January 6, 2019 Middletown Township Committee Meeting

Seeing how there's a meeting of the Middletown Township committee happening tonight, I thought it best to get caught up by posting the video of last week's annual reorganization meeting.

For those that may not be aware, the new kid on the block, Gerry Scharfenberger's son-in-law, Tony Perry was appointed to be this years acting Mayor and Tony Fiore was appointed to act as this year's Deputy Mayor.



For those that like to follow along, you can download a copy of the Meeting Agenda, where you can find a full list of names who have volunteered for various boards and committees along with any resolutions that may have been acted upon during the meeting.



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Update: 5:20pm

It has been brought to my attention that there is not a meeting of the Middletown Township Committee scheduled for tonight.

Fiore Is At it Again; Belittling Residents Via Facebook

I recently heard a rumor that Middletown's currently act deputy-mayor, Tony Fiore had been muzzled by both the Middletown Republicans and his employer.

It was just last week, that acting mayor Kevin Settembrino let it be known that no one but himself  speak on behalf of the Township Committee other than himself. But yet, here's Tony speaking out about Township business once again and in the process belittling a resident in the process.

As for Fiore's employer, it has been rumored rather loudly, that they gave him an ultimatum, your job or your politics. Apparently they don't appreciate the way he conducts himself on social media or on the dais. His brash, argumentative and condescending comments to residents is seen as a poor reflection on his employer and they have had enough of it.

From what I've heard, his employer has taken the position that if he wishes to keep his job after his current appointment as deputy-mayor is over, in the future, he will no longer be allowed to serve as acting mayor or deputy-mayor. Further more, they wouldn't take kindly to him running for office again. So his days on the dais appears to be limited.

Evidently, it seems that Tony Fiore doesn't care because here are some screen shots taken just a little while ago of Fiore speaking on behalf of the Township Committee and derogatorily belittling a resident that he disagrees with. Fiore made these comments on a Facebook page for Middletown residents. I'm sure if the moderator of the page didn't turn off the ability to comment on the original post, the below exchange would have very quickly descended deeper into the mud.   

There Will Be No 'Fake' News In Middletown, Working Reporters Are A Pet Peeve of Settembrino

  Kevin Settembrino Photo by Muriel Smith • The Monmouth Journal

When I first read this article after it was brought to my attention Wednesday night, "Middletown’s new mayor holds meet and greet with local media", published at The Monmouth Journal (which you can read HERE), I was astounded by the arrogance of it, but I can't say that I was surprised by it because very little that comes from those currently running Middletown surprises me anymore.

According to the article, Middletown's appointed mayor, Kevin Settembrino (who made it very clear that he was the man in charge) called for a, "friendly session with local media personnel as a means of getting to know reporters better, as well as a way to introduce the township’s Public Information Officers, Tara Berson and Jessi Ticino, to the media. Township administrator Tony Mercantante was also present along with editors and journalists from local media outlets."  Settembrino went on to state that, " he wanted a good working relationship with the media, he also said requests from reporters working on a tight deadline for quotes or information is a pet peeve of his. What’s more, he doesn’t like surprises and discourages reporters from seeking information from other members of the Township Committee." ... " “I don’t want to be reading information you got from a member of the Township Committee,” he said. “I’m not happy about that.” "

Can you believe that statement? The audacity and arrogance that it takes to make such a statement is astonishing. Middletown's appointed mayor doesn't like reporters who ask questions or are working on deadlines, it's a "pet peeve" of his? You've got to be kidding me, it's like he's Middletown's own little version of Donald Trump! There will be no 'fake' news in Middletown, all questions must be submitted in writing and given directly to the public information officers first! Oh, and by the way don't speak to anyone but me!

Oh my God, that's a new level of chutzpah even for me!

Back in the day of lazy reporting of Township Committee meetings, former Public Information Officer Cindy Herrschaft, use to hand press releases with statements from the Committee, to reporters with highlighted talking points addressing things that were going to be spoken about during meetings.   For those that attended meetings back in the day, if you picked up a newspaper several days after a the fact, it was as if the meeting you were present at didn't happen. It was a crazy alternate universe that we seemed to live in.

Does Settembrino's statements above also mean that because he wants to be the ultimate control freak, that he is officially putting a muzzle on Tony Fiore? We all know that Tony Fiore has quite the presence on social media and likes to bait, chastise and insult people that have an issue with what is happening in and around Middletown. Fiore speaks on behalf of the township all the time when he is not authorized to do so and as a result creates some of his own 'fake' news with gross mischaracterizations and exaggerations on events both past and present. He  seems to think that people are misinformed and ignorant of facts, so they will unquestionably believe what he says.

This town is long over do for change on it's governing body. Middletown doesn't need arrogant 'A'holes like this, who think that the public is ignorant and doesn't know what's best for themselves or the town. November can't come soon enough!

Christie's Team, Perfect Together

I received this campaign flyer in the mail recently and thought it very creative and somewhat funny. The Christie Team is alive and well in Middletown NJ.

Stephanie Murray and Tony Fiore, do make a lovely couple don't you think??

