Former Middletown Committeeman, Sean Byrnes, Enters Race for LD 13 Senate Seat

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 7, 2017

Former Middletown Committeeman, Prosecutor, Coast Guard Commander Enters Race for Senate

MIDDLETOWN - Today, former Middletown Committeeman Sean F. Byrnes announced his Candidacy for State Senate in the 13th Legislative District. Byrnes served on the Middletown Township Committee from 2008 to 2011. He previously served as a Municipal Prosecutor, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Community YMCA and as a Coast Guard Officer, both on active and reserve duty, including time spent recalled to active duty during Operation Iraqi Freedom and as the Assistant Chief of Staff in New Orleans during the response to Hurricane Katrina. He was also one of the original Board Members of the Parker Family Clinic and currently serves as a Board Member for the Monmouth County SPCA.

Former Middletown Committeeman, Sean F. Byrnes 

Starting with a pledge that his campaign will take no corporate money, Byrnes said his campaign will focus on what he calls the “rigged economy”. “Make no mistake, individuals, consumers, homeowners, and heads of households have all lost ground, because the laws have been rigged over the last 30 years to favor the largest political donors. From bailed out banks refusing mortgage modifications, to banks and cell phone providers charging ridiculous fees, to public institutions charging excessive tolls to cross our bridges or purchase tickets to ride trains and buses, our elected officials have forgotten our citizenry. Our families are under siege.” Byrnes proposes legislation to create re-education and re-training programs within our system of higher education, along with a high-tech research campus in New Brunswick, to arm workers with the skills to compete in the modern economy.

“I have spent the last twenty years defending and advocating for individuals and small businesses, and I understand their needs. I will challenge and upend a system that has provided huge tax advantages to large multi-national corporations while reducing income and wealth for the small business owner and average family.”

Byrnes noted that his likely opponent, Assemblyman Declan O'Scanlon, is a nice person, but a creature of Trenton. He supported the gas tax and Chris Christie's infamous book deal. Byrnes emphasized that “we cannot allow business to continue as usual. Our State has wasted vast sums of money in the public sector. I will investigate and propose legislation to re-structure the Port Authority, New Jersey Transit, and the Turnpike Authority. Projects like the Xanadu nightmare and a $4 billion dollar subway station make plain that public corruption is alive and well.” Byrnes said, “I believe that these unaccountable agencies, with their enormous budgets must be streamlined and held accountable before we begin the inevitable infrastructure investment that will drive our State forward in the next decade.”

Middletown Township Committee Meeting 6/18/12

Here is the video of the June 18th, 2012 Middletown Township Committee Meeting; It was a long one, lasting nearly three hours.

There was a nice Proclamation to East Keansburg Fireman John Bayard Sr. for his 50 years of service. He was presented the first ever key to the city.

As reported in both the Independent and Middletown Patch, a public hearing was conducted for a new Pay-To-Play ordinance(which was adopted) that reverts the Township's more effective ordinace (adopted just a few years ago and at the time was touted by former Mayor Scharfenberger as the strongest pay-to-play ordinance in the state) to the less effective state open process, which allows town professionals to once again contribute to those who are responsible for appointing them to work for tax payer dollars. A few comments were offered by former Township Committeeman Sean Byrnes, former Township Committee candidate James Grenafege and current Township Committee candidate Linda Baum.

The public hearing on the Pay-to-Play ordinance starts at the 25:50 mark of the video and ends at the 82:30 mark.

Ordinances were adopted that established a Historic Preservation Committee, an Economic Development Committee, to increase fees such as dog and cat licenses and tattoo parlors and issued $2.1M in capital improvement bonds which 25% will go towards engineering and attorney fees.

Be sure to watch the Public Comments portion of the meeting which starts at the 130 minute mark or approximately two hours and ten minutes into the meeting, as always they are enlightening and shows what is on the minds of residents who have taken the time to attend the meeting. It's also interesting to see and listen to the responses of those up on the dais; arrogance,hubris and condescension reigns.



As a companion to the video, you can download a copy of the meeting agenda that contains 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.

Upcoming Fundraisers In Support Of Amy Mallet, Bill Shea, Christopher Cullen, Kevin Lavan & Patrick Short

The following is a list of upcoming fundraisers for Democratic Candidates Freeholder Amy Mallet, Freeholder Candidate Bill Shea and 13th Legislative District Candidates Christopher Cullen, Kevin Lavan and Patrick Short.

