasente stepped in and told the questioners that the information was in the resolution document and that they were still making adjustments before the budget would be formally introduced on Sept. 7th at the next meeting (Township Workshop meeting).

At that point the meeting ended abruptly some 15 minutes after it started.

You can see the resolution for yourself >>> Here

The major change proposed to the budget is that the Township will be collecting an additional $5.3M from property taxes instead of $5.5M that was proposed earlier. So the Municipal tax rate will be increasing by 11.79% instead of 13.87% and most certainly NOT the 2.9% that Scharfenberger wants all to believe.

I hope to have audio of the meeting soon so that I can hear for myself what took place. When I have the audio I'll post it here on the blog for others to listen to also.

Pay No Attention To That Man Behind The Curtain: Scharfenberger "The Tax Man" Issues Middletown Tax Update

Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain I say, it is simply a man who is desperate to save himself from the bitter truth and who has earned the title of the "Tax Man" by overseeing the rise in the municipal tax rate of 41.9% over the past 5 years(once the currently proposed Township budget is approved).

Over the past couple of days an email has been making its way through cyber-space, written by non other than Middletown's appointed mayor, Gerry Scharfenberger. He is so desperate to inform the voting public that the pending municipal budget (which includes a 13.87% municipal tax increase) is the result of circumstances beyond his control, that some residents have received it 3 or 4 times.

In the email Scharfy states that "Some of the information I have heard from folks around town is based on very false and misleading data", and that he has "...put together a fact sheet to give people the reality of all things associated with the 2010 budget..."

After reading his email, I found it somewhat lacking in true facts and misleading in it's own right. So, what I have done is to post Gerry Scharfenberger's email below, broken down with comments in blue, to counter some of what he attempts to "clear up" and to show that the reason for Middletown's massive tax increases over the past 5 years is due to his poor leadership and overall mismanagement:


By Mayor Gerry Scharfenberger

The Middletown budget has been the subject of quite a bit of discussion lately. Some of the information I have heard from folks around town is based on very false and misleading data. To try and clear things up, I thought I would put together a fact sheet to give people the reality of all things associated with the 2010 budget, as well as the situation at the state level. As always, if you have any further questions or need additional information, don't hesitate to contact me. Also, please look over the attached FAQs - they are quite sobering.
Here are the facts:

- the proposed municipal tax increase is 2.8% which means the municipal increase on a $5000 tax bill will be $140 per year, a $10,000 tax bill will be $280 per year and so on. This will go down prior to adoption, thanks to legislation the governor has signed that will allow us to make additional cuts.

The OVERALL tax increase is 2.8%. This includes the BOE and County taxes. The Township tax rate has increased 13.87% over last year. The amount raised from property taxes is depicted in the following chart. These numbers came from Township budgets or were reported in Middletown Matters.

If the Governor has allowed the Township to make additional cuts, why are they not made NOW so the budget could be reduced further?

- 98% of all of the municipalities in the state had to do estimated tax bills this year. This is due to the state budget and the uncertainty of state aid to the municipalities.

There is no uncertainty of State aid to the municipalities. The Mayor specifically lists the amount of State aid that was cut this year below at $1,564,911. The Township knows the amount of State aid it will receive. How can a budget be proposed is there is uncertainty in the amount of aid to be received?

- it is a mistake to multiply the third quarter estimated tax bill by four - THAT IS NOT THE PROPERTY TAXES FOR THE YEAR! When people get their fourth quarter bill, that will be accurate and will also be much lower than the third quarter bill.

The 4th quarter tax bill (just before the election) will be more accurate because the Township is meeting with the Local Finance Board, in Trenton today (8-10-2010) to find out just how much the Township can exceed the State cap of 4%.

- Middletown has one of the lowest tax rates in the region. While we are currently at 35 cents, Fair Haven, for example, is almost 49 cents and Little Silver is over 50 cents.

The tax rate is one of lowest in the area, but other towns' tax rate has no bearing on what the tax rate in Middletown should be. A big reason why the tax rate has increased almost 14% this year is because the Township came up short $5.5M last year and it had to borrow money from the 2010 budget to make up the difference. This is shown in the chart above as the difference in the amount of money raised by taxes between 2010 and 2009.

