New Municipal Complex Coming To Middletown

Rumors have been circulating for many months concerning a new Middletown municipal complex to  replace the township's current place of residence. Township officials in the past had been very coy and guarded when answering questions about the possibility of a new complex, they would neither confirm nor deny such plans.  That has now changed.

During public comments of the April 20th Township Committee meeting, a resident asked about the rewiring of Town Hall after a major power outage the previous week fried much of the wiring in the building. When asked if the building was going to be needing a total rewiring, Township Administrator Tony Mercantante stated that it was unlike. When asked about  plans for redesigning or   refurbishing of the building, Mercantante mentioned that there weren't plans for a refurbishment  but plans for a new building.

The conversation starts at the 1:26:11 mark of the video and continues 1:27:40

At the April 30th special budget adoption meeting, a resident asked if there were funds dedicated in this budget to the construction of the new municipal building. She was told by the CFO that there wasn't, but money was included as part of the capital improvements in the previous year's 2014 budget. That conversation can be viewed starting at the 11:10 - 11:45 marks of the video.

So, at this point it now seems pretty clear that Middletown will be spending a few $ million on a new Town Hall, which I must say is needed. I'm just curious where it's going to be built and at what cost.

Are they planing on knocking down the current Town Hall and rebuilding in its current footprint or relocating and starting fresh? Originally it was going to be part of the Town Center project but that is unlikely considering the bad blood that litigation creates.

I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Chad Johnson, but not the one formerly known as "Ochocinco", takes part in Middletown Day charity flag football game

As part of Middletown Day last weekend, a much hyped charity flag football game featuring former NFL Pro-Bowler Chad "Ochocinco" Johnson and other former NFL players against members of the Township Committee and members of the community was to be the closing highlight of the day's event. A $30 dollar ticket to the game entitled purchasers to a special VIP meet-and-greet session with the former players. However, much to the surprise of those who paid $30 a ticket for a VIP meet-and-greet  with the players, Johnson was not in attendance. Or was he?

What an embarrassment, I found this little tidbit in yesterday's Sports section of the NY Daily News!

Middletown officials say there was a Chad Johnson at the game – sort of. A former NFL receiver calling himself Chad Plummer Johnson was among the eight players on hand. 

“Apparently his name is Johnson but he goes by Plummer because he’s always getting thought of as the other Chad Johnson,” Middletown Township Administrator Tony Mercantante tells The Score. “It was just an unfortunate error.” 

Mercantante says that two days before the game, the head of the charitable organization procuring players for it sent Middletown a list of players who were confirmed, “and he said Chad Johnson was coming from Cincinnati. The assumption was, who else could he be talking about? … Apparently they know (Plummer) as Johnson.” 

“So we ran with it, and we probably should have double-checked,” Mercantante says of the township promoting an appearance by “NFL Pro Bowler Chad ‘Ochocinco’ Johnson’” on the Middletown Day website. 

The Score could not find any record of a Chad Plummer Johnson playing in the NFL, but Chad Plummer did play four games for the Indianapolis Colts from 1999-2000. He played his college ball at Cincinnati and did see preseason action as a Bengal, which could have added to the confusion, as could this tidbit: according to one festival attendee, Plummer/Johnson said he was Ochocinco’s cousin...

July 15, 2013 Township Committee Meeting

It's been a while since I've posted a video from a Middletown Township Committee meeting. It hasn't been because I've lost interest in these meeting, on the contrary, I'm just as interested as I've always been, I watch every video whether I've posted it here or not. It's just that over the past number of weeks I've been pressed for time and haven't gotten around to posting the meetings in a timely fashion.  By the time I remember to post the most current meeting, a new meeting has taken place. This video is from last Monday night, July 15th.

