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

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

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

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

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



As always, you can download a copy of the Meeting Agenda that contains the discussion items and the proposed resolutions and ordinances that were voted on or presented during the meeting. A box around an item is a link, bringing you further into the document to that resolution or ordinance. At the end of the resolution there will be a link bringing you back to the agenda. Attached to this agenda is also the monthly bill list, so that everyone can see how the Township is spending our tax dollars.

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

Me Thinks, Mercantante Protests Too Much About "Monday Morning Quarterbacking" Surrounding AshBritt

Yesterday Middletown's Township Administrator Tony Mercantante, had an Op-Ed published in the Asbury Park Press and online at the Atlantic Highlands Herald.

In his commentary Mr. Mercantante lambastes all the "Monday morning quarterbacking going on"  that has been surrounding the controversial decision of the no-bid contracts that were awarded to AshBritt Inc., for Hurricane Sandy related debris removal.

I think Mr. Mercantante protests to much. After all, if he and the Township Committee did their due diligence as other towns had done instead of jumping on Chris Christie's bandwagon once again, the town could have saved nearly half of the $14M it spent on debris removal!

Saying that there was no time to shop around for a better price is nonsense when you're dealing with taxpayers dollars. The rush to have debris removed from the streets didn't get people back into their homes any faster than if they would have waited a week or so for a better price from a local hauler as opposed to giving AshBritt millions to do the job.

It's funny how the sleight of hand in Middletown works, Gerry Scharfenberger has repeatedly stated that the town couldn't go out and hire small contractors to pick up the storm debris but yet the township committee passed numerous resolutions in the days following Hurricane Sandy to do just that, after giving the main no-bid contract for debris removal to AshBritt.

• 12-247 - Emergency Contract With Ashbritt, Inc For Storm Debris Removal Services
• 12-248 - Emergency Contract With Arcadis-US, Inc For Storm Debris Management Monitoring & Technical Assistance Services
• 12-249 - Emergency Contract With Bennett Property & Design Works For Curbside Collection & Trucking of Storm Debris
• 12-251 - Emergency Contract With Sutton Trucking LLC FOr Curbside Collection & Trucking Of Storm Debris
• 12-252 - Emergency Contract With Montecalvo Disposal Services For Loading & Trucking Of Storm Debris.
• 12-268 - Ratifying Remaining Emergency Contracts In Relation to Superstorm Sandy.

In a related story to the last post, the Buono for Governor campaign issued a press release earlier today highlighting an editorial that ran in yesterday's Daily Record titled "True costs of AshBritt deal could grow". The editorial goes into a little more detail about the circumstances behind Governor Christie's decision to issue a "piggybacked" no-bid contract to AsBritt Inc. for Hurricane Sandy related debris removal and Senator Lautenberg's recent letter advising the govern of FEMA's reimbursement concerns:

Here's what the editorial had to say:

Gov. Chris Christie says a lot of the right things about how government should be run efficiently and responsibly.

But, like most any other politician, he doesn’t always lead by example.

The governor has, for instance, railed against New Jersey’s plentiful authorities and agencies that past administrations have turned into patronage pits. Yet he’s been more than willing to push people with minimal credentials into jobs at the Port Authority, arguing among other things that because he had already gotten rid of so many more unqualified people there that it’s all good. Well, no, it isn’t.

The stench of the AshBritt debris removal deal also isn’t going away. After superstorm Sandy ripped through the state, Christie quickly signed on with AshBritt, “piggybacking” onto a Connecticut contract with the same company, which is another way of saying that New Jersey simply adopted the Connecticut deal without bothering to negotiate one of its own.

It was a no-bid operation, in other words, the kind Christie in the past has often found so offensive. The administration spin is that since the deal was the product of competitive bidding in Connecticut, that was good enough. The state was also operating with a sense of great urgency given the overwhelming storm damage, suggesting speed was of the essence.

But was it that important to get a deal in place that quickly? Several Shore towns chose to bypass AshBritt and strike separate deals on their own, reportedly at lower costs and without any great concerns about inferior work or delays. It also doesn’t help that Christie is friendly with former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, who advised Christie to sign up AshBritt because of that company’s work along the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina. Barbour, however, just happens to be the founding partner of a lobbying firm that represents AshBritt. The chairman of that firm held a fund-raiser for Christie’s re-election in Virginia in February. Christie would frown on such cozy relationships if they involved other lawmakers and businesses.

Now comes word of a supposed warning from FEMA issued shortly after the AshBritt contract was sealed that federal reimbursements could be at risk because of the piggyback nature of the contract. That bit of news was delivered to Christie by U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg in a February letter.

Both the Christie and Lautenberg camps said the correspondence is merely routine, and considering the Democrat Lautenberg and Republican Christie have often been at political odds, it’s no surprise that Lautenberg may have simply wanted to give the threat a bit more juice than it really deserves.