- Middletown has one of the lowest worker per capita in the state (305 for 70,000 residents and 41.4 square miles) and one of the lowest spending per capita (around $880 per person).

Middletown might have the lowest worker per capita, but how other towns manage there resources are different from town to town. Plus, what other towns do with these resources should have no bearing on how Middletown uses the resources that are employed.

Below are some of the drivers of the budget and how we've addressed them. Get rid of binding arbitration, civil service and unions and we could really do some cutting. For now, we are legally prohibited from doing what is really needed to make deep, significant cuts.

If Middletown can't legally make the cuts it wants to, they should plan to manage the resources on hand better. You just don't throw up your hands and say we can't legally do something.

While there were many factors that contributed to this year’s budget problems, the main ones were:

$1,564,911 loss in 2010 state aid. This loss comes after a $640,000 reduction in 2008, $184,000 in 2009.

Why rely on State aid to begin with? The Township should budget for no State aid and if the State should provide some type of aid, then it should be used in the following years' budget. Notice the amount of State aid for this year compared to last 2 years. Last year the loss of State aid was touted, by Mr. Scharfenberger, as the worst thing that could happen. This year the Mr. Scharfenberger says that the Governor is doing the right thing.

$1.4 million for prior year’s salary increases from resolved labor contracts;

When a municipality goes into labor negotiations, it should anticipate an increase an budget accordingly. This was not done, obviously. What was management thinking, that the unions were not going to demand some type of increase?

$1 million increase in health care costs,

CFO, Nick Trasente, increased theses costs because the Township came up short the past 2 years. He is just doing some PLANNING to avoid future shortfalls.

$900,000 for snow and rain storms clean up,

This is a legitimate and unexpected expense.

$900,000 for unexpected retirements. Cost includes payments for unused sick and vacation time.

When the new Governor was elected, he said that there would be changes in the retirement rules. It might have been a little late in the year, but some planning could have been done to ease the shortfall. There will be many more retirements to come this year.

$1.8 million increase in pension payments mandated by the state.

Middletown knew that pension payments would have to be made this year. Middletown was told to defer last years' payment in order to exceed the 4% State cap.

$400,000 loss in recycling revenues

The Green Initiative, started years ago by Mr. Scharfenberger, should have planned for additional recycling efforts. This has only come to pass because the State and County have implemented plans to include all paper and cardboard as part of the recycling plans. Middletown should have been a leader in this since there was a "Green Initiative" in place.

To address these, the Township Committee instituted:

40 staff/position reductions since January 1, 2010.

A total of 16 employees were layed off this year. The other 24 are people retiring because of the change in the Governors' policy.

A 15% reduction in 2010 department funding requests.

Each department submits a "wish list" budget every year. This is reviewed the day after the election, in November. The Township Committee told the departments to cut it 15%. At that point they should have reviewed the requests and made real cuts.

Purchasing natural gas and electricity as part of a collective of 119 government entities known as the New Jersey Sustainable Energy Joint Meeting (NJSEM) instead of from the utility company. The move is slated to save approximately $160,000 this year.

This is a good measure and should be encouraged every year. Buying in bulk is almost always less expensive.

Funding the 2010 Summer Concert Series with community and business sponsors.

Sponsors for all events should be sought after. Even our Library Conservancy sponsored a concert. Do these sponsors fund the police, stage rentals, shuttle buses, etc...?

Canceling Middletown Day unless sufficient private sponsorship is found.

The concerts were going to be cancelled if sponsors were not found, too. Sponsors have funded much of Middletown Day in the past.

Closing the township’s skateboard park and mini-golf course.

The skateboard park is closed and the supervision that was on site removed. The children are still skateboarding, though.

Closing the Police Department’s Community Relations Bureau and suspending the DARE program.

This is just what the community needs; less police relations. This will only lead to an increase in crime, thus increasing the relations that the police will have with the community only in a negative manner.

Limiting lifeguards on municipal beaches to weekends only.

A lifeguard should be present if the beach is open. We wouldn't want someone to get swept out to sea from one of those rip currents.

Continued limitation of overtime for non-essential personnel without approval of the Township Administrator.