The meeting lasted just 40 minutes with nothing special or extraordinarily taking place. Here are a few of the highlights:

• Township Administrator, Tony Mercantante, recently received a proclamation form the NJ General Assembly for his efforts during Superstorm Sandy. The proclamation was presented to Mercantante by Assemblywoman, Amy Handlin.
• New Jersey American Water presented the Poricy Park Conservancy with a check for $10K to construct a water garden in the park.
• Many resolutions were adopted for changes in road construction projects and personal property restoration due to infrastructure failures.

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

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.

Township Officials Say Costs Of Proposed Dredging Project Are Too High

In case anyone thinks that I may have overstated the other day when i posted that "Middletown's Shadow Lake may never be dredged", think again. The Independent has posted an article on this also this week.

 

In the article " Shadow Lake bids rejected again " it states that:

• There is a $2 million gap between the lowest bidder for the project and $4.8 million cost estimate that the township engineer placed on the dredging.  
• Township Administrator Tony Mercantante stated that it would be unlikely the Township Committee would go out to bid the project once again. 
• Dredging only a small portion of the lake would not be worth it and the cost to do so would be questionable. 
• If the dredging project were to proceed the township would have to reapply to the state's Environmental Infrastructure Trust for a much bigger loan which would need to be paid back and that the committee has committed as much money as they are comfortable committing to it (dredging of the lake).
• And, if only the DEP would relent and allow the township to permanently keep the contaminated dredge spoils on the grounds of adjacent Stevenson Park (which they won't), the dredging of Shadow Lake would proceed. 

 So, there you have it.  After spending close to $400,000 of precious tax payer dollars on feasibility studies and engineering fees over the past few years, Shadow Lake seems as though it will never be dredged. Of course the Township Committee will spin it by saying that they will be saving residents over $4 million by not proceeding with the dredging ,when in actually the cost for the engineering work never should have been done in the first place.

The only reason why this failed project proceeded in the first place was to buy the votes of area residents that live along side Shadow Lake. It was as simple as that. What a waste.

Middletown's Shadow Lake May Never Be Dredged

1-22-13 Township Committee Meeting, Linda Baum asks the Township Committee if they could discuss their earlier vote on Resolution 13-67 to reject the latest bids for the dredging of Shadow Lake.

All the bids that the Township received for the dredging of the lake came in over the budgeted amount for the project, the lowest bid came in at $4.8 million - over a $1million difference in the budgeted amount.

It was stated by Township Administrator Tony Mercantante, that it was unlikely that new bids for the dredging will ever go out unless there is a "significant change to the scope of the project...".

For the past 6 years Gerry Scharfenberger and his Republican cronies, both on and off of the Township  Committee, have been coddling and kowtowing  to a few local residents who around and near the lake, promising them that it would be dredged.  Now due to their unrealistic cost expectations, Gerry and friends will have to break their promise.

A simple Google search will lead you to the history of Shadow Lake dredging project and the farce for votes that it has become.

Bush League: Township Closes Youth Sports Fields To "Encourage" Middletown Day Participation

Talk about bush league moves on the part of Middletown, this is a classic and one that I've never heard of any other towns doing.

Middletown "blacked out" field permits to all youth sports teams for tomorrow in order to encourage participation in the township's "Middletown Day".

This came as news to all the parents and kids who play youth sports over the weekend and based on the comments that I have been getting in my email and those on line at Middletown-Patch, these people aren't very happy about it; vowing not to attend Middletown Day in protest.

According to the statement issued to Middletown-Patch yesterday by Township Administrator Tony Mercantante,  "The Township notified all leagues at the time field permits were being applied for, long before the fall season started, that there was a blackout day on September 29^th and that fields and facilities were not going to be open.

This was done to make Middletown Day more accessible to the Township’s youth, who often in the past found it difficult to fit the festival into their schedules since sports commitments took up much of the day."  