Letter: Murray and Fiore Should be Booted

The following letter appears online at the Atlantic Highlands Herald:


Dear Editor:

Only in Chris Christie’s culture of arrogance and entitlement could Stephanie Murray run for reelection to the Middletown Township Committee under the slogan “Taxpayers First.” Ms. Murray had a tax lien on her home for unpaid income taxes and now earns a living from a second taxpayer funded job. In August she was appointed Borough Administrator for West Long Branch notwithstanding that she has no real financial training. Her running mate Tony Fiore who also seeks reelection to the Middletown Township Committee is part of the same culture. Mr. Fiore “boasts about… his fiscally austere ways, mirroring the methodology of Governor Chris Christie.” (Middletown Patch, November 7, 2011). Perhaps Mr. Fiore does not know that under the Christie regime, New Jersey’s credit rating has been lowered a record 11 times. (New Jersey.com, March 27, 2017).

Mr. Christie, Ms. Murray, and Mr. Fiore are perfect together. Let’s keep them together. By voting out Ms. Murray and Mr. Fiore on November 7, 2017, they can join Mr. Christie who thankfully leaves office in January 2018.



R. Judice
Middletown, nj

Not Just a Halloween Horror

If anyone happens to see someone dressed like this in Middletown next week (or sooner) knocking on your door or wandering the neighborhood,  be afraid ... be very afraid.

January 3, 2016 Middletown Township Committee Reorganization Meeting

Yesterday Middletown held it annual reorganization meeting at Town Hall.  At the meeting  the Committee selected a Gerry Scharfenberger to be its new Mayor and Tony Fiore  Deputy Mayor.

Also taking place was the swearing of numerous volunteer members of various  boards and commissions (although many were not in attendance), as well as, new Fire and EMS officers.

Stephanie Murray's outgoing mayor's addres  @ 19:52 -31:05
Gerry Scharfenberger's selection as Mayor and swearing -in @  32:22 - 34:21
Tony Fiore's selection as Deputy-Mayor and swearing-in @ 35:35 - 37:41

After the swearing in ceremonies both the mayor and deputy-mayor gave there in-coming comments, which was followed by the swearing of numerous volunteer members of various  boards and commissions (although many were not in attendance), as well as, new Fire and EMS officers.

Brief Committee Comments can be seen @ 1:47:21 - 1:50:19

There were no Public Comments

I'll post the agenda when it becomes available

Did Middletown Committeeman Violate State Campaign Pay to Play Laws By Contributing To Christie Campaign?

That's a question which should be answered by Tony Fiore, the Middletown Committeeman in question.

An article published online last week over at the International Business Times, "Chris Christie Maintained State Pension Investments In Prudential After Top Official Gave Contributions", is an eye opening examples of one reason as to why NJ's state pension system is in such disarray and financial trouble.  It seems that Governor Christie likes to reward those that lavish him with cash in the form of campaign contributions.

Over the past 5 years NJ has paid Prudential Financial to manage New Jersey pension funds, even after company officials made substantial contributions to Christie's 2009 gubernatorial campaign, according to International Business Times.

The IBTimes article names 2 senior Prudential officials, Jon Hanson and John Strangfeld who donated to Gov. Christie's campaign and/or nonprofits favored by Christie and who each served on various Christie transition teams and have been personal advisers to the governor.

The article also mentions one other senior Prudential executive that donated to Chris Christie's campaign for governor in 2009, Middletown's very own township committeeman, Tony Fiore:

"Campaign finance records show that at least one other Prudential executive donated to Christie’s 2009 campaign. Anthony Fiore, then a vice president with Prudential Investments, gave $2,000 to the governor’s campaign. Currently a Republican committeeman in Middletown and a senior vice president at Prudential, Fiore’s bio describes him as “a certified retirement and pension specialist.” Still, Prudential's spokesperson asserted that "Fiore did not meet the definition of an investment management professional" under New Jersey rules, though he provided no further explanation. Fiore did not respond to a request for comment about his contributions to Christie."

The article states that, New Jersey’s pay-to-play rules very are clear and restricts contributions from firms managing state pension money. The rules "explicitly define a covered “investment management professional” as “any person associated with an investment management firm, its parent company, or any other entity that controls the investment management firm, who is a member of the executive or management committee of such firm or controlling entity, or similarly situated officials.”, IBTimes stated.

You can read the full article ... Here 

Jersey Shore Insider: Monmouth GOP Leaders Display Racist Posts On Social Media; When Will They Learn??

The blog Jersey Shore Insider created quite a stir the other day when it reported on a pair of
Monmouth County GOP members, Union Beach Mayor Paul Smith and Marlboro Board of Education Vice President Victoria Dean, who's husband is Marlboro GOP Municipal Chair Chris Dean, posted rather questionable and to some, offensive racist material to their Facebook pages.

Union Beach's Smith and Marlboro's Dean each had posted and or "liked" racists and offensive anti-President Obama on their Facebook pages; Smith an insulting meme  calling President Obama “A Communist, a Muslim, and an Illegal Alien.” and Dean "who displayed and “liked” a post on her Facebook page stating “America isn’t America anymore! It’s run by foreigners including this RAG HEAD PRESIDENT!”, according to the Jersey Shore Insider.