All non-essential overtime should be eliminated. If it is not essential why is it needed? This should be a part of good management.

What Is Happening With The Bond For The Middletown Turf Fields?

On tonight's agenda for the Middeltown Township Committee Workshop meeting there will be a discussion about capital improvement projects and existing bonds and what to do about them. It will be interesting to see what they decide to do with the bonds the town is sitting on, namely the bond that was issued to fund the artificial turf projects for Croydon Hall and Trezza Field.

If we can all remember back to this past January when residents of Lincroft teamed up with members of the Pop Warner Chargers football organization when they found out that the long promised field restoration for Trezza Field (the home of the Chargers) was not going to happen, instead the funds for the turf project at Trezza Field was going to be diverted to West Front Street Park,caused so much trouble for Gerry Scharfenberger and Pam Brightbill earlier this year that they decided to cancel the turf projects all together in April.

The sudden decision to cancel the turf projects left everyone stunned at the time and questioning what was going to happen with the $2.6 million bond that was issued to fund the projects. The bond's language as written was very specific, the funds couldn't be used for anything else other than field restoration.

The following audio clip contains comments made by Middletown Attorney Brian Nelson, Middletown Township Town Administrator Tony Mercantante and mayor Gerry Scharfenberger during Workshop meetings on February 1st and March 1st,and seems to confirm that. The audio documents what the three men had been saying about the bonded money that was to be used for the construction of turf fields prior to the sudden announcement that the field project was going to be cancelled and the bonded funds returned.




Fast forward now to the last Township Committee meeting held on July 19th.

Lincroft resident and founding member of the citizens group SONIC (which opposed the turf project at West Front Street Park), Mary Mahoney, addressed the Township Committee about the unused Turf Bond that was to be used for artificial turf fields at Trezza Field, West Front Street Park and Croydon Hall. She wanted to know what was happening with the bonded money,

was there any plans to use it for anything else, how much of it had been spent and why wasn't it retired as of yet to save the township interest payments on it.

She seemed to have taken the the Township Committee and those that make the decisions on such things by surprise. Listen to it below:



About 1:10 into her comments CFO Nick Trasente is heard saying that the bond funds could be used for other facilities, used to pay down debt or retired, which is contrary to earlier remarks made by Township Attorney Brian Nelson and Scharfenberger, who had stated at earlier meetings and can be heard above in the 1st audio clip, that the bond had to be retired if not used for turf fields and couldn't be used for anything else.

So, what are Gerry and the boys planning on doing with the funds from this bond? It seems that they are trying to figure out a way to apply it to the budget in order to decrease 14% tax rate increase in this years municipal budget that has not been adopted yet.

If this is a concern to anyone then you should attend tonights meeting at Town Hall, it starts at 8pm. Get there early for a good seat.

The Gloom of a 13.9% Municipal Spending Increase for Property Taxpayers

By Virginia Amend - Lincroft Village News


There is no way to put a good face on a 13.9% increase on the $64,979,576 municipal budget.

As one citizen said to Mayor Scharfenberger and the Republican majority of Pamela Brightbill, Anthony Fiore and Steve Massell, “The Republican majority owns this budget.”

That may be only partly true. Governor Christie’s actions at the State level heavily contributed to the 13.9% increase in municipal spending. First, there was the loss of $1,564,911 state aid. The anticipated pain for 2011 is that loss is then built in for future budgets.

In the “unanticipated outcomes” category Governor Christie’s threats to future pension rules, caused 23 Middletown Township employees to choose retirement in 2010 in order to be covered by the existing, more favorable pension benefits.

Another “unanticipated outcome” is the $760,000 needed to pay retiring employees sick leave and vacation day payouts. Ouch!

Not too many people remember when the Republican majority couldn’t find the funds to pay 2009 pension contribution. The temporary CFO Roth negotiated a settlement with the local Finance Board in Trenton whereby Middletown would pay 1/12 of the pension contribution in 2009 and the remaining 11 payments to be paid over the next eleven years @ 4% interest.

The budget introduced on Monday, June 23, -- halfway through the fiscal year – indicated the pension increase in this budget required $1,800,000 to fund the pension increase. Healthcare costs, and two borrowings from prior year’s salary increase. The current freeze on salaries is too little, too late to pay last year’s unpaid medical bills caused. CFO Anthony Trasente to budget another $1 million to cover this year’s health costs.