If this is true than  assurances must have been given to the sports leagues at the time fields permits for the season were issued, how else do you explain the email sent out to parents of Lincroft Soccer participants who seem to have been blindsided by the news? I could be wrong, but it seems that plans were made to play :

To All Parents and Players,The following is from the Township: "All facilities are closed and a reservation block had been placed on them for Middletown Day. This is being done with the hope that families would have the opportunity to come down and participate, have their kids compete in the 3 athletic contests, and not have to run back and forth the morning of to any practices or games for any of the youth sports in town. That is why the facility permits issued have the reminder all fields are closed Middletown Day." We will have games next weekend.Kevin WilliamsLSCPresident

Regardless whether or not proper notice was given or plans were or weren't made to play youth sports games on Middletown Day, this is just another example of the arrogance that permeates throughout those that run Middletown and those that organized Middletown Day. Were they really that worried that no one would show up to the festivities and participate in celebrating the town that they felt it necessary to ban all township youth sports programs for the day? 

What made them think the kids would rather come to Middletown day rather than play soccer or fall baseball just because there would be sports "games" being played at Croydon Hall? What, are there no other kids that live in Middletown,who don't participate in organized youth sports that couldn't come out and enjoy the games?

This was a bad precedent to set and oozes elitism that send the wrong signal to parents who's kids don't or can't play youth sports. It says your kids aren't good enough for Middletown, we want only those capable of playing sports entering our events.

Bush League!    

It's Your Town - Video Newsletter 3/05/12

The It's Your Town - Video Newsletter which documents the Monday night March 5, 20112 meeting of the Middletown Township Committee has been posted online for your viewing pleasure.

Members of the public out numbered the availability of seating in the Conference room where the meeting was held. This forced many who attended to stand in the hallway outside of the room. Their complaints about this arrangement were ignored by the committee.

At this meeting members of the Swim Club came in to continue the conversation about the future of the Club and the sale of the property (the Committee introduced an ordinance, at the last meeting, to put the property up for auction).

Mr. Don Watson, the person responsible for video recording these meetings, presented the Committee with a video copy of the 2/6/12 Committee meeting, requesting that the Committee broadcast it on the Township cable access channels. He asked the Committee if they had viewed the previous video which he had given them.

Many excuses were given for not broadcasting the meetings but Township Administrator Tony Mercantante stated that he would review the video presented.

Mr. Fiore stated that there were no guarantees that every meeting would be recorded and therefore he did not want the public to miss a meeting if they were broadcast. Other Committee members were asked to discuss broadcasting but they refused and had no other comments.

So for now, only those with Internet access and knowledge of the It's Your Towns newsletter have the ability to watch and view these recordings.

New discussion items for this meeting included the formation of a new committee between the various leaders of the independent sports leagues and the Township that would discuss the best way to utilize our parks and another committee to be formed to review historical properties in town.

Ordinances will be introduced soon for the formation of these new committees.

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

iPad Inquiries Go Unanswered

It was two weeks ago today , February 7th, that I sent a list of questions  via email, to Assistant Township Administrator James VanNest, requesting information about the Township's purchase and use of a number of Apple iPads for members of the Township's governing body.

Shortly after sending my initial request Mr. VanNest replied, rather cordially:

"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.


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.

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:

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.

Swim Club Won’t Be Operated By Township In 2012

Rumors have been circulating for a number of weeks now concerning the future of the Middletown Swim Club.

Some have said that the Swim Club was in the process of being sold to a developer who would be building townhouse on site and another said that the Swim Club was to be leased to a third party that would install an olympic sized swimming pool and an ice rink. No rumor that I am aware of mentioned that the facility would be closed completely for 2012.

Notice however, the small glimmer of hope offered by Township Aministrator Tony Mercantante, who stated in the press release that, "We are, however, looking at options that would allow the club to re-open with a different operator...", which seem to confirm the one of the rumors listed above.

Below is the announcement posted on the Middletown Township website concerning the closing of the Middletown Swim Club:

The Middletown Swim and Tennis Club will not be operated by the Township in 2012 as program fees have not covered its operating budget in recent years. Accordingly, Township Administrator Anthony Mercantante is recommending that the facility remain closed for the 2012 season, unless another entity can soon be identified to operate the club.