This little story by the Insider has been made even bigger today by the fact that  the Asbury Park Press picked up on it last night and has posted an article dressing it.

In light of the recent Facebook flap created by Stafford Township Mayor John Spodofora, who launched a police probe against a critic who questioned his military service you would think that public officials would be a little more careful about what the post or have others post on their Facebook pages.

This story also brings to mind Middletown's own Facebook controversy that I posted about last September concerning Tony Fiore, who was seeking reelection to the Township Committee. If you remember Fiore had an offensive anti-woman meme posted to his Facebook account on which he "liked' and commented on.

 Fiore tried to deny that the post existed but later admitted it on social media before deleting it and turning his personal Facebook setting to "private" so that his posts couldn't bee seen by those that weren't his "friends".

February 17, 2015 Middletown Township Committee Meeting

The video of the February 17th Middletown Township Committee meeting is now available for viewing, the meeting lasted less than 30 minutes.

The highlights include:

The swearing in of a new police officer and new auxiliary police officers and a life saving award was presented to two men.

Three new ordinances were adopted to allow liquor license establishments to be located within 500 feet of each other, allow the police force to patrol the new Sloan Kettering property and reduce the fees for returned checks.

It was learned that the township has been overcharging for returned checks for years. Nobody on the governing body, nor the township attorney could say when the state passed this law that established fees for returned checks and did not consider compensating those who were charge excess fees over the years for they did not think there were ever any checks returned.

Four new ordinances were introduced and will have public hearings and votes for adoption on March 16.

Committee Comments begin at 23:26 - Neither Tony Fiore or Kevin Settembrino had any thoughts to share. Steve Massell still doesn't have an original thought in his head stating that he "Echoes" everything that Gerry Scharfenberger had said.

Public Comments begin at 27:30 -  only one member of the public to speak.




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.

Sore Winner Twitter Troll Fiore, Has No Class In Winning

It never ceases to amaze me how two-bit politicians continually get elected to offices that they have no right to hold. Condescending, nasty, arrogant, mean-spirited, "I know better than you know" jerks who's only qualifications to hold office is their membership in and loyalties to the political party. A political party that wants to control and dominate it's minions so that dissent is not an option and it's bidding is done. When this happens, you get public servants like Middletown's Tony Fiore, that think they are above it all and can act, do or say anything they want because there is no one to hold them accountable for their actions.

Case in point.

Shortly after the results of last Tuesday's election were known, Middletown's newly reelected committeeman Tony Fiore felt compelled to send me the below tweet from his Twitter account, which just so happened to be retweeted (shared, to use a Facebook term) by Stephanie Murray (who I can only assume thought it was cute and funny) and a few other of Fiore's Twitter followers.

I don't take kindly to those that act all smug and condescending, especially when someone like Fiore, who has very little personal class and is the poster boy for arrogance and rudeness, thinks he's being clever by sending out an asinine comment that the whole world can see. It really showed what a sore winner he was and how classless he is. So, being the type of person that I am, I couldn't allow Fiore's tweet to go unanswered and responded in kind.

Of course we all know that no good response goes unanswered, so true to form Tony Fiore was compelled to response by calling my blog "smut". Now, you can call me anything you want but to refer to this blog as smut is offensive to me. I've never posted anything to this blog that could be even remotely considered smut.

So, I countered by alluding to a certain local Republican blogger who revels in smut, character assassination, innuendo and bad taste (and once even tried to defend the use of the "N" word), who seems to be the Middletown and Monmouth County Republicans favorite source to decimate falsehoods and propaganda against their rivals in exchange for a little financial support.  

At this point in the thread of comments I suppose Tony  had nothing clever left to say and wished me to" Have a great day!!!". I personally think that he may have started to become leery of others who were picking up on the Twitter conversation and were now starting to comment on his self important demeanor and condescension. Here are just a few:

• Jjf07748 - Grow up. civil servants are held to a higher standard. Try & act like u should be in that office.
• Pauline Hynes - Wow this is how Tony Fiore views his constituents. Interesting that this is the sentiment ...
• SayNo2Trinity - Small-minded people are easily threatened.

I ended with the last word of course but this whole exchange just shows you how little regard Tony Fiore has for Middletown residents. Yeah, he and Murray won reelection by a couple thousand votes that the Republicans in Middletown seem to win by every year no matter the turn out. Because of the Republican dominance in local elections and voter apathy, they take Middletown voters for granted and feel that no one is paying attention anyway so they can do, act or say nearly anything they wish, without having to answer to anyone. It's a sad state knowing that  40% or more of Middletown residents (both Democrats and Republicans) are overlooked by the likes of Tony Fiore and Stephanie Murray on the Township Committee. It's even sadder knowing that they don't really care either.

So if  Tony Fiore, Stephanie Murray,Steve Massell, Gerry Scharfenberger or Kevin Settembrino don't like it when someone holds them accountable for their words or actions, Too Bad! You were elected to represent every resident of Middletown not just the ones that voted for you.

Middletown is our town just as much as it is theirs!

Letter: Candidates' Ethics And Lack Of Respect Towards Others On Display

To the Editor:

At the Lincroft Village Candidates' Night last night (Oct.21st) I was able to hear candidates for Monmouth County Freeholders board and Middletown Township Committee. It was a great opportunity to get a flavor of their views and personalities.