Each event should be a great time for those that would be interested in showing their support of the candidates by attending:

Tuesday, July 26th, 2011

Fundraiser in Support of Freeholder Amy Mallet

6:30-8:30pm
Home of Sean Byrnes, 880 West Front Street, Red Bank, New Jersey 07701
For more information or to RSVP:

email info@amymallet.com


Sunday, July 31st, 2011

Haskell Invitational Fundraiser in support of Bill Shea for Freeholder

Monmouth Park, Oceanport, New Jersey
$65/supporter, $120/sponsor, $250/gold sponsor

Please make checks payable to:

Friends of Bill Shea for Freeholder, P.O. Box 155, Hazlet, New Jersey 07730

Please RSVP to:

Maryellen Principe at 732.888.1862

Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011

Labor Leaders of the 13th District Reception In support of

Kevin Lavan, Patrick Short and Chris Cullen

7-9pm
Assaggini di Roma

3253 Highway 35 North, Hazlet NJ 07730

RSVP to Joe Caliendo at 732.671.0870

Monday, August 8th, 2011

Golf outing in Support of Bill Shea for Freeholder

11am
Eagle Oaks Golf and Country Club, 20 Shore Oak Drive, Farmingdale, NJ 07727

$250/guest, $500/sponsor, $1,000/silver sponsor and $2,500 gold sponsor

$50 guest dinner with paying golf participant, $75 for dinner only (no golf)

Please RSVP or for more info call:

Ron Principe at 732.888.1862

email ronprincipe@gmail.com or votebillshea@gmail.com

Thursday, August 11th, 2011

Fashion Show in support of Bill Shea for Freeholder

Lakeside Manor, Route 36, Hazlet, New Jersey 07730
$40/supporter, $80/sponsor, $150/gold sponsor

RSVP to Maryellen Principe at 732.888.1862

Please make checks payable to:

Friends of Bill Shea for Freeholder, P.O. Box 155, Hazlet, New Jersey 07730

Friday, August 19th, 2011

A Night of Comedy supporting Kevin Lavan, Patrick Short and Christopher Cullen for 13th Legislative District

7-11pm
Bayshore Senior Recreation Center

100 Main Street

Keansburg, New Jersey

$40/supporter, $75/friend and $150/co-host

Buffet included

RSVP to:

John Amberg @ jamberg825@gmail.com or 732-291-4272

Independent: Twp. and BOE begin to discuss shared services; Middletown and school district form committee to explore opportunities

Hmmm, this sounds vaguely familiar.

Wasn't it Former Committeeman Sean Byrnes that championed the idea to form a committee to between the Middletown Township Committee and the Middletown Board of Education for the purpose of finding areas in which the two could share services? I'm just saying....

MIDDLETOWN — A collaborative committee between the township and the Board of Education that would facilitate shared services has begun to take shape.

The Township Committee approved a resolution establishing the new commit- tee’s members at its March 7 meeting.

Mayor Anthony Fiore, Committeeman Steve Massell and public member Judy Benedict will serve on the committee along with Township Administrator Anthony Mercantante.

Board members Vincent Brand and Michael Mascone, Interim Superintendent Thomas Pagano and Business Administrator Amy Gallagher will represent the school district on the committee.

The committee aims to identify areas of overlapping expenses and investigate possible shared or consolidated services between the two entities.

“A lot of those discussions happen already; however, we’re always more than willing to comply with trying to find every idea that we can to share resources with the Board of Education and other entities,” Fiore said in an interview.

“Hopefully, that committee will allow us to explore other and every avenue that we possibly can with the Board of Education to share services as much as possible for the benefit of the taxpayers of Middletown.”

Board President Michael Donlon expressed similar sentiments, but stressed that the committee is still young.

“Our Board of Education is looking to get a better understanding of the benefits that shared services may bring,” he said.


“We sincerely believe that collaboration is a win for both parties, and the board will continue in our efforts to work side by side with the township as we both proceed through these very interesting and changing times,” he said....

Read more >>>> Here

Looking At Both Sides

by guest blogger Sean F. Byrnes, former Middletown Township Committeeman

Last week we saw the Township of Middletown enveloped in a dispute over the Township’s effort to convince the Board of Trustees for the Library to turn over a significant share of its surplus to the Township Committee for budget relief purposes. Unfortunately, the manner in which the township chose to solicit these funds lacked tact. Although the township had previously made less threatening overtures to the Library in an effort to win the Board of Trustees’ support for a funds transfer, when that effort failed, the Township pursued an aggressive campaign to convince the public that a transfer would be in their best interest. Spearheaded by new Committeeman Kevin Settembrino, this effort, whether intended or not, seemed rooted in tactics of intimidation and threats to de-municipalize the library and combine it with the County Library system. This effort also suggested that a failure of the Board of Trustees to abide by the wishes of the Township Committee would result in the loss of ten police officers, the layoff of a significant number of Township employees and, if you heard the comments at the Library Board of Trustees’ meeting, an effort by Township Committee members to replace existing Board of Trustees members.