“Unfortunately, rising costs, declining membership, declining revenues, an aging facility, and staff reductions mean that it is no longer economically viable for the Township to continue to operate the facility,” Mercantante said. “The Township has been obligated to cover revenue shortfalls from its regular operating budget,” Mercantante explained, “and it cannot afford to do so any longer.”

“It is unrealistic to expect the Township Committee to ask taxpayers to help support a membership-driven facility, hoping that it will become self-sustaining again,” Mayor Tony Fiore continued.

The Township purchased the 10-acre aquatic facility from a private owner in 1997 for $1.225 million. The facility, located at the corner of Harmony and Old Country Road, has 4 swimming pools, 55 cabanas, 330 bathhouses, five tennis courts, a playground, snack bar and basketball, shuffleboard, bocce and handball courts.

The club, which is funded through membership and program fees, is managed through a utility that allows the facility to operate outside of the municipal budget. Revenues were to cover the purchase, operating costs and improvements. In the early years, the club largely paid for itself as anticipated. Since the national recession began in 2008, membership has declined and revenues are not covering operating and debt costs.

“No decision has been reached as to what to do with the facility in the long-term,” Mercantante said.

He added that the facility’s age is another factor in its fate. The club, which is more than 50 years old, will continue to need repairs and capital upgrades in the years to come. There are not sufficient revenues to support major improvement projects, Mercantante said.

“We realize that if the club does not open it will be a sad day for many families in the Township. We also realize it will be disruptive to some people’s summer plans, but the Township cannot afford to run the club in the red for another season,” Mercantante said. “We are, however, looking at options that would allow the club to re-open with a different operator and we are also looking at options to allow the main pool to be opened so that the award-winning swim team can stay together for another season,” he said.

“During these tough economic times everything must always be on the table. The decision not operate the swim club is one that we take very seriously. However, our obligation to provide core and essential governmental services cannot be compromised,” Mayor Fiore said.

Heard It In The Hallways....Middletown's Director of Parks & Rec, Gregg Silva "Forced" Into Retirement, Big Changes coming to Department

As of this moment this is all rumor, but about two hours ago I received a tip concerning the Middletown's Director of Parks, Recreation & Cultural Affairs, Gregg Silva. I haven't been able to get official confirmation from anyone but from a few that I have spoken to, it seems legit.

Silva as you all may remember, was placed on administrative leave last month by his bosses at Town Hall for stepping over the line by approving a private memorial for Daniel Piano on the grounds of Croydon Hall without the prior approval from the Township.

I've been told that as of January 1st, Gregg Silva has officially retired. Furthermore, I have been told that township officials have been in meetings most of the day reorganizing the now employeeless Department of Parks and Recreation.

The person who passed along this information has stated that Silva's old duties for Parks and Rec. will be split up, the maintenance side will fall as a subdivision under DPW, while the Croydon Hall Senior Center, the Tonya Keller Bayshore Rec Center and Middletown Cultural Arts Center will be combined and administrated by Janet Adams who currently is in charge of the Tonya Keller Bayshore Center.

Individual Township sponsored recreational events will be planned on an event by event basis. Steve Eisenstein, who was brought in this year to run the Daddy/Daughter Dance and the holiday train ride, worked in the parks department a few years ago and will continue to help plan and coordinate events.

All of this should be in place and in effect by the end of the month I'm told.

I am currently waiting for a return phone call from Middletown Township Administrator Tony Mercantante for confirmation. When I called his office a couple of hours ago, I was told that he was in a meeting and could talk. The secretary that answered my call said that she would have him call me back.

Update - Steve Eisenstein's name was misspelled as Einstein and Adams is the maiden name of Janet Della, Director of the Tonya Keller Rec. Center

APP: Middletown places Parks and Recreation director on administrative leave

Only a few hours after last night's Middletown Township Committee meeting was over, Kevin Penton of the Asbury Park Press posted online his story about Middletown's Park and Recreation Director Gregg Silva being placed on administrative leave.

