1-6-13 Township Committee Meeting - Township Reorganization

If you're like most uniformed Middletown residents you have no idea that the Township Committee held it's annual Township Reorganization meeting on Sunday, January 6th. I had intentions of posting earlier about this but waited until the video of the meeting was ready for posting (there were a few technical issues with the video that needed to be ironed out).

As usually the case for these meetings, Town Hall was filled to over capacity with standing room only available for many inside the court house and many more individuals overflowing outside, standing in the lobby.

I got there late and only stayed for a half hour or so because I had other things on my to do list that needed to get done before the weekend was over. I was there long enough however to hear Gerry Scharfenberger and Stephanie Murray be appointed and sworn in as this year's acting mayor and deputy mayor.

They both gave flowery and grandiose acceptance speeches after being sworn in (which you can watch starting at the 23 minute mark of the video). In the case of Scharfenberger, as usual, his tendency to over state matters borders on hypocrisy and dishonesty. It was almost laughable when he ended his nearly 9 minute address when stated that he would like to reaffirm his promise to be "honest" with the resident of Middletown - something that he has never truly been when confronted, but i'll have more on that as the days and weeks go by.

The rest of the meeting dealt with township business, the promotions of members of the Middletown Police Department and the swearing in of new appoints to various boards and commissions and public comments.

Pretty boring stuff.  




Here is the meeting agenda for the business portion of the meeting only, where a number of  ordinances and resolutions were introduced and voted upon.

Sign The Petition Calling For Term Limits For Members of Monmouth County Boards and Commissions

A petition in support of establishing term limits for members of Monmouth County’s independent Boards and Commissions as proposed by Freeholder Amy Mallet is making the rounds.

Establishing term limits is an idea long over due, for the life of me I don't understand how Freeholder Mallett's colleagues on the Board of Chosen Freeholders can be opposed to implementing them after what has gone on around the County over the past several years.

It shouldn't matter if board or commission members serve voluntarily or not, no one should sit on a board for nearly 50 years like some will be doing once their current terms expire. It leads to graft, corruption and complacency.

The petition states:

That the recent events at Brookdale Community College, which revealed a disturbing lack of financial oversight, occurred during the tenure of a Chair and Vice Chair of that Board of Trustees who have enjoyed terms of 23 and 16 years, respectively.The fifty-six (56) volunteer members of our county's seven (7) Boards recommend policy, oversee budgets, make purchasing decisions, become involved with contracting and hiring, and generally oversee the operation of programs and services that spend tens of millions of taxpayer dollars. They are not elected and most residents have little understanding of, or access to, how they carry out their responsibilities. The Board of Freeholders appoints Board members and frequently allows them to serve for decades.

This petition advocates for the rotation of these important Board members. Term limits are set policy for many professional and business boards. Shorter terms promote more objectivity, creativity and accountability while lessening the chances of complacency. Freeholder Amy Mallet has proposed a Resolution to be voted on by her fellow Freeholders that would establish such term limits. By signing this Petition you are expressing your support for this Resolution which limits Board members to terms that do not exceed 10-12 consecutive years. You will also be taking a significant step toward increasing the accountability of these Boards and the likelihood that their members will carry out their duties in the best interests of the citizens of Monmouth County.

To sign the petition click >>> Here

Freeholder Mallet Comments on Blog Posting, "...Limit Terms Of Volunteer Squashed By Opposition"

Monmouth County Freeholder Amy Mallett just so happens to be a reader of this blog as well as personal friend. She sent me the following comment via email yesterday after reading Saturday's post, Monmouth Freeholder Mallet's Proposal To Limit Terms Of Volunteer Squashed By Opposition. After expressing her gratitude for the post she added:

...Their opposition to this is clearly an insult to the people of Monmouth County. The allegiance here is to the many personal and political ties with those on these boards. Checking attendance records and closer scrunity at reappointments is not adequate. Many have served for decades, and some are appointed based on political patronage. Regardless, turnover is healthy and practiced for a reason by many professional boards.

What also needs to be addressed is that these autonomous agencies have spending authority, and are responsible for millions of tax dollars. They make the decisions on hiring as we recently read about with the recent library hire, spending such as choice of vendors, policy as in the parks commission and the list goes on and on....