Based on the comments from Board of Trustees’ members at their meeting on Tuesday, it would appear that the resolve of the Board of Trustees has not wilted in the face of these threats. Led by Randy Gabrielan, the Chairman of the Board, the Library challenged the assumptions, numbers and legal authority for the Township’s demand for a funds transfer. Looking ahead, as a Township resident, I would hope that both sides could retreat from the current level of heated rhetoric and restart their discussions.

I think it would be in the interest of all taxpayers for the Township Committee and Library to continue their discussions. It might make more sense to have the Township Administrator meet with the Director of the Library to discuss how the Library might be able to assist the township in this time of budget crisis. From the Library’s perspective, the Board has worked hard to build a reserve that could be used for future capital projects, and there is an understandable reluctance to use these funds to satisfy operating expenses for the Township. From the Township’s perspective, the Library has a protected stream of revenue that is not subject to the same stresses and demands that the Township must face when health care costs increase, pensions become more expensive and the cost of doing business generally continues to go up. There may be opportunities for these two parties to cooperate in other ways that would provide relief to the Township without exhausting the reserves of the library.

There is no question that the Township finds itself in a perfect storm of budgetary constraints. To be fair, some of these strains are beyond its control. But the Township moved at a glacial pace over the last several years as this financial crisis approached. A quicker response to the approaching financial storm would have made the Library ask a smaller one. Accordingly, before the Library turns over any of its reserves to the Township, it would be nice to see an acknowledgment that a swifter response from the township in 2009 and 2010 would have avoided the seriousness of the budget crisis that the Township currently faces. The Township did lay off approximately 16 employees last year, but did so only mid-year. Other municipalities took action much sooner and in more dramatic fashion. The former Mayor’s claims of 40 layoffs include retirements.

Other cost-saving measures were proposed over the last several years, but were rejected as too extreme. Unfortunately, as a result of the Township’s failure to act, the Township Committee must now contemplate cuts that go far beyond those that were previously considered “extreme.” Until the Township forms a subcommittee whose function is to focus on budget recommendations, track existing and anticipated debt, look for opportunities for consolidation and sharing of services and generally manage the Township’s finances on a more regular basis, the Township will always be reacting to rather than planning for increased demands for Township resources.

Once again, in fairness, the unfortunate timing of the Township’s reevaluation in 2009, just prior to a steep decrease in property values, set the Township up for a tax appeal nightmare in 2010 and 2011. (Of course, the township had mistakenly put off its reevaluation for approximately 14 years – had the township completed the reval when it should have, the steep drop in real estate prices would not have resulted in such a large number of tax appeals.) But regardless of the failure to conduct a timely revaluation, the Township has a legitimate reason to gripe, because when a resident or commercial property owner prevails on their tax appeal, the township must return to the taxpayer not only the municipal share of the taxes received from the taxpayer, but must also reimburse the taxpayer for the funds received by the School District during the year for which the tax appeal was filed. This reality is difficulty for some to believe, but true. And, in light of the fact that approximately two-thirds of the tax dollars go to school district activities, the Township ends up paying back the taxpayer for School District funds that the Township never received in its budget.

Consequently, the steady decrease in real estate value over the last couple of years has produced a field day for those filing tax appeals. The Township is now struggling to repay multi-year tax appeals that are probably worth nearly $4 million. Unfortunately, the Legislature has failed to assist municipalities facing this dilemma. Under the circumstances, given the unique circumstances facing municipalities, including picking up the tab for the Legislature’s bungling of pension contributions for public workers, the Legislature should provide assistance to townships by creating opportunities for public entities to finance the tax appeals or extend their repayment terms. In several years, the Township will be through this unique period where tax appeal refunds are substantial and hopefully return to a more predictable budget cycle. The Township Committee took the first step in this direction in 2010 when it decided to conduct a reassessment. Even thought the reassessment cost $400,000 the savings achieved in 2011 from reduced tax appeal filings will be far greater.