One important issue discussed was that of having a code of ethics and an ethics board. The need for these became apparent when several ethical lapses by incumbents were mentioned.

I was further disconcerted by an obvious lack of respect toward their fellow candidates and the audience displayed by the Middletown Committee candidates.

They constantly whispered to each other while a speaker was talking. As at Middletown meetings, Mr. Fiore showed his displeasure by eye-rolling and making faces. It was distracting and reminded me of their frequent meeting behavior, including yelling at public speakers, and of grade school, when the teacher would say, "Do you have something to share with the class?"

Their challengers, Patrick Short and George Mardinly are ethical gentlemen who have not displayed such behaviors, but instead listen with empathy and respect to our citizens. I will feel much safer and respected when the challengers replace the incumbents.

Carolyn Schwebel
Leonardo

Fiore's Belligerence Really show's How Much He Loves Middletown

If it isn't eye-rolling or an exasperated sigh from the dais, Middletown's Tony Fiore has many other ways of showing his belligerence towards those who disagree with him. He's very often combatant, he constantly talks down to people and berates them when they stand at the podium at Township Committee meetings. He revels in his smugness and  pseudo authority.

In the clip below, instead of appointing someone that is qualified to hold a volunteer position, Tony Fiore would rather appoint someone that was more likely to vote for him.

With this mentality, the one that suffers is our town. This shows just how much he loves Middletown.

Fiore “the Fibber” Once Again Has Integrity Issues: Deny, Deny, Admit, Delete

2 weeks ago I asked if Middletown Committeeman Tony Fiore might Have Women Issues  after allowing a person to post a derogatory picture towards women on his Facebook page and hitting the “Like” button back on September 14th.  The picture depicted Peanuts character Charlie Brown kicking Lucy in the head while exclaiming “Not this time Bitch!” as she attempted, once again, to pull a football away from him as he tried to kick it.

I stated that the image was offensive and inappropriate for an elected official to display so proudly on his social media page and thought that Fiore would be smart enough to understand how inappropriate and degrading the image was to women. Especially after all the media attention that former Baltimore Raven's running back and Rutgers’s University alum Ray Rice received after video of him surfaced knocking out his then fiancée – now wife- Janay Palmer Rice, in an Atlantic City elevator.

As a result of the post and screenshot that I took of Tony Fiore’s Facebook page, Fiore “blocked” me from seeing his personal page, then changed the privacy setting on his account from “Public” to “Private” so that others couldn’t see it unless they were “friends” with him on Facebook.  He then went to Facebook and denied that he ever had the picture posted to his page or that his personal page was ever public after my initial post was shared by others on Facebook. 

Good for me I have a screenshot of his denials.

Which lead to this rebuttal from a moderator from the Middletown Smart Growth Bloc Facebook group:

After being confronted Fiore, in what can only be explained as a moment of introspection and clarity, actually admitted that yes, he did indeed have the picture on his page even though he didn’t like it. He used the classic defense ‘most of my friends are…’ to justify the picture that was posted.

His admission however was short lived. He deleted it from the thread of comments sometime after the below comment was posted (but not before the above screenshot was taken). 

Why did he delete his admission? I have no clue. Maybe he was afraid to have others see it and view it as a weakness or something that could later be used against him (he would have been right about that).

Back in 2008 when Fiore first ran for Township Committee, he earned the moniker of the “Fibber” from the now defunct Middletown weekly newspaper, the Courier and myself, for his embellished resume that he submitted to the Township’s talent bank when he wanted to be considered by the Middletown GOP for an appointment to one of Middletown’s many boards and commissions (he was eventually appointed as an alternate to the Planning Board). His resume stated he was a member of Recreation Commission for both Carteret and Linden. In an interview with then Courier reporter Melissa Gaffeny, he stated that he served as the "Director of Recreation" for both. This didn’t sit well with Gaffney, how could a college kid in his late teens or early twenties possible be the Director of Recreation if he only had a part-time job during summer recesses while a kid in college?  When Melissa Gaffney, did a little digging into his resume and made a couple of calls to both towns asking about Fiore’s claims, no one in either town knew who he was or if he ever worked for either recreation departments. It was later learned in a follow-up phone call that Fiore actually earned $104 from the Carteret as a summertime playground director or something to that effect. He was not however, at any time, Director of Recreation during his time spent in Carteret or Linden.

I'm sure that if he could delete that history, he would.


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Here are a few links that you might find interesting concerning the Fiore's resume story from back in the day:

http://www.sableminded.net/2008/07/fiore-caught-in-fibs.html
http://middletownmike.blogspot.com/2008/07/fiores-fibs-worst-then-expected.html
http://middletownmike.blogspot.com/2008/07/fiore-resum-surfaces.html
http://middletownmike.blogspot.com/2008/09/middletown-gop-trying-to-make-honest.html

Does Tony Fiore Have Women Issues?

Does Middletown's former Mayor, Tony Fiore have an issue with women? He certainly "Liked" this picture that was posted to his Facebook page on Sept. 14th.

