"While I am generally familiar with the program outlined in that email, I don’t have the detailed information you are requesting. Therefore I have forwarded your request to the appropriate departments. Please let me know if they do not respond to your questions within a reasonable amount of time."
On February 13th, after not hearing from the "appropriate departments" but seeing a comment left by our mayor, Tony Fiore, in response to comments left on Middletown Patch's article "Township: Save a Money Tree, Use iPads" where he stated:
"The ipads are property of the Township and get returned. A study was done in early 2011 where it was decided that to utilize the full functionality of the Township systems, the ipad was the easiest and most cost effective to integrate. A full cost analysis of the ipad vs paper was completed and can be found with the Township Clerk. Some Township Committee members (including myself) own our own ipads and had the software loaded onto our own personal devices...."I decided that I should sent a follow-up email to Mr. VanNest.
In this follow-up email, a portion of which is below, I also asked three additional questions that came to mind after reading Tony Fiore's comment:
I find Mayor Fiore's comments less than enlightening and would like to have reasonable answers to my questions that I posed to you last week seeing how there must have been some discussions that took place based on the Mayor's comments.I received no response from this email.So last night, in anticipation of today being the two week mark since I sent my intial email to Mr. VanNest and knowing that tonight would be a regualry scheduled Township Committee meeting (which I am unable to attend), I sent a third email to Mr. VanNest and also copied both Tony Mercantante, the Township Administrator and Heidi Brunt, the Township Clerk:
It's nice to know that some (not all) of the iPads are the personal property of a few members of the township governing body while others are Township property and must be returned but his comment falls short of what I have inquired about and raises a couple of more questions.
1. Was former Committeewoman Pam Brightbill issued an iPads and if so has she returned it to the Township?
2. Is there a code of conduct for township employees/governing body that pertain to the usage of Township property?
3. Can you have the Township Clerk email a copy of the full cost analysis of the iPad vs paper study that Mayor Fiore mentioned was available to those that request a copy? I would like to read it.
Mr. VanNest,
It has been two weeks since I first contacted you and one week since I sent you a follow-up email requesting information regarding the purchase of Apple iPads for members of the Township's governing body. I have yet to hear back from you or anyone from the "appropriate departments" that you forwarded my request to.
As a resident of Middletown and a tax payer, I would appreciate a response to my inquiry. I feel an appropriate amount of time has now passed that answers should be forthcoming.Again, I have not received a response from Mr. VanNest or anyone else associated with Middletown to my inquiries, as I had thought might happen when I wrote the initial post about these iPads.
As far as I'm concerned, this is extremely unprofessional behavior shown by those that are suppose to represent Middletown and its residents. How about little common courtesy?
If those within the Middletown administration do not wish to answer questions that I pose to them via email then say so, I'll go through the trouble to make them respond directly an OPRA request, which of course will be turned down because much of what I have asked does not fall within the criteria of an OPRA request.
But if they want to play the game, I'm willing to play it.