All the signs were there of an out-of-control fiscal plan in the late 2008 and in full bloom in 2009. The Republican majority should have clamped down on negotiated settlements with the several unions. In this 2010 budget the township committee is faced with an increase of $1,400,000 for the As Everett Dirkson once said, “A million here, a million there pretty soon we’re talking real money.”

The only legitimate cost was the $900,000 for this post winter’s unanticipated heavy snows and and rainstorm costs which amounted to almost a million - $900,000.

But what about the massive amounts of brush and tree limbs still littering Middletown streets? As a retiring Public Works employee, a 40 year employee said, “We used to have all the brush cleaned up by March. But they laid off one public works employee and eliminated all over time. So the public works employees come in at 6:00 AM and leave by 3:30 PM.” He said the situation is made worse as residents add their own tree and shrubbery trimming adding volumes to the existing mess of brush and tree limbs.

The reserve for uncollected taxes is at a perilous low of $500,000.

Mayor Sharfenberger prides himself on being on Governor Christie’s transition team, but it must be embarrassing to them both that Middletown with 22 square miles, and 60,000 residents has the highest municipal tax rate of 13.9%. How does that fit with Christie’s proposed 2 1/2% cap? If the cap is passed by the 2010 legislature how will Middletown face a 2011 budget?

The only “big ticket” reduction would be layoffs of personnel. To date layoffs have been limited to low-salaried secretaries and aides. No voluntary freeze of higher level salaries were made this year.

As someone once said, “One time budget solutions are just a hole in your next years’ budget.”

Currently, salaries cost $25,572,304 each year. Health benefits and insurance add another $9,292,880. A serious reduction in force would reduce both these categories.

Remember, Middletown provides lifetime health benefits to retiring employees. That means double the health benefits for each position in which a person retires. No town can afford that. Freehold Township passed a resolution in December 2009 stating there would be no lifetime health benefits for all new hires. Middletown needs to do the same.

The formula for funding the libraries is dictated by State Law and costs Middletown taxpayers $3,986,437 per year. Only legislative action can modify this formula.

To add final insult to the injury of a 13.9% increase in the municipal tax spending is the proposal of CFO Nick Trasente to accelerate tax sales against homeowners which could generate a one-time solution of $2,750,000. Again, a hole in the 2011 budget.

A one-time transfer of $365,000 from the sewerage authority may indicate they are over charging and that rate could be lowered in the future. Also health benefits for this authority needs to be examined.

Mr. Trasente said there are a number of one-time revenue sources; approximately:

1. $500,000 serial bonds
2. $200,000 from payment of a capital bond
3. $202,000 increase from the revaluation
4. $365,000 sewer authority surplus

Total - $1,267,000

However these funds will not be available for the 2011. It avoids the reality that this approximate $1,267,000 will cause the 2011 budget to increase by this amount unless spending is cut, (and there is the specter of a 2 1/2 % constitutional cap.)

Mayor Sharfenberger at this budge introduction attempted to deflect the deadening reality of a 13.9% increase in the municipal budget and the financial pain being delivered to Middletown’s homeowners, by pointing to the Board of Education budget which consumes 62% of the overall budget, a common percent in many towns. In Middletown there are 17 schools and approximately 10,000 students the percent increase of the Board of Education’s budget was a tight 2.6 per cent increase in school taxes. A quality education for all of Middletown’s children is reflected in that percent.

CFO Nick Trasente, in his report, said this budget maintains all current programs and township events.

The question becomes what programs would you, the taxpayer, eliminate to lower the 13.9% increase.

Public Information Officer Cindy Herrschaft announced the introduced budget would be on the township website the next morning. Several suggestions from the audience asked whether citizens could add their remarks and suggestions.

Committeeman Sean Byrnes acknowledged the hard work under difficult pressures, that CFO Trasente had on compiling this budget. While Byrnes was the lone “no” vote on the passage of this budget, he iterated once more the need for a finance committee composed of members of the township committee and private citizens to advise the committee early in the process. He gave a 10 pt. list of ideas and times that he introduced them to anticipate the budget process earlier.