The image is offensive on so many levels and is inappropriate for an elected official to display so proudly on his social media page. You would think that Fiore would be smart enough to understand how inappropriate and degrading the image is to women but he is so self-absorbed, smug and cocksure of  himself that I suppose he thinks the picture is harmless and funny. Tell that to former Baltimore Raven's running back and Rutger's University alum Ray Rice's wife, Janay Palmer Rice. I'm sure she'd think it's hilarious.

For a pompous politician who is up for reelection this year, you'd like to think he'd be a little more careful about his image and what he'd allowed others to publicly post or share with others on his social media accounts, let alone agree with what's posted with a thumbs-up Facebook "Like".

Below is a screenshot of the offensive post to Tony Fiore's Facebook page. The only editing I did to the picture was to delete the individuals name and picture who posted it to Tony's page. Notice that Tony "Liked" the picture.

UPDATE: 

Evidently Middletown Township Committeeman Tony Fiore doesn't want anymore people trolling his Facebook page. As of this morning, his profile page has been deleted along with the many other offensive posts he condoned.  I only wish that I had taken screenshots of some of those - MM 9/26/14


UPDATE:

I'm working on a follow up report to this post. To clear things up Tony Fiore's Facebook Page was not deleted. Instead of having his personal page open to the public as it was when this post first appeared, he has changed its settings and is now "Private". I and a few others have been "blocked" and can no longer see any updates posted to Facebook from Tony Fiore.  Good for me I have pictures.... MM 9/30/14

APP Feature Letter: Christie cronyism extends to municipal level as well

The following letter appeared today in the Asbury Park Press. It should be of particular interest to Middletown residents, it does bring up a few questions about some of "Christie's Team" members have been entrusted to run our town:

Thanks to the Asbury Park Press for reporting the many ways in which “Friends profit from Christie connections,” in its aptly titled March 9 article. Fortunately for Gov. Chris Christie’s allies, the cronyism has made its way to the local level, too. 

In 2010, Christie appointed his friend and fellow Republican Gerald Scharfenberger, a sitting member of the Middletown Township Committee, to the position of director of the state Office for Planning Advocacy at a starting salary of $95,000. 

Scharfenberger, who today remains both a local elected official and a state-appointed official — the kind of conflict Christie vowed to address when he took office — “gave back” by throwing a gubernatorial fundraiser at his palatial new Middletown residence last year. 

In 2012, Scharfenberger and the all-Republican Middletown Township Committee, including then-Mayor Anthony Fiore, backed the governor’s choice of AshBritt for storm cleanup, a contract mired in political backscratching that was twice the price it should have been. AshBritt made nearly $15 million in Middletown alone. 

Add to the well-connected list Middletown township attorney Brian Nelson, a member of Christie’s 2009 transition team who was appointed in 2011 to the board of the state’s powerful Economic Development Authority. 

The EDA decided it was OK for taxpayers to fork out an extra $2.2 million for a tourism campaign featuring the governor himself. It would be nice to know how Nelson voted in that scandal, but, alas, someone decided to black out the names of the scorekeepers.
Hopefully, taxpayers are keeping score, too. 

Paul J. Jansen
MIDDLETOWN

The New Politics of Racism in Suburban New Jersey, Pt. 3: The Dismemberment Of The Middletown Human Rights Commission

Crossed posted from The Purcell Chronicles

By Rev. Jim Purcell, MPS, CPSP1

On March 3, in Middletown Township, New Jersey -- perhaps the 'Whitest' town this side of Nebraska, the Township Committee voted to disband the Human Rights Commission. This commission was also, by statute, the Civil Rights Commission for Middletown Township, one of the largest municipalities in New Jersey -- and likely the leader in the least diversity.

Middletown is rich in patriotic spectacles, if not addressing civil liberties

In my opinion, no community stays all-White (or 93 percent at least) for its entire history, dating back to when the town was a Tory stronghold for Red Coats before and during the Revolutionary War -- unless part of the town priorities are not being inclusive, and for generations. Meanwhile, things like human rights commissions can certainly be a nuisance in that scenario. Communities today are not non-diverse by accident. It is a plan by the town fathers, long-standing political bosses and party interests that keeps that ugly idea going. And, there is no short supply of that in Middletown, as will be discussed in the next installment of this series.

It is a great shame, not only because the commission had been in continuous operation since 1968, but also because I am aware of the work of the commission's chair, Dr. Carolyn Schwebel, and I have always known her to be the one in the trenches, fighting for disabled-accessible improvements to public buildings, not being afraid to tackle issues of race and controversy to do what was as just as she and her commission members could.

It is not a secret in Middletown that Dr. Schwebel was not a "team player" with the all-Republican GOP. She speaks truth-to-power in a place where that is very hard to do. Dr. Schwebel, you see, is pretty much the only actual tether the government in that town had of understanding how the actual world, not secluded in a moneyed section of New Jersey, works.

There are four members of her commission, and there have been several others wanting to join as well. And, as I am well aware from my days putting out a newspaper in this close-knit community, the Middletown Committee ignores the truth of the actual world, in favor of its own. In fact, Dr. Schwebel was not able to accept everyone who was interested in joining the commission, because there were too many.