It does, however, highlight one thing: the feds don’t view the state’s no-bid piggybacking onto the Connecticut deal as simply a convenient time-saver. Fact is, there were likely better deals out there that would have cost less, and help extend the overall reach of the Sandy aid. Some towns seem to have found those deals. And the more money unnecessarily poured into AshBritt, the less there is for other relief needs.

For Middletown, Costs Of Using No-Bid AshBritt Contact Could Be Costly

On Friday of last week the Newark Star-Ledger ran the story "FEMA warned Christie administration that AshBritt contract could jeopardize federal funding". The article stated that a letter was send to Governor Christie in February, by U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg, advising him that FEMA officials had contacted his office to advise, that due to the Governor's use of a "piggybacked" no-bid contract to hire AshBritt Inc. for debris removal after Hurricane Sandy, the State and therefore local municipalities, were in jeopardy of losing federal reimbursement funds due to the fact that AshBritt may have overcharged for there services. FEMA found that towns that did not use Ashbritt for their clean-up needs, struck better deals with local debris removal firms than if the would have used Ashbritt, thus saving US taxpayer money.

For people living in the communities affected by Hurricane Sandy, like Middletown, this could be huge problem if they "piggybacked" onto the State's deal to used Ashbritt for their clean-up needs after the storm.

Many of these towns are expecting to be reimbursed up to 75% of the cost for debris removal  and are planning this year's budgets around this figure. Middletown for example just introduced its budget and is expecting to be reimbursed upwards of $3 million over the next couple of years from FEMA for storm related clean-up costs.

We are learning now however, that Middletown and other towns may not see reimbursements upwards of 75%, it could be far less, which in turn would wreak havoc with tax levys sometime this year and later down the road.

Buono defends taxpayers while questioning AshBritt at Joint Oversight Hearing

For Immediate Release:
March 11, 2013

After Friday's hearing, we have more questions than answers about the no-bid Hurricane Sandy cleanup contract awarded to AshBritt that has raised new concerns about pay-to-play deals in the Christie Administration. Even AshBritt’s argument that FEMA “blessed” the contract during discussions with the Christie administration was directly contradicted by FEMA.

What we do know is troubling—AshBritt asked its lobbyist and Christie mentor Haley Barbour to call Christie on the company's behalf. Days later, AshBritt received the no-bid contract and has since given $50,000 to the Republican Governor's Association to support Christie's reelection. Just last month, Barbour's business partner and AshBritt lobbyist hosted a lavish fundraiser for Christie in Virginia. It's time that New Jerseyans get the whole story on why a politically connected, out-of-state firm was selected to clean up New Jersey at far higher rates than its competitors.

Just in case you missed any of it, here's a sampling of reactions to the hearing.

Buono shares heated exchange with AshBritt CEO over "piggybacking" contract
Matthew Arco // PolitickerNJ

Near the onset of a joint legislative oversight hearing called to discuss the state’s debris removal contract with the Florida-based AshBritt Inc., Sen. Barbara Buono, (D-18), asked AshBritt CEO Randy Perkins whether he was aware that “piggybacking” the state’s cleanup contract off another state’s bidding process could jeopardize Federal Emergency Management Agency funding.


FEMA 'blessed' Christie's decision to award no-bid contract, AshBritt head says
Jarrett Renshaw // The Star-Ledger

"Before our contract was signed by the state of New Jersey — this is fact, back to checking the facts — the lead counsel, the head counsel for FEMA ... and the federal government, prior to us starting work, signed off on the contracting process that the state of New Jersey was using. They blessed it, they anointed it and the state signed it."

But FEMA officials said while they are aware of the contract, the agency has not rendered any opinion.
"There was no blessing of the contract," Lars Anderson, Director of Public Affairs, said.
In a statement, the agency noted: "Neither the administrator nor the chief counsel ‘approve’ contracts entered into by State or local governments."

...The first legislative hearing on AshBritt's contract has been at times combative, particularly when state Sen. Barbara Buono (D-Middlesex), the leading Democratic candidate for governor, has grilled Perkins.

She used her time to criticize Christie for not having a contract in place before the storm, as well as raising questions about whether the firm's generous rates will jeopardize reimbursements.

"It appears the governor gave a no-bid contract to a politically-connected firm that has charged double the rates," Buono said.


Report disputes AshBritt's claim contract was 'blessed' by FEMA
 Matthew Arco // PolitickerNJ

Randy Perkins, CEO of the Florida-based debris removal company AshBritt, told lawmakers Friday FEMA “signed off on the contracting process” and that high-ranking officials, including the agency’s head of council, were at the table when New Jersey “piggybacked” off of an out-of-state contract.