The realities of the tax appeals as set forth above increase the pressure for some agreement with the Library. At the same time, the Library will see its share of funding decrease by more than 10 percent next year, due to the fact that its revenue stream is dependent solely upon property values. With a 1.3 billion drop in the total assessed real estate in the Township of Middletown, the Library’s stream of revenue will be reduced considerably. Given this dynamic, it may make sense for the Township and Library to discuss mutual relief. In other words, the Township needs money now most desperately. The Library in the out years may need assistance as its funding stream declines. Perhaps assistance from the Library during the current year could be received in exchange for promises by the Township to return the favor several years down the road.

It might also make sense for the Library to consider some sort of partnership with the Arts Center. While the Arts Center has its own Board of Directors, this arrangement, as far as I know, is not routed in any legislative scheme. Indeed, the Township has effectively turned over the operation of the Arts Center to a non-profit corporation and the Board supervises these activities. Resident Jim Grenafege was the first person to suggest that the Library Board of Trustees might consider assimilating some of the Arts Center’s operations into its activities. A casual review of the websites for these two entities suggests that there is some degree of overlap between the artistic and cultural offerings from these two bodies. Given that they both have buildings that are relatively new and both are focused on improving the education of the citizens of this Township when it comes to arts, literature and music, there may be some opportunity for the Library to assist in the operation of the Arts Center, including some of its expenses. It is exciting to contemplate what the far larger Library work force might be able to provide to the Arts Center when it comes to running the day to day events and offerings at the Arts Center.

At the end of the day, the current legislation when it comes to Library transfer to municipalities, amended in October of 2010, will likely allow some transfer to take place. From the Township’s perspective, the amount of money to be transferred under the current legislative scheme will fall short of what the Township needs to avoid drastic reductions in personnel and services. However, somewhere within the circumstances discussed above, creative minds on both sides should be able to work out an arrangement that provides some additional relief for the Township, even if it may not be a direct transfer of funds of the magnitude the Township seeks. My hope would be that the time and energy on both sides be spent working toward that goal, rather than on blaming the other.

The Last "It's Your Town" Newsletter For 2010 Is Available For Reading

The last issue of the year of It's Your Town newsletter has be published and is ready for downloading. The issue of the newsletter covers the last Middletown Township Committee meeting that took place on Monday, December 20th.

It was a very quick meeting, lasting only 1 hour. But even though it was short, a few major things took place.

Committeeman Sean Byrnes was recognized by the Township for his 3 years of service on the Committee and a resolution that Byrnes introduced to televise the meetings was tabled for further discussion by Deputy Mayor Tony Fiore and the Committee (which means that it will never be discussed again unless residents continue to push for it).

The Committee also agreed to retire a dozen or so different bond ordinances that still have funds associated with them. The funds will be used to pay off the bond debt that these and other bonds have generated over the years.

I hope that everyone that has downloaded or have received copies of the newsletter via email over this past year, have enjoyed reading it, an awful lot of work goes into producing it. The newsletter is the closest representation of what actually happens at Township Committee meetings that residents have available to them without actually being there.

The author, Don Watson, does an outstanding job at maintaining a non-partisan and unbiased approach to writing the newsletters and should be commended for his efforts at informing the public on what is happening down at Town Hall.

It is, after all, your town!

If you would like to be put on to an email list to have the It's Your Town newsletter sent to your inbox send a request to: itsourtown@yahoo.com

You can download the newsletter >>> Here

The Issue of Artificial Turf Fields In Middletown Was Officially Put To Rest With Resolution 10-310

Last night's Middletown Township Committee meeting brought the official end to the artificial turf field issue. The committee voted 3-1 to approve Resolution 10-310, which authorized that the unused bonded money that was meant for the installation of two artificial turf fields at West Front Street Park and Croydon Hall, be used instead to pay down existing bond debt.

In the audio clip below Committeewoman Pam Brightbill discusses why she reluctantly voted to approve the resolution, after which you can hear why outgoing Committeeman Sean Byrnes voted against it.



The one curious thing about Resolution 10-310 is the fact that it is the only resolution that was discussed last night that has not made it's way onto the Township's website, for some reason it is missing. I am wondering if it has anything to due with the potential controversy that may surround it.

The controversy being that the original bond that was issued in 2006 which allocated funding for the turf fields specifically stated that these funds could not be used for any other purpose other than recreation, and with the nature of bond issues those funds cannot be used for the purpose offsetting operational budgets.

Using these bonded funds to pay off debt may not be legal,so until the resolution is made available to the public we'll just have to wait to see how the Township intends to do this.

Committeeman Byrnes Presented with Certificate of Appreciation For His Service To Middletown

Last night the Middletown Township Committee presented a plaque to outgoing Committeeman Sean Byrnes that expressed the Township's appreciation for his 3 years of service to Middletown.