Two of the casualties of Middletown’s budget disaster is the bonding of $3 million to dredge Shadow Lake.

The other is the diverting of the bond funds to the West Front St. Park, and a further promise to turf the Ranger field instead. It almost seemed like a done deal until Middletown budget introduction painted a black – 13.9% -- picture.

A reasonable question of CFO Trasente – is what has happened to those bonds.

The public budget hearing is scheduled for July 19, 2010 at town hall.

Only 16 or 17 people attended the introduction of the budget. That is sad. Each citizen is impacted by the actions of the township committee. Each homeowner will be financially impacted in 2010. The re-val is anticipated to generate 202,000 – that’s your money. 13.9% increase in spending will come from your pocket.

Inform yourself. Ask questions. Review the budget online. Suggest other cuts to bring down $64,979,576 of municipal spending.

And be prepared for reduced services too!!

Note - Since this article was first published in the Lincroft Village News, the NJ State Legislature passed a 2% property tax cap that has been signed into law by Governor Christie.

It's Your Town Newsletter Volumn 2, Issue 12, 6/21/10: The Budget Presentation

This is the first of two newsletters coming this week due to the fact that there were two separate Township Committee meetings held on June 21,2010 this month.

This first newsletter deals with the special budget meeting held earlier in the evening before the regularly scheduled meeting of the night. It includes the presentation of the Township budget for calendar year 2010 (which began in January) that was given by Middletown's CFO Nick Trasente.

The second newsletter coming later in the week will deal with the regular business meeting for the month.

Please read and pass this newsletter on to your friends in Middletown. This budget will affect every homeowners pocketbook, there is a 12.87% increase in our municipal taxes for this year. The budget is 63 pages and can be found here, it has comparissons of what was spent on line items from last year and because of this, residents will be able to see where the increases in the budget are.

You Can Fool Some Of The People Some of The Time, But...

Two more local media members have chimed in on the the smoke and mirror attempt by the Middletown Republicans lead by Gerry Scharfenberger, his fellow GOP members on the Township Committee and new CFO Nick Trasente, to whitewash, sugarcoat and flat out mislead the public with Monday night's budget introduction.

As I said earlier, Trasente did a great job at towing the proverbial company line,making it seem the local tax burden was only going increase by 2.8% when in actuality the municipal tax rate will skyrocket by more than 13% once this budget is adopted.

The reporters for both the Independent and RedBankGreen.com, Andrew Davidson and Dustin Racioppi with their articles Township proposes tax increase of 13 percent and BUDGET INCREASES, BUT BY HOW MUCH? did a great job at seeing through the rouse and I recommend that both articles be read.

Middletown's Budget Introduction Was A Farce And Blatant Attempt to Mislead The Public

Last nights special meeting to introduce the FY 2010 municipal budget was, to put it mildly, a farce and a blatant attempt to mislead residents and those in attendance into believing that all was well.

Middletown's CFO Nick Trasente, presented a powerpoint slide show that did more to highlight how great Middletown's FY 2011 budget would be as apposed to how dire a situation the Township was in this year. The spin attempt was mind-boggling and for anyone that had actually read or saw the proposed budget it was mind-blowing!

Trasente tried hard to spin the numbers in a positive way, he presented slides that tried to explain what the budget wold do, what were the cost drivers behind it and items that would not be in the 2011 budget, but he neglected to add that many of these items were not going to be one shot budget increases like he was inferring. Somethings like the retro active pay increase of $1.4M for the police and the $1.8M payment to fulfill the town's pension obligations would be ongoing.

The biggest snow-job of the whole presentation was when Trasente presented the slide that introduced the proposed tax increase.

The Middletown tax rate will rise from 35 cent per $100 of assessed value to 39.85 cents, for an increase of 4.85 cents. This increase will mean that the average township home that is assessed at $437K will have their property tax increase by $211 a year. In order to make this increase seem palatable to residents, Trasente stated that the percentage increase in the overall tax bill for 2010 would only be 2.8%. It wasn't until Committeeman Sean Byrnes questioned Trasente that the true tax numbers came to light.