However, FEMA gave a conflicting account, telling The Star-Ledger during the Friday hearing that the agency had not “blessed” Gov. Chris Christie decision to award the contract to Perkins’ company.


NJ lawmakers clash over post-Sandy debris contract
Geoff Mulvihill // Associated Press

During questioning, Perkins told Buono: "It's been stated here that this is not a political event. But with all due respect, you're running for governor."

He later apologized, but not before being reminded by Weinberg that Christie also is running for governor.


New Jersey Governor's Race Overshadows Sandy Cleanup Hearing
John Celock // Huffington Post

"With all due respect, you are running for governor," Perkins responded to a series of Buono's questions.

"That is inappropriate," Buono shot back. "That is a disservice to the people who elected me."


Debris hauler AshBritt defends NJ deal for Sandy work
Shawn Boburg // The Record

A spokesman for FEMA confirmed Friday that the agency “agreed” New Jersey could go forward but also said the contract will still undergo a review process, which includes a determination as to whether the rates New Jersey paid are “fair and reasonable.”

If they aren’t, the towns that hired AshBritt under the state contract would be on the hook for the difference.

GOP defends choice of AshBritt, despite cost
Bob Jordan // Asbury Park Press

But Buono couldn’t get Perkins to give up details of AshBritt’s initial outreach to state officials.

“This contract was entered into 24 hours after the storm hit. Who did you contact?” Buono said.

“I don’t have timelines,” Perkins responded. “I don’t have a specific time and date when these calls took place.”

“I’m just a little confused because Mr. Barbour has stated that he reached out to Gov. Christie and recommended that they hire you,” Buono said.


N.J.'s post-Sandy contractor spars with Democrats in hearing
Matt Katz // Philadelphia Inquirer

Democrats focused on how, instead of bidding out the deal, which Christie and AshBritt officials said would have taken too long, Christie simply adopted a long-standing recovery contract that AshBritt had with Connecticut. Since the Federal Emergency Management Agency discourages one state from "piggybacking" off another, Buono asked, doesn't New Jersey risk losing out on federal reimbursements?

Perkins did not answer immediately, and Buono interrupted him. He shot back: "No, you're not listening…With all due respect, I'm not trying to be combative."

CWA RELEASES TV COMMERCIAL: Tell Governor Christie To Stop His Lottery Privatization Scheme

Could Cost 7K NJ Jobs & Ship Profits Overseas to Foreign Corporations

(TRENTON, NJ) – Today, the Communications Workers of America (CWA) launched a six-figure ad campaign to educate New Jersey residents about Governor Chris Christie’s short-sighted scheme to privatize the state lottery. The television commercial will run as a statewide cable buy for the next few weeks. You can view the :30 second spot – entitled “Bad” below.

“Even though New Jersey has an efficient, award-winning lottery, Governor Christie is stubbornly seeking to privatize it. This is a big gamble in terms of both job loss and our state’s economy,” said Seth Hahn, Legislative and Political Director for CWA NJ. “With one in ten New Jerseyans already out-of-work, lottery privatization is a bad deal which would make foreign corporations rich while making things worse for taxpayers and small businesses.”

Only a single bid to run sales and marketing functions of the state lottery was submitted on December 27, 2012, and it was by a partnership consisting of three groups. One is Italian-owned, one is Canadian, and the other is from New York. The Christie administration estimates that $1 billion or more could go to the company over the life of the contract - meaning New Jersey dollars will be sent out-of-state and overseas.

To increase sales, the playing field will be tilted away from Main Street and small businesses and towards big boxes and chain stores. In fact, the Asian American Retailers Association (AARA) estimates the privatization scheme could result in 7,000 New Jersey jobs lost. AARA estimates local lottery vendors will lose a third of sales in the first year alone. Moreover, they’ll lose secondary sales that come with the purchase of lottery tickets - such as newspapers, coffee and other daily-purchased items. In other words, a politically-connected foreign corporation would rake in profits, while New Jersey’s local businesses would lose both revenue and jobs.

“Rather than stripping customers away from small businesses at a time when our state has the nation’s fourth worst unemployment, the governor should be working to make the lottery even stronger with dedicated public employees,” said Hahn. “We’re willing to roll up our sleeves and get this done if Governor Christie is, too.”

As part of the push to privatize, Governor Christie commissioned a study that showed how New Jersey’s award-winning lottery was one of the nation’s best-run public lotteries. The study found that our lottery had the highest net income margin in the country – making New Jersey America’s most efficient lottery. It ranks 5th in per capita sales, while online, instant and total sales growth have all far exceeded the national average. Nonetheless, Christie is still making the shocking decision to turn sales and marketing functions over to a foreign private company. Even worse, despite a 42% growth in sales from 2000-2010, this politically-connected firm will get a cut of profits if it increases sales a mere 9% over the next 15 years. The arrangement will also put taxpayers on the hook if the State wants out of the bad deal.