The plaque was presented by Mayor Gerry Scharfenberger and was followed by a few words from Sean Byrnes.



All of Sean Byrnes's supporters and friends wish him all the best in whatever endeavors he now plans to pursue in his "free time". His presence on the Township Committee will be greatly missed.

Middletown Refuses To Take Residents Money; Taxpayers Told Of Looming Tax Sales

Does anyone have an extra $1500 cash or more lying around the house; if you do can you lend it to a neighbor? According to Middletown resident Dora Crisafulli, she was turned away from the Middletown Tax office yesterday (November 29, 2010) when she showed up to pay her property taxes. As it turned out she wasn’t the only one turned away, others who showed up Monday were also turned away.

Mrs. Crisafulli stated that when she arrived at the Middletown tax office Monday morning, there were several people in front of her, all waiting to pay their tax bills before the end of the month. Each resident was told that their payments were late and that their tax bill should have been paid by November 10th (since payments dates were adjusted a few months back to reflect the new bill payment schedule that require taxes due on the 1st of the month), each were told that only cash or certified cashier checks would be accepted as payment. No personal checks, credit or debit cards would be taken. According to Crisafulli, it seemed that a near riot would ensue as people were being turned away.


One elderly woman left the tax office in near tears when she couldn’t pay half of her tax bill by personal check with the remaining balance placed on a credit card. Others in line became angry and agitated at the situation, no one could understand the reasoning behind the sudden change in payment methods and they questioned who had that kind of money lying around?

When it was Crisafulli’s turn at the window she demanded to speak to the office supervisor (Crisafulli couldn’t remember her name) when she was not allowed to use her debit card to pay her taxes and found out that a late charge of nearly $60 was being added to her bill. She was told by the clerk that the supervisor was currently busy but could speak to her shortly. Mrs. Crisafulli let the clerk know that she expected to talk to the supervisor after she returned from the bank with cash.
Upon her return from the bank, Mrs. Crisafulli asked to speak to the office supervisor before paying her tax bill. When the supervisor came out to speak with Mrs. Crisafulli, she was probably sorry that she had, Crisafulli gave her an earful.

Crisafulli stated to me that she had asked why she and others had to pay by cash or by certified cashier’s check (which would have been subjected to an additional $15 bank service fee) when previous to this date other forms of payment were acceptable? She also questioned why she was charged and added misc. interest charge of $51.54 over the normal late interest fee of $8.04, which she had been paying since the Township change its payment cycle a few months earlier (Crisafulli stated that she was on a fixed income and doesn’t always have money available on the first of the month). Previously to the change, she had never been late with a tax payment and she would have paid her tax bill on Friday but the office was closed the day after Thanksgiving.

The woman that Mrs. Crisafulli spoke to informed her that the reason for the changes to the payment policy, was due to the upcoming Tax Lien sale that was being scheduled for late December (Crisafulli stated 12/28 but more than likely in January).

Anyone late in their tax payments, were being required to pay by either cash or certified check and the additional interest charge was for the purpose of processing the paper work for the upcoming tax sale and to place notices in the area newspapers.

After hearing this Mrs. Crisafulli was shaken and upset, she wanted to know how in the world Middletown could place a lien on her house and put it up for sale without her notice or her being delinquent in her tax payments; she never was and had ever been habitually late paying her taxes. She was mortified that her name would appear in the newspapers and that her neighbors would think that she was a tax cheat.

Only after the supervisor stated that she would check on Mrs. Crisafulli’s status, to see if her house was going to be included in the sale and notices, did Crisafulli make her cash payment and request a receipt.

Two hours later the phone rang in the Crisafulli’s house and the voice at the other end of the phone notified Mrs. Crisafulli that she was safe; her house wasn’t being subjected to the tax sale and no notice would be placed in the local newspapers.

Needless to say she was relieved to hear the news, but what about the others, who have been turned away over these last couple of days, have they been told of the upcoming tax sale and whether or not their homes would be included?

This is disturbing; I can’t imagine that Middletown would be so hard up for tax revenues that it would refuse to take late tax payments from residents unless those payments were made with cash. It is paramount to extortion, either you pay us in cash or we will but a lien on your house and then put it up for sale. How can this be possible, is this just a simple case of misunderstanding or is there something more to it? I have never heard of such a thing happening unless a property owner’s taxes were considered habitually past due. I also don’t understand why residents can’t pay with a credit card, the service fees that the banks charge the township are being passed onto the taxpayers, and the Township no longer absorbs those transaction fees. It just makes no sense.