In my earlier blog post on the subject, Penton was one of the journalist that I eluded in the post, that had tried to contact Township Administrator Tony Mercantante for a comment about Silva last week.

After last night's Township Committee meeting, I noticed that Kevin Penton had approached Mr. Mercantante and was speaking to him for a prolonged time. When Penton exited Town Hall, I nodded to him and asked if he had heard anything new concerning Gregg Silva. He started to say that he had sent Mercantante an email last Thursday but he hadn't checked to see if he received a response or not. He was about to say more but a gentleman interrupted him and started asking him about Middletown's Shadow Lake, so we never finished our conversation.

It is apparent however from the article, Penton spoke to both Mercantante and soon to be ex-mayor Tony Fiore (who refused to comment), about Gregg Silva. Unfortunately, as expected, Mercantante didn't say much to Penton other than confirm that Silva was placed on administrative leave:

Gregg Silva is still a township employee and is receiving pay while an investigation proceeds, said Township Administrator Anthony Mercantante, who declined to specify the details of the inquiry.

“At this point, he is not in his office,” said Mercantante, referring to Silva. “We’ve agreed for him not to come in until we look at a few issues.”

Mercantante declined to specify when Silva was placed on administrative leave, saying it occurred within the last 30 days. A date for the leave to expire has not been set, he added.

You can read what Kevin Penton wrote ...Here, but remember where you read the details about Silva's administrative leave first.

Perfect Timing As Latest Robo-Call Counters RedBankGreen Fluff Piece On Bamm Hollow Development

Earlier today I was surfing my favorite website and found a fluff piece on RedBankGreen.com concerning some old news about the redevelopment of the Bamm Hollow Country Club in Lincroft. I was going to post about it but I got dragged away until now, which as circumstances will have it was a good thing, because an hour or so later after reading how Township "OFFICIALS TOUT BAMM HOLLOW OPEN SPACE", the telephone rang.

On the other end of the phone was another robo-call issued by the group calling themselves "Concerned Citizens of Middletown". It stated how the addition of 500 homes in and around Lincroft is will be eroding the quality of life of residents in Middletown.

I copied the message off of my answering machine and have it posted below, along with a transcript for anyone interested in hearing it.

It must have been a slow news day for Dustin Racioppi and the RedBankGreen, as I said the story is old and is reporting on what was said in May when the court case was settled.

Middletown, as Township Attorney Brian Nelson (how come Township Administrator Tony Mercantante or Assistant Administrator James Van Nest didn't talk to RBG about this?) would like everyone to believe, did not win big.

Bam Hollow was originally zoned for 50 homes. The original proposal was to increase it to 200 homes. The Plannig Board said no and Bamm Hollow sued for 1,200. The Township setteld for 190. So who actually won big time here?

Brian Nelson and friends were not going to win the lawsuit, which is why they settled. They spent hundreds of thousands of dollars fighting it, so it is apparent who won big time. The lawyers hired by the Township to fight a losing battle. the open space would have been there
regardless.

(Concerned Citizens Robo-Call #6: Eroding the Quality Of Life)


Have you heard the quality of life in Middletown, according to Money Magazine, has dropped 39% during the past four years?

Poor planning and dense re-zoning by Middletown politicians led to approval for over 500 new homes in Lincroft and Bamm Hollow.

Increased density will further erode our declining quality of life, and compete with homeowner’s unable to sell their homes in this dismal economy.

It’s time to clean house and throw-out incumbent politicians.

(Paid for by Concerned Citizens of Middletown)

Crime Scene Middletown: MiddletownMike Banned From Receiving Township Press Releases

Last week, just after the 4th of July holiday weekend, I was expecting to recieve the latest press release from Middletown Police Detective Lieutenant Steve Dollinger, reporting the recent activities of the Middletown Police. I had noticed that updates for the holiday weekend activities had already been posted on the websites Redbankgreen.com,Middletown Patch and Atlantic Highlands Herald and I was wondering why, after 8 months of receiving the MTPD press releases, I didn't receive the July 5th press release.