Byrnes asked for clarification on the 2.8% budget increase and whether or not this increase was reflective of only the municipal tax rate or did it include the County and school taxes as well, at which point Trasente sheepishly admitted that the rate included all three.

Byrnes then went on to state that the true municipal tax increase to residents was closer to 13% and pointed out that there was no reason to believe, despite Trasente's rosie picture of next years budget, that it would be any better.

Nick Trasente did mention however that as of this point the budget was not finalized, there still could be changes to seeing that the budget will not be officially adopted until mid July giving Committee members plenty of time to solicit ideas from the public and make further cuts like the elimination of Middletown day as an example.

If you want to read a different take on last nights meeting then you can read about it HERE. Kevin Penton of the Asbury Park Press was the first to have an article posted on he subject and while it lacks a few details about what went on, I have to give him kudos for seeing through the attempt at sugarcoating the budget presentation while attempting to present the facts.

Half Truths and Sugar Coating Doesn't Change The Fact Middletown Has a $5M Budget Deficit And Strong Leadership Is Needed

Dustin Racioppi's column "M’TOWN LOOKS TO TRENTON FOR BUDGET HELP " that appeared on the rebbankgreen.com website yesterday made a lasting impression on a few people, not for what it contained but for what it didn't.

Gerry Scharfenberger makes for a good interview but unfortunately much of what qualifies as quotes from him are often lacking in truth or honesty. He seems to make stuff up as he goes along just so that he can tell people what he thinks they want to hear. Telling people not to worry because Govonor Christie will come to our rescue and bail out Middeltown from it's $5 million budget deficit we face is just one recent and classic example of that.

Gerry just refuses to "see" that Middeltown's finances are in crisis and that a large tax increase seems to be the only way out of the mess that he and his fellow republicans have made, unless of course he gets serious and sits down to discuss long term solutions to the problems that affect Middletown's budget. The governor's "toolbox" may help but it is not the solution.

Below a reader sent me a copy of Dustin Racioppi's column with comments attached. This person's comments appear in blue and they do a good job at countering much of what Scharfenberger told Racioppi. I included audio clips that I had laying around for added emphasis on a few points.

Remember Gerry, there are always two sides to a story. You can't ignore the one side while sugar coating the other without people taking notice and pointing it out:

A CFO has been hired. The school budget is back in the hands of the board of ed. What else could possibly snarl Middletown officials from introducing a budget for 2010?

CFO Trasente said that a budget could be ready for May presentation. He said this at the April 5 workshop meeting. Listen to the recording.



A quorum.

At least, that’s one reason Wednesday night’s scheduled introduction of the 2010 budget was delayed.

The unveiling of the budget, which runs on a calendar year, was first put off because the town had been without a chief financial officer for several months to help guide the township committee. Then the committee had to focus its fiscal efforts — including a very public jousting between the mayor and teachers’ union — on trimming the failed education budget.

Then, just when a spending plan was to be introduced, it appeared that not enough committee members could make Wednesday night’s special meeting.

It’s OK, though, says Mayor Gerard Scharfenberger. He and the four-member committee are waiting on some pending bills in Trenton that, if they pass, will allow for more reductions in spending. And there’s a temporary budget in place, he said.

This reads like the Mayor is not part of the Committee. This is furthest from the truth. In fact, Middletown has a 5 member Township Committee. One of the Committee members is selected to be Mayor so that meetings can be conducted in an orderly fashion.

“Fiscally we’re on very solid footing,” he said. “It’s not as bad as it seems.”

Being $5M in the hole at the beginning of the fiscal year is never that bad. I think the Mayor meant that having his foot in a $5M hole is a very solid fact.

Of course, he’s speaking in temporary budget terms. The short- and long-term budget picture is, naturally, ugly. State aid and municipal revenues are down, costs are up and the township was hit with a spate of retirements — including some this week — that will cost it beaucoup bucks that officials simply didn’t budget for, Scharfenberger said.

If it was not for the Christie administration changing the retirement rules there would not have been these retirements.

But that’s where the waiting game could pay off for Middletown, he said.

Pension and health benefits reform proposed by Governor Chris Christie, if approved, would not only limit the amount retirees are paid, but also spread the municipality’s payout over 10 years.