Someone needs to question this before unknowing residents are hit with tax liens against their properties and find themselves in a court fight to keep their homes or businesses.

I placed a phone call to Middletown Committeeman Sean Byrnes last night to ask if he had known what was happing at the tax office. He stated that he did not but would contact Township Administrator Tony Mercantante, to inquire about it and get back to me.

Who's the Career Politician Now?

Isn't it ironic that after campaign literature was sent out by Gerry Scharfenberger and his buddies that make up the Middletown GOP accusing Democratic opponent Committeeman Sean Byrnes of being a career politician, that it is Gerry Scharfenberger who winds up being the real career politician now that he has been appointed to a new position within the Christie administration?

Tony "The Fibber" Fiore Is At It Again: Letter To Shadow Lake Residents Is Filled With Falsehoods

Middletown's acting Deputy Mayor, Tony "the Fibber" Fiore is at it once again. You would have thought that after being caught fabricating portions of his resume that was submitted to the Township (which was presented for consideration for the Township Volunteer Bank) shortly after he moved here from Carteret, he would have learn his lesson. You can't make false and misleading statements about yourself or others and expect to get away with it.

In this latest case "the Fibber" authored and sent to resident of Shadow Lake Village (on his own dime supposedly) a letter accusing the lone Democrat on the Township Committee, Sean Byrnes, of begin an obstructionist against the rest of the Township Committee's efforts to dredge Shadow Lake and accused him of "...cutting secret deals to line the pockets of private contractors to pour chemicals into Shadow Lake that will never solve the problem...".

Fiore actually insinuated that Byrnes was a lair by including in this letter "Sean Byrnes says he wants to bring the Army Corp of Engineers into help the Township with Shadow Lake. There are a few problems with this. First, as State open waters, the NJDEP's permission is still required for the Army Corp to dredge the lake. Second, the Army Corp only dredges navigable waters-Shadow Lake is not a navigable waterway."

This letter makes Fiore out to be the buffoon and partisan politician that he is and demonstrates that Fiore and the Middletown Republicans are only out for themselves and not interested hearing from others on how to fix problems. You can see the letter for yourself >>>Here

In response to his colleague on the Township Committee, here is what Sean Byrnes has to say about Fiore's claims and accusations:

"... First, he suggests that I did not vote on dredging for Shadow Lake. That’s correct, because when the ordinance was voted on I was not yet elected to the Township Committee. His letter would lead you to believe I voted against dredging. This is not true. Second, he claims that the Army Corps of Engineers does not have jurisdiction here and cannot take on this project. Here, Mr. Fiore should have checked his facts. While the Corps has traditionally handled the maintenance of navigable waterways, they do now have a responsibility for Ecosystem Restoration. You can check this link on the web for more information:

http://el.erdc.usace.army.mil/ecosystem/index.html.

I don’t think these representatives would ask for a meeting if they did not have a program that might address the problems with the Lake.

Lastly, and most disturbing to me, Mr. Fiore contends that I am “lining the pockets” of a contractor to treat the Lake. For the record, this “contractor” has had a contract with the Township for 15 years. The Township, unbeknownst to me, reduced the scope of this contractor’s contract limiting his treatment of vegetation to the most Western portion of the Lake. This may explain the rapid growth of vegetation of the last few years. My request to him to submit a contract for 2011 designed to attack the vegetation growth was an effort to address this problem while we wait for dredging. While Mr. Fiore appears to oppose this treatment of vegetation, I believe it is necessary and his characterization of it as “pouring chemicals” into the Lake is misleading..."

Well then, so much for the final attempt at an "October Surprise" from Fiore and the Middletown GOP, they have shown once again with this letter, that they can not be trusted with telling the truth to residents and are desperate to retain as much power in town as possible.

It seems as though Sean Byrnes is the only one representing the best interests of Middletown, whether it be not voting to support this years budget that included a whopping 13.8% increase to the Municipal tax rate or here in this instance, providing a common sense solution to a problem that has been lingering under Republican rule for 3 years now.

Video: Sean Byrnes discusses Transparency and Televising meetings

Middletown Democratic Committeeman Sean Byrnes discusses transparency and the need to televise Township Committee meetings over the Township's public access channels during the Byrnes and Mahoney Town Hall Meeting that took place on September 27,2010 in Middletown.

Since this video was taken Mayor Scharfenberger has stated that he would not be in favor of televising meetings to the public at any cost because he doesn't see the value in it.