Yet, one of the primary reasons offered by former Mayor Anthony Fiore for this disbandment was because there were not enough people interested in joining this commission. Well, I have known Dr. Schwebel many years and I am not about to call her a liar, as I am aware of her good character, while I am similarly aware of the tradition of bad conduct by this committee and its entrenched politicians.

One of the so-called reasons, which were expedient excuses, by the town committee was that the Human Rights Commission was not drawing enough interest by volunteers. In fact, the commission had no wont of new recruits. Dr. Schwebel, reluctantly, had to turn down several volunteers for the post due to the size of the body.

She stated recently to her commission members: "Mr. Fiore was wrong when he said that there was no interest, no one applied for the Middletown HRC. Several citizens have actually applied for membership on the Middletown HRC. While Larry, Spiro, and Ray were appointed, the rest, about seven, who looked good,were not."

In its proclamation disassembling the 46-year-old town body, the committee stated: "Whereas, the Commission has not been an active body for many years, and when it did meet, it failed to focus on its statutorily defined mission as set forth under N.J.S.A. 10:5-10 (formerly N.J.S.A. 18:25-10 at the time of its formation by Resolution in 1968); and whereas, not only did the Commission fail to perform its statutorily defined duties, it involved itself in matters entirely outside of the jurisdiction of the Township’s governing body, in one instance it was even used to promote a pet food drive for a charity associated with a member of the commission."

So, the alleged reasons for the disbandment included, but was not limited to: the commission addressing the broad scope of issues presented it (e.g. "failed to focus on its statutorily defined mission") -- yes, it could not be told what it would say by politicians; it is alleged the commission "has not been an active body for many years," and I would ask how the commission can be meeting and doing things the committee didn't like without being active; and, "in one instance, [the HRC] was even used to promote a pet food drive for a charity associated with a member of the commission." The committee is castigating the commission for helping out dogs? Really?

Things cannot stay stuck in the past for any community so long

So, the Town Committee and former Mayor Fiore and freshman Mayor Stephanie C. Murray all made it clear they didn't want the commission around. The final excuse for this was that the action was a cost-saving measure.

Insofar as "saving money," the HRC was a volunteer body, as was the volunteers that helped them with their initiatives (far from being inactive). Aside from burning some electricity and leaving the bathrooms open when they met at Town Hall, 1 Kings Highway, there was really no cost whatsoever attached to this body. I daresay the governing body probably spends more on appetizers for one or two of their own self-congratulatory, private events than this commission costed the town in an entire year.

On Friday, January 28, 2010, Dr. Carolyn Schwebel, the chair of the commission, wrote a letter to then-Middletown Township Mayor Anthony Fiore thanking him for his visit the previous night during a meeting of the HRC.

At that session there was, naturally, a discussion between Mayor Fiore and Dr. Schwebel about the nature of her commission.

As she promised at the then-recent meeting, Dr. Schwebel sent Mayor Fiore a memorandum from the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office, noting NJSA 10:5-10, "which empowers local municipalities to appoint local commissions on civil rights."

Dr. Schwebel went on to cite the reference and noted the primary function of such a included "...[an] attempt to foster through community effort or otherwise, good will, cooperation and conciliation among the groups and elements of the inhabitant of the community."

Dr. Schwebel made the argument that the "intention was not to limit the functioning of local civil rights commissions only to advising the governing body." Yet, in the resolution abolishing the commission and in its language throughout the dismantling process the group was always characterized by the Township Committee as an "advisory group" to the governing body; not an independent body of its own with its own ability to review issues or take testimony, as appropriate, about crucial issues of diversity and equal access and offer independent opinions, other than those the Township Committee strictly gave them.

It is no secret that Dr. Schwebel is also involved, and has been for many years, in an area group called The Equalizers, a private group that explains and, when necessary, agitates for, equal access to various public venues for those who are disabled. This is work intended to 'catch up' lethargic Monmouth County and Shore towns in things they should be doing anyway to comply with the Federal Americans with Disabilities Act. If such a group is a reason for scorn in any community, then priorities for that place need to be seriously re-examined.

Middletown is part of the United States of America, where there is a U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights in operation right now, despite those who would seek to run their municipality in a similar fashion to "Boss Hog" on the beloved 70's TV show "The Dukes of Hazard." Yet, Middletown Township has managed to do just that -- evade what most other communities have to do in New Jersey to ensure the rights of the citizens of this state.

Where there is not oversight, there will be excesses: Any CEO can tell you that -- any store manager for that matter. What is it that will get accomplished? Whatever is checked to ensure workers have done it. In this case, the Middletown Committee just did away with its own Human Rights and Civil Rights Commission. So the question has to be offered: Just what is the pain in the neck that the committee wants to go away -- the human rights" part or the "civil rights" aspect of the body? Either way, it is not a healthy sign for any community.