Scharfenberger pointed to Hackensack, which recently had to bond for millions in order to pay for a 33-employee exodus. Middletown, by the way, has seen 39 employees retire since Christie announced the changes, exposing it to huge costs.

It is always easy for Gerry to point fingers. He always forgets that there are 3 fingers pointing right back at him when he does this. People in Middletown do not care what Hackensack are doing. They want to know what Middletown is doing. They want to know why Middletown does not have a budget going into the 6th month of the year.

“That just goes to show, it’s not just Middletown,” Scharfenberger said. “This year, so many people retired because of the changes in the state. There was no way to see this coming.”

This just goes to show if it was not for the Christie administration changing the retirement rules there would not have been these retirements. How can you not see this coming? He must have been blind and on another planet with Christie if they did not see this coming.

Scharfenberger also said Christie has proposed changes that allow places like Middletown to opt out of civil service agreements, which would make sharing services more feasible. Middletown is bound by the rules of the Civil Service Commission, which requires tests and screening, making it harder to find outside municipalities that have as-qualified employees to share.

If the change goes through, “That would be a ripple effect on the town,” Scharfenberger said.

This is a big If. What IF they don’t go through? Do we bond for millions like Hackensack?

Middletown officials are also negotiating with health insurance companies to save money and have applied for financial relief from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for recent flooding, as opposed to paying out of pocket.

How is FEMA going to bail us out? FEMA relief has nothing to do with the Township budget. This statement should not be in this article discussing the Township budget. FEMA relief is for the businesses and homeowners, not the Township.

The Township is self insured and has spent millions already this year in claims and premiums.
Scharfenberger is “cautiously optimistic” that some or all of these measures will come through before the town’s budget is presented to the public.

The Mayor should be helping in putting a budget together instead of looking for others to bail him out. Is this the osmosis part?

“Rather than introduce it and go back and change it,” Scharfenberger said, “we want to be able to cut as much as we can before we introduce it.”

Nothing is being cut because nobody has stepped up to provide the “toolbox” to do the cutting. Right now the toolbox is empty and the ship is sinking.

Scharfenberger said the committee will shoot for late next week or early the following week to bring the budget forward.

He is waiting until after the primary so that he has a better opportunity to be on the ballot in November. There will not be much of a change between now and next week, as far as something coming through to help. The Township Committee should be working on NEXT YEARS BUDGET, not the one that started this past January.

Middletown Cancels Budget Introduction For Wednesday Night

Well that didn't take long, I guess the Middletown Municipal Budget wasn't ready for introduction after all! Or was it because I let the potential budget increase out of the bag? Or was it a simple scheduling conflict that would not enable most of the Township Committee members themselves from being at tomorrow's meeting? I doubt we'll find out for sure.

But posted late this afternoon, just before the close of business, on Middletown's website is this simple note concerning the cancellation of tomorrow nights special budget introduction meeting:

The special meeting that was sheduled for June 2nd has been cancelled.

One has to wonder why this meeting was called for then cancelled so suddenly? If the reason for the cancellation was that it wasn't possible to have a quorum present in the first place then why make the initial announcement? Didn't the Township Administrator, Tony Mercantenate, find out if committee members could be present before making the plans for the meeting public?

Or, maybe the meeting was cancelled because of the potential 15% tax increase which seems to be needed in order to close the $5 million budget gap that the leaders of Middletown have done absolutely nothing thus far to close with only 6 months left in the year in which to do it? And just maybe the mayor is upset with Mercantante for scheduling this meeting six day before the June 8th Primary, when he will be challenged for his party's nomination by Lincroft resident Tony Avallone. Why would the acting mayor want to announce any kind of budget that could potentially include a massive tax increase just before an election anyway?

If this special budget meeting is rescheduled, look for it to be happen sometime within the next two weeks due to the deadline that Trenton has imposed on municipalities to have their budgets ready by. It wouldn't be surprising at all if this meeting doesn't happen however because of the fact that this month's regularly scheduled meetings happen on the 7th and 21st. The introduction of the budget resolution could be done at either of those meetings.

I guess we'll just have to wait and see what tricks Gerry and the boys have up their sleeves later this month and hope that CFO Nick Trasente can pull a couple of million dollars out of the Township's hat.