Byrnes States In Video That Avaya COAH Plan Can Not Move Forward Until All Pending Legal Action Is Settled

During Middletown's recent Township Committee Meeting which took place on Oct 17, 2010, resident Jeffrey Blumengold was concerned about what was going on with the Avaya property in Lincroft. The property was included as part of the Township's COAH (affordable housing) development plans.

He wanted to know if anything could be done to stop the development of the sight if the builder was ready to start building the planned housing development that is slated for the property.

Towards the end of the video, Sean Byrnes can be heard saying that the Township could not allow any of the currently proposed COAH projects in town to move forward until all of the current court challenges are settled

An Unapologetic Apology From Scharfenberger Regarding Robo Call

It seems that the article in last Wednesday’s Asbury Park Press and the subsequent editorial that followed on Saturday was about all Gerry Scharfenbeger could take and must have prompted him to call at least one of the residents that was mention in the article.

Carol Stiglin reports that our mayor called her Saturday to offer his apology for the lateness of the robo call and tried to explain that a “glitch” was ultimately responsible for the timing of the call. When she questioned Gerry about it, he said that it was decided by the Committee to make the call around the same time as Middletown Matters was mailed to households so that they (the Committee) could reinforce the importance of recycling.

When questioned further by Stiglin about the need for the robo call, Scharfenberger immediately place blame on Sean Byrnes, his opponent in this year’s election, saying that Byrnes sent an email back in August stating that it may be a good idea to call residents and notify them of the change to the recycling program. According to Stiglin, she then stated to Scharfenberger that August may have been a better time to place calls to residents than in October, 3 weeks before an election. Stiglin then wanted to know if the Committee had agreed to the initial time that the calls were to take place, she said that Gerry replied “'it's just a quick notice…I just had a minute and went ahead and recorded it ”, which implied to her that Committee didn’t need to approve the call. Soon after this exchange they said their goodbyes and ended their conversation.

After learning this, I was interested in hearing from Sean Byrnes to get his take on being blamed as the source of inspiration behind the robo call.

Byrnes stated that he went back and looked at his sent emails in the Township email system and found an email from August. He stated that the Committee had received an email from Ted Maloney advising them of a message he intended to send regarding leaf and brush pickup, and that he intended to use the reverse 911 system. Included in the email was the text of what the message was to say, to which Byrnes responded as follows:

“…At some point, maybe not so close on the heels of this announcement, we should also do that for the recycling pickup. You may have done it already, but we will probably need to push this pretty hard to get the word out and start getting compliance...”

Committeeman Byrnes stated that he was unaware that the Scharfenberger planned to make an announcement last week about the recycling program, he stated that an email from Cindy Herschaft, the public relations officer, was sent to Committee members about an hour before the announcement started, advising them of the content of the call.

Apparently it would seem then, that Gerry Scharfenberger took Byrnes idea that was expressed in the email to Ted Maloney, saw an opportunity to use it to his advantage, hid the fact that he was doing it until just before the messages went out, and then tried to blame Byrnes when it didn’t work out. No wonder why he called Carol Stiglin to apologize, he finally got caught taking someone else’s idea and passing it off as his own. I would apologize for that also.

Letter: Fed Up With "Tax Man" Scharfenberger

I'm fed up in Middletown. How much more does the Township Committee majority think we homeowners can take?

Mayor Gerard P. Scharfenberger, the "tax man," went to Trenton to get dispensation for his unconscionable increase in taxes.

The state has a 4 percent cap on tax increases, but thanks to his connections in Trenton, he was allowed to increase them more than 12 percent.

Scharfenberger would like us to believe the increase is only 2.8 percent. This is a smokescreen that lets him hide behind the actual increase. Don't be fooled.
It's time to retire the tax man with your vote for Sean Byrnes and Mary Mahoney, who better understand the pressures on Middletown homeowners.

Byrnes is the only serious financial voice on the Township Committee. He voted down this unprecedented increase in taxes because he felt the township could have done a better job in planning this year's budget.

Marilyn Tuohy
MIDDLETOWN

Letter: Scharfenberger Is A Master Of Deception

Mayor Scharfenberger is a master! He is a master of deception. He would have Middletown taxpayers believe that he has managed Middletown so well that he has only increased our taxes by 2.8 percent. If that were the case he would not have had to go to Trenton to answer to higher authorities when he surpassed the state cap on municipal budgets. Trenton placed a four percent cap on increases and Mayor Scharfenberger's proposed budget was almost 14 percent. Does he really think we are so blind that we don't know this? The final increase in the tax rate has gone from $0.35 to $0.3975 per $100 of assessed value. This is an increase of over 13 percent for the homeowner.