Correction: I have been informed that the abolishment of the Human Rights Commission has not yet occurred, it was simply vetted on March 3rd for the governing body, which will vote upon it finally at its next session. Personally, I don't think anyone on that dais is going to change their mind about a thing, though. JJP

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Rev. Purcell was licensed to preach at Stelton Baptist Church, in Edison, NJ, in 2007. He is a graduate of the New York Theological Seminary, in New York City, and Capital Health's Clinical Pastoral Education Program, in Trenton, New Jersey. Rev. Purcell is the former Editor and Publisher of the late Courier newspaper, in Middletown, New Jersey (1998-2009); and is a former correspondent for The Star-Ledger, Jersey Journal and North Jersey Newspapers, among others. During his tenure in the U.S. Army, Rev. Purcell earned the rank of Sergeant and served as an Intelligence Analyst and Infantry Squad Leader, respectively, in Airborne and non-Airborne assignments.


Read Rev. Purcell's other articles in his series on the Politics In Racism on his blog, "The Purcell Chronicles":

The New Politics of Racism in Suburban New Jersey, Pt. 1: Preface

The New Politics of Racism in Suburban New Jersey, Pt. 2: Middletown and the facts

The extra $156,000 in library reserves, where it came from, who knew and when

by Linda Baum
Sept. 9, 2013

There is a special meeting of the Middletown Library board this Wednesday, September 11 at 6 pm. The board will go into executive session soon after the public meeting opens. Another public session will follow later that evening, and board action is expected. I encourage residents to attend.

If you’ve been following library news over the last couple of years, you know a lot has gone on, much of it following the installation of an almost entirely new board last year.

On March 1st of this year, the library’s Bayshore, Lincroft and Navesink branches closed following a truly dedicated public effort to keep them open, even for a short while. It came down to money, where about $300K was needed annually to operate all three, not counting renovation or major repairs. Given what was known at the time about available funding, the trustees made the decision to close.

Then in May, an extra $156K materialized. The additional reserve stems from the Township’s 2011 audit, which resulted in the discovery of an error made by auditors earlier in the year. We are not told what the error was, but it suffices to say that this occurrence is out of the ordinary.

Edmunds, the accounting software Middletown uses, is updated by department to reflect the audit results. The Edmunds system should have shown an increase in library reserves of $156K sometime in the last quarter of 2012 – should have, but didn’t. Edmunds system reports dated as recently as April 30th don’t show the extra money. Suddenly, in May it was there.

An important point is that library employees only view what’s on the Edmunds system for the revenue information they need and print what’s there. The Township’s finance department bears full responsibility for the accuracy of what’s listed.

Regardless, Township Committeeman and new library board member Tony Fiore wasted no time pointing a finger at the library’s director. And of course Fiore has made sure to go on record now, after never having voiced an opinion before, that he wouldn’t have approved of the closing of the branches if he’d known. His remarks are disingenuous considering it’s well known that the Township needed those buildings for office space. (The former Bayshore branch now houses the Township offices formerly located at Croyden Hall, and the Lincroft branch will be the new location for the Crossroads Program.)

Other members of our Township Committee have done a good job staying out of this, or appearing to, including current mayor Gerry Scharfenberger and former library trustee Kevin Settembrino, who are up for re-election this year.

While we can only wonder if any member of the Township Committee or library board knew last fall about the extra money, there are two things we do know with certainty:

One, we know that the Edmunds system was first updated to reflect the additional $156K reserve on or about May 1st of this year. We know that because the library has printouts of the Edmunds system report that shows reserve levels in late April and again in early May of this year. See them here. The reports clearly show that the jump occurred on or about the beginning of May 2013. The $209K reserve shown on the May report is the sum of the $156K and a reserve of $53K that the library knew about but that the Township had not yet released for the library’s use.

Further, the library has printouts of the same report for each month dating back to the fall of 2012, and none shows the additional monies.

Two, we know that the Edmunds system has long been the agreed-upon protocol for communication between the Township and the Library. We know that because our Township CFO, Nick Trasente, stated it with crystal clarity in his May 10th memo to Committeeman Fiore. In an excerpt from that memo, Mr. Trasente states, “Each year, after verification of these balances and obtaining adjustments from our auditors, we make this balance available to the library director through Edmunds…” He then goes on to acknowledge the diligence of the library director in monitoring system updates, pretty much confirming the finance department’s failure to make the update timely. You can read Trasente’s May 10th memo here.

Given the damning nature of Trasente’s memo for the Township – the memo is a smoking gun – it’s not surprising that Committeeman Fiore wants to downplay it now. At the August 21st board meeting, he didn’t want to talk about the Edmunds system at all.

Here is a link to the video from the August 21st library board meeting: http://youtu.be/8WBYbllBM5E



See time stamp 1:36:00 on the video to see library director Susan O’Neal discuss the reserve issue. She provides a good summary and chronology of events.

The library trustees are now well aware of the sudden appearance of the reserves in the Edmunds system in May. They should also be aware that the delay in updating the Edmunds system for the reserves is not an isolated problem. Rather, it’s a symptom of the ongoing difficulty the Township is having managing administrative functions, including keeping its accounting system current. Among other issues, the Edmunds system is many months behind on reflecting library bill payments made by the Township. To be clear, while checks may have been cut from the library’s municipal appropriation for vouchers submitted by the library, the Edmunds system does not show the payments until months later. Library trustee Larry Nelsen alluded to this at the August 21st meeting (see time stamp 1:56:30 on the video). Further, Ms. O’Neal has said often that she needs to remind the CFO and his assistant to move year-end reserves into a spending account for the library’s use and that frequent follow-up is required.