I sent an inquiring email to Detective Dollinger that afternoon wondering if I had been somehow overlooked when he had sent the current press release to those on his distribution list. Usually when I have sent an inquiry to the detective I received a prompt response, this time however was different. I never received a response from Detective Dollinger, instead the following day, Wednesday, I received the following email from Middletown Public Information Officer Cindy Herrschaft with no other explanation:

Dear Mr. Morris,

The township has revised the policy regarding the distribution of press releases. Please feel free to check the township website for information updates.

When I received this response coming from Ms. Herrschaft, I was puzzled. I have been receiving press releases for 8 months without any issue and wanted to know why I was now being excluded. I immediately responded by requesting that a copy of both the old policy regarding press releases and the new policy be sent to me so that I could review it. I also stated that no such policy was posted on the Township website for such review. Needless to say, I am still waiting for her response.

After waiting for an answer for almost 24 hours I decided to send an email to Township Administrator Tony Mercantante Thursday afternoon:

Mr. Mercantante,

For the past 8 months I have been receiving MTPD press releases from Detective Dollinger for posting on my Middletown Mike blog. These press releases have been very well received by the readers of the blog and are often the most read feature of the day when posted.

So you can imagine my dismay when I did not receive a press release from this past weekend and subsequent releases issued this week from Detective Dollinger, but found updates on other blogs or websites.

When I sent an inquiry to Detective Dollinger, I did not receive the usual quick response from him that I am accustomed to when I have a question, instead I received an email (below) from Cindy Herrschaft saying that the policy regarding the distribution of press releases had been revised and basically stating that I would not be receiving press releases for the Township anymore for posting.

I responded to Ms. Herrschaft, asking her if she could forward me a copy of the previous press release policy and that of the revised policy, so that I can understand why it seems that I am being singled out from receive township press releases from the MTPD or administration. So far I haven't heard from her and that disturbs me.

If at all possible I would appreciate if you could look into this matter for me and provide me with the simple documents that I requested without having to file an OPRA request.

It would be great if this was just a misunderstanding and my name was taken off Detective Dollinger's contact list by mistake and therefore you could authorize Detective Dollinger to once again include me in his updates.

I appreciate your help in this matter

Again nearly 24 hours pasted without a response, I figured that they were trying to come up with a plausible explanation as why I wasn't to receive press releases any longer because it was becoming evident to me that no such policy documents exsisted.

So as not to be ignored,on Friday I sent yet an other email to the Township, this time to Assistant Administrator James Van Nest:

Mr. Van Nest,


As Assistant Township Administrator I am hoping that you could provide me with an answer to my inquiry below.

It has been two days since I respond to Ms. Herrschaft email notifying me that I have been taken off the contact list and will no longer be receiving Township press releases and almost 1 full day since sending an email inquiry to Mr. Mercantante about it, with no response in return.

I understand that it is the summer and people my have taken off a few days (hence no response from Mr. Mercantante) but I would like to know the true reason why I have been singled out by no longer being a recipient of direct notification of press releases.

In her email Ms. Herrschaft stated that the policy for distributing press releases has been changed. I would like to see in writing what the old policy was and how it differs from the new policy seeing how no such policy is listed on the Township website and that press releases are not always posted there in a timely manner.

Ultimately I would like to be restored to the notification list if possible. If you could be so kind to follow-up on this matter and respond back I would be greatly appreciative.

Thank you for your help in this matter.

They say that the third time is the charm and I suppose in this instance that old adage rang true because a short time afterwards Tony Mercantante finally responded to my emails with the following explanation:

Mr. Morris,

The policy for distributing Press Releases consists of essentially lists that have evolved over time. In order to keep distribution to a manageable magnitude it has been decided that automatic distribution of press releases will be limited to the following:

stablished new organizations and media outlets, whether they be print, online or on air organizations.