Mayor Scharfenberger's deceptive tactics must end along with his tenure in office this year. Current Committeeman Sean Byrnes and his running mate Mary Mahoney stand for managing costs with tight controls on spending. They stand for improved planning that can reduce tax increases. They stand for cutting waste and inefficiency from township operations. They stand with homeowners, not supporting special interests. They stand with you and you should join me in supporting them.

Dora Crisafulli
Middletown

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

Video: Sean Byrnes Talks About Recent Tax increase

Middletown Township Committeeman Sean Byrnes addresses the municipal tax rate increase in front of attendees at the Byrnes & Mahoney Town Hall Meeting held on September 27,2010 at Panera Bread in Middletown.

Included in this video is a ten year Tax Chart that shows the history of tax increases by the Township Committee. The chart shows that during Gerry Scharfenberger's on the Township Committee (3 as mayor, 2 as deputy mayor) the municipal tax rate has risen by over 41%.

Sean Byrnes states that this year's increase was larger than the school system's and County combined.

Letter: Common Sense Over Politics

The people of Middletown have crucial decisions to make on November 2 of this election year. This community desperately needs new leadership that recognizes the concerns of the residents here .We can no longer continue to condone the mismanagement, the displays of incompetence and the failed policies of the republican majority on the township committee. Business as usual is contrary to prudent government.

Sean Byrnes is the only committee person willing to recognize the current economic conditions the residents of this town face. He has consistently voted against the failed policies of the current majority now serving. Their priorities are themselves, their party and their cronies, in that order. They refuse to consider
the very valid suggestions, that have been offered by Mr. Byrnes to right the sinking ship that is government in Middletown. These republicans seem oblivious to reality as they ignore the fact that the people in this country are in revolt against unfair and excessive taxation.

As a resident of this township for forty three years .I believe Middletown will be a much better place to live when bipartisan government becomes a reality here. We cannot afford three more years of the blatant disdain and disregard of the very people who pay the bills here....The taxpayers.

Time to vote for the re-election of Sean Byrnes and to elect his running mate,Mary Mahoney,.Mary is a person of honesty and integrity who shares Sean's vision for a better Middletown and a government that serves and respects the people who live and pay taxes here. They are both remarkable individuals.

Common sense must prevail over politics and the acute indifference that exists now towards the Middletown taxpayer.



Barbara R. Thorpe
Lincroft,N.J.

There seems to be NO reason why Middletown can't televise it's meetings other than Gerry doesn't want to.

An excellent article appears in today's edition of the Tow River Times titled "Twp. Officials Differ On Wisdom Of Videotaping Meetings", it is written by reporter John Burton and pretty much counters everything that has been said by Gerry Scharfenberger as to why Township Committee meetings can't be televised over the local cable access channels.

Burton contacted a spokesman for Verizon, Mr. Duthaler, who explained that "Cable companies take a small portion of the money paid to them by customers, and pay those allotments to the varies towns, what are called franchise fees. Some communities use portions of those funds to tape and broadcast meetings and other community information...

Sometimes municipalities negotiate with the cable providers, which can cover much, possibly all, of the cost of equipment. If Verizon is available in a community, that company, under its state agreement, would make available the necessary equipment and train personnel for any municipality that wants it, that's the way for them [towns] to get anything they want, all the equipment, all for free".

The article goes on to say that the cost of televising meeting is only ~$14k-$15k a year, which is a far cry from the $120k figure that Gerry Scharfenberger told residents at Shadow Lake Village last night it would cost when asked.

Burton also contacted representatives from Long Branch and Howell Twsp. to ask their opinions about how well things have worked out with televising meetings and both shared with him the same sentiments. "I think its working out well."

As to Scharfenberger's worrying about legal responiblities if something inappropriate is broadcast, David Bonowski, Howell's director of Management Information Systems, stated that in the six years Howell has been doing it(taping meetings for public broadcast)ed there has been no editing of content. "We haven't had anything happen at a meeting that would violate the FCC public guidelines and regulations."

So what is the problem here other than Scharfenberger and the Republicans that have been in control of Middletown for over 30 years, just don't want to do it.

Committeeman Sean Byrnes is qouted as charging,"opponents are actively trying to keep meetings from being made available for the public."

"I think if you could pick up the clicker and put on the local equivalent of C-Span and see what's going on," he said, "I don't see how it can hurt."

I happen to agree with him as do many other residents on this issue. Whenever you can bring more transparency to the process of government it is a good thing, especially when you consider that the costs of recording and broadcasting meeting can be done for little to no costs to the tax payer.