Just as the Christie administration has ducked questions on Ash Britt and Superstorm Sandy clean-up contracts, it has also refused to answer questions about plans for the lottery. In Pennsylvania, Republican Governor Tom Corbett was up-front regarding how their new lottery would function, and what, if any regulations would be changed to accommodate the new vendor. However, the Christie administration has repeatedly refused to answer basic questions, even rejecting invitations from the Assembly Budget Committee on two occasions. These rebuffs led the New Jersey State Assembly to seek subpoena power over executive branch officials on issues with significant budget impacts.

Today, the New Jersey Senate’s State Government Committee is discussing two pieces of legislation on the matter in Trenton. One bill requires legislative approval for private operation of the state lottery. The second is a resolution calling on Governor Christie to seek legal counsel from the Department of Justice before awarding the contract.

For more information on lottery privatization and efforts to stop it, please visit www.BigGambleNJ.com

Buono: Mounting Pay-to-play Concerns Regarding AshBritt Inc. Contract

Press Release:
February 25, 2013


Yesterday, former Mississippi Governor and current lobbyist Haley Barbour confirmed to the Star-Ledger that he made calls to Governor Christie on behalf of AshBritt Inc. to secure the Hurricane Sandy debris removal contract.

Gubernatorial candidate and State Senator Barbara Buono released the following statement:

"This weekend, a peculiar ally came to Governor Christie's defense regarding his handling of the bid process for Hurricane Sandy debris removal contracts: AshBritt Inc. lobbyist Haley Barbour. Mr. Barbour admitted to proposing a no-bid solution to Governor Christie and suggested that his client receive the contract. The details of the lobbying process come only days before Mr. Barbour's partner is to hold a fundraiser in Virginia for the Governor.

"Following allegations of pay-to-play political donations, the continued lack of appropriate oversight, and the Governor's unwillingness to operate transparently, New Jerseyans are entitled to a full accounting of how AshBritt Inc.'s political connections played a role in receiving the contract. As the facts stand now, there is simply no way for New Jersey's taxpayers to know whether money designated to rebuild after Hurricane Sandy is going to the families who need it or to the profits for multi-million dollar, politically connected corporations."

Below is a timeline of events preceding Mr. Barbour's admission of directly influencing Governor Christie's decision to select AshBritt Inc. at the request of the firm.

• Fall 2005 - Then Mississippi Governor, Haley Barbour hires AshBritt Inc. to remove debris caused by Hurricane Katrina.
• October 2012 - AshBritt Inc. calls its lobbyist, Haley Barbour, asking him to talk with Governor Christie about using the firm to clean up debris left by Hurricane Sandy.
• October 2012 - During Hurricane Sandy, Chris Christie awards a no-bid contract to AshBritt Inc.
• November 2012 - Days after being awarded a state contract, AshBritt Inc. donates $50,000 to the Republican Governors Association, a group Mr. Barbour once chaired and is now dedicated to reelecting Governor Christie.
• February 2012 - Ed Rogers, a founding partner in Mr. Barbour's lobbying firm, holds a Virginia fundraiser for Governor Christie.

***********************

Hmmm, Middletown has spent nearly $14 million on Hurricane Sandy clean-up, a ton of which was paid to AshBritt, and we still have debris and garbage littering the neighborhoods of North Middletown, Port Monmouth, Belford and Leonardo.  I wonder how much of those taxpayer dollars went to finance donations to the Republican Governors Association?

2 19 13 Middletown Township Committee Meeting

This past Monday night February 19, 2013,  the Middletown Township Committee got together for its monthly meeting. The meeting was short and sweet, lasting only 45 minutes, so those that wish to watch the video below shouldn't have much trouble doing so.

Here are the few highlights that come out of this meeting:

A couple of unscheduled presentations were made at the beginning of the meeting. Besides presenting Middletown Police Sgt. Colangelo with the Employee Of The Month Award for December, the Lions Club presented the Hurricane Sandy Relief Fund with a check for $2,000 and the Port Monmouth Fire Co. presented the Township Committee with their Hurricane Sandy themed t-shirts that they are selling to raise funds for their company.

During Public Comments  resident Melanie Elmiger commented why there was no detailed information available regarding chargebacks the Township imposed on the Library for past years. The Township has said the Library was not paying their fair share for employee benefits in past years as justification in adding an additional $380K to the Library bill for this year.

Another resident asked when construction would begin on the Bray Ave. bridge and how that construction would affect the residents living by the bridge. The Administrator said that design plans have not been submitted by the County and did not know when work would begin.

Someone else from the audience inquired about the reasoning behind contracting Ashbritt Environmental to clean up storm debris instead of finding local companies to do the work for less cost. The Township said Ashbritt had the means and manpower to do the work immediately.




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