Thank you Freeholder Mallet for your kind words towards myself and the blog in your email response. You're doing a great job representing the tax payers of Monmouth County by being a watchdog over those that would rather watch out for their political cronies rather than the tax payers they're suppose to represent.

Monmouth Freeholder Mallet's Proposal To Limit Terms Of Volunteer Squashed By Opposition

According to the Asbury Park Press, Monmouth County Freeholder Amy Mallet, the lone Democrat on the Freeholder Board, proposed a resolution at Thursday's worship meeting that would have placed 10 -12 year term limits on those that serve voluntarily on various County boards, commissions and authorities. Her reasoning behind this resolution was to provide "fresh ideas" and eliminate complacency on boards that have fiduciary control over county programs and services, the APP reported.

Her proposal was voted by the four Republican members of the Freeholder board for various reason, none of which, in my opinion hold much salt.

Why should members that have sat on boards or commissions for up to 33 years be "grandfathered" and allowed to sit upwards to another 12 year before having to leave, as Freeholder John Curley argued when he opposed the measure?

I think Mallet is on target here and her measure should be debated, refined and eventually implemented to one degree or another. It makes sense, but of course, because it makes sense it has no chance of being passed by the Republican dominated Freeholder Board.

Here is a snippet of the APP's article:

A resolution that would have created term limits for volunteers who serve on Monmouth County's autonomous boards and commissions was squashed by the freeholder board's Republican majority.

Freeholder Amy Mallet, the lone Democrat, posted a resolution for consideration at Thursday's workshop that would prohibit volunteers from serving more than 10 or 12 years at a time, depending on the length of their term. She argued that a rotating membership is critical to provide "fresh ideas" and eliminate complacency on boards that have fiduciary control over county programs and services.

"This is a good start to making the necessary systemic changes," Mallet said, adding that she drafted the resolution in response to the recent Brookdale Community College scandal over the former president's generous benefits package and a criminal investigation into spending irregularities within the president's office.

But the four Republicans argued that good volunteers would be thrown out with the bad.

"I am completely opposed to this resolution," Freeholder Lillian G. Burry said. "It's an insult to the people who give their time and talent and are not compensated for it."

Freeholder John Curley had expressed support for term limits before the meeting and even conceded Thursday there was public support for the measure. But he said he couldn't vote for the resolution because the lack of a grandfather clause for sitting members nearing their limit was "too harsh."

Freeholder Director Robert Clifton said he would have preferred each board member start from zero when they come up for re-appointment, but Mallet said that's too long to wait for change. She insisted Friday that she will work with the Republicans on a compromise version but wasn't immediately sure where she would bend.

Clifton stressed that what needs to be changed is how the freeholder board decides who should serve in these critical roles. Essentially, no more rubber stamping appointments.

The freeholders, he said, need to be more vigilant in scrutinizing each appointment. That means reviewing the meeting minutes, attendance records, interviewing candidates and getting recommendations from respective staff members and board chairmen.

But shouldn't they have been doing that all along?

"There's no excuse," Clifton said Friday. "We are where we are, and we need to step it up. It's more work for the freeholders, but that's what we were elected to do."...

You can read more >>> Here

Holmdel Volunteer Board & Committee Appointment Opportunities

Mike Sockol, President of the Holmdel Democratic Alliance has announced that the Township of Holmdel is accepting resumes/letters of interest from residents of Holmdel for the following volunteer boards and committee positions:

Agricultural Advisory Committee

Bayonet Farm Committee

Board of Health

Cool Cities Committee

Cross Farm Advisory Committee

Cultural Appreciation Committee

Economic Development Committee

Holmdel Environmental Commission

Financial Advisory Committee

Open Space Advisory Council

Planning Board

Recreation Advisory Committee

Recycling and Solid Waste

Shade Tree Committee

Swim Club Advisory Committee

Tennis Committee

Traffic Safety Advisory Committee

Zoning Board of Adjustment

TV/Motion Picture Industry


Each term will require the applicant to attend meetings which will be set by the Committee.

All applicants are asked to fill out a Volunteer Appointment Form. 

Please forward the completed application to:

 mdoloughty@holmdeltownship-nj.com

                   or send to 

Township Clerk, Township of Holmdel

PO Box 410, Holmdel, NJ 07733 

                    or fax to

               732-946-0116

 by December 31, 2008.