These are the facts to the best of my understanding. I welcome input from the Township’s CFO, and I would like the library trustees to address the specific issue of when the Edmunds system update should have been done in line with established protocol. They should also question why the CFO, who must have known that the accounting system was nowhere near up to date, wouldn’t communicate knowledge of a substantial sum of money when he had ample opportunity to do so.

9-3-13 Middletown Township Committee Meeting

Due to the Labor Day holiday last week the Middletown Township Committee met on Tuesday night Sept.3rd for its month workshop meeting. The meeting last just 32 minutes and would have been rather uneventful if it weren't for the astonishing bit of arrogance on display yet once again on the part of  a certain former mayor of ours that was eluded to in an earlier post.

When a a few basic questions were raised by Linda Baum regarding the Middletown Disaster Relief Fund a heated response by Tony Fiore and others on the Township Committee ensued that also included a few other members of the public that watched in disbelief as the events unfolded. You can watch the it all unfold starting at the 24:20 mark of the video below.

The most astonishing part of the exchange between Ms. Baum and Tony Fiore is the fact that  it could have been avoided if Ms. Baum's direct inquiries to the Middletown Disaster Relief Fund were answered by the funds principal trustee, Mr. Fiore, himself. However as he so arrogantly responded at the Township Committee meeting, Fiore chose not to response to Ms. Baum simply because he felt she didn't warranted one. 

Here are a few other highlights from Tuesday night's workshop meeting:

A new Deputy Tax Assessor was appointed and bills for the town were paid. The Committee were all excited to be opening 2 new ball fields at Nut Swamp School this Friday.

The attorney explained that a paper street will be vacated where some housing will be built. He also said that an ordinance will be introduced to dissolve the Swim Club Utility now that all of the bonds are paid off.

The DPW Director said a recommendation will be made to award leaf collection contract to Bennett Landscaping. He said extra zones will be awarded to Bennett if township employees are overwhelmed in the work they have. Bids will be opened Wednesday for janitorial services in township buildings and a new contractor was added to the list of snow removal contractors.

The administrator said a contact will be awarded to demolish 7 homes that were destroyed by Sandy. 90% of this cost will be paid by federal relief dollars and liens will be placed on the properties to collect the balance of the costs.

Public comments included questions regarding the placement of the departments that used to be located at Croydon Hall. The health department, parks and social services will be housed in the former Pt. Monmouth Library building and the former Lincroft Library Branch will house the Crossroads drug counseling program and a meeting room will be located there for meetings in that area of town.

Another member of the public presented an application to the Clerk expressing the desire to be reappointed to the Human Rights Commission in January because she did not see appointments being made to this commission in the past few years. Comments were made regarding conditions at a former restaurant in Leonardo were deteriorating with the display of graffiti and the placement of private vehicles for sale.

Someone else asked if funds would be made available to restore a historic stone building in Leonardo. It was said that this structure was not in any plans. 

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.

Place Blame On Middletown For $31,000 Per Employee Cost Of Township's Self-Insured Health Care Plan, Not Obamacare

Middletown's former mayor and current Township Committeeman Tony Fiore, never let's his ego get in the way of the truth, he has a  hedonistic desire that he can't often control. He needs to let people know exactly how much they don't know by showing them exactly how much he doesn't. Whether it is from the dais, rolling his eyes, sighing with contempt and talking down to people when confronted with facts or a difference of opinion other than his own or using social media to disparage others who he disagrees with, the arrogant, ignorant bulldog in his personality always seems to come out.

Case in point. Last week when the Asbury Park Press announced that Middletown  reduced the hours of 25 part-time employees in an attempt to avoid having to provide health coverage for them under the terms of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) when the employer mandate kicks in sometime in 2015, Fiore felt compelled to leave a comment on the APP's website. In defending the reduction in hours and the extremely high $31,000 per employee cost of the Township's self-insured health care plan, Fiore has placed blame on President Obama for the Township's own mismanagement of its health care plan.

After reading Tony Fiore's comment left on the APP, Township Committee candidate Linda Baum sent me a note wanting to refute his statement and asked me to post:

Fiore's statement is totally inaccurate. Per research, Middletown's cost for medical benefits has risen 50% in the last decade, and its cost for prescription benefits has risen 100% in that time. Rising costs long pre-date the Affordable Care Act and have risen steadily during Fiore's term in office. Failure to address this issue falls squarely on the shoulders' of our local government. Our current mayor, Gerry Scharfenberger has been in office since Jan. 2005 and has had ample time to address this issue. Former Committeeman Sean Byrnes (D) had suggested forming a task force of medical and insurance professionals to review the Township's rising health care costs, but the administration's majority would have none of it. On top of that, they aren't telling us who is enrolled for coverage, one of the many things that needs review to get costs under control.

Oh and BTW, Middletown doesn't pay premiums, as Fiore says in his comment. The Township is self insured for health coverage -- it pays claims, not premiums. If Fiore doesn't understand the difference, how great a handle can he have on any of this?