Community organizations and homeowners associations that have requested to receive information.

Other governmental agencies and officials.

We are currently reviewing the lists to make sure that all who are on it fall into the categories mentioned above. Blog sites are not included. If you ever become aware of a blog receiving such information automatically, please report it and we will look into it right away. You or anyone else has always the right to request specific information and/or pull it from the web site when it is posted, which is usually within a day.

Tony Mercantante
Township Administrator

That to me was an interesting reply. I responded by stating that I was in disagreement with his response and that it made it clear that there was no written policy in place that specifically dealt with this issue. I pointed out that my blog serves the community as a source of local news and opinion to those that read it and that I believe the township was being arbitrary in it's decision to exclude my blog from directly receiving press releases. At which point Mr. Mercantante replied that all blog would be excluded, not just mine.

I asked him how does the Township differentiate between what is a News site and what isn't and what is constitutes a community group? By definition Blogs and other Social Media outlets are virtually the same and almost impossible to differentiate. Websites such as Middletown Patch, Redbankgreen.com and MiddletownMike are just as much social media outlets as they are news outlets. Any website that allows reader comments to be published in response o columns posted are considered social media.

Thus it doesn't make much sense not to include Blogs or Social Media in the Township's policy, it only makes sense that public information should be disseminated in all possible manners and not excluded for arbitrary assumptions as to what constitutes a news outlet.

Out of further curiosity, I asked Tony Mercantante if Art Gallagher's blog MoreMonmouthMusings, was considered a legitimate news outlet, seeing how often I have seen Middletown press releases on his site well before being posted on the Township's website.

His responded by stating "...we specifically discussed Mr. Gallagher's site and concluded it was a blog and will not be getting automatic distribution of press releases."

At this point in our email exchanges I ended my inquiry but stated that I will be on the look out for evidence to the contrary.

Regardless of Mercantane's explanation and assurances that no other blogs will be included in automatic press release notifications, I can help but think that this petty behavior on the Township's part is in retaliation to negative posts I have published concerning members of the Township Committee. It would not be the first time that the Township Administration tried their hand at childish retaliation against a website.

I was reminded by Carol Schwebel that when Allan Dean, the publisher of the Atlantic Highland Herald, was attempting to help her fight the new Middletown website requirement that users must first register name, address and other personal information before hand to get information, the Administration stopped sending him information as well.

It's just all par for the course I suppose. Why make the system more transparent when you live for it to be opaque? Saying that the reason for such a decision has to do with manageability of lists doesn't cut it, a distribution list is not that hard to manage.

So while the crime of me being officially banned from directly receiving press releases from the Township has been committed, it wont prevent me from lifting press releases from other websites, be it directly off of Middletown web page or others. I wont allow them to intimidate me it such a way. I'll just start posting all the press releases I notice, not just those from the MTDP.

I'll show 'em :-)

The Independent: Mid’town methadone clinic has neighbors up in arms Twp. attorney: Facility is permitted use in business zone

I was a little surprised to see that the Independent has chimed in already on the methadone clinic in Middletown. Usually due to the nature of it's weekly publication it lags behind a week or so of the currentness cycle.

I wont bore you with the analysis, the article is a straight forward rendition of the events of Monday night's Middletown Township Committee meeting so I'll just post a few quotes below from it and let you guys be the judge by leaving comments if you wish:

Middletown residents packed town hall on June 20 and demanded that the township revoke the certificate of occupancy (CO) of a methadone clinic, which has been legally operating near Apple Farm Road for several months.

The clinic, Middletown Medical, located on Route 35, which, according to its website, counsels opiate addicts and dispenses methadone to wean them off their dependence, has residents fearing for the integrity of their neighborhood.

“The location of the clinic jeopardizes our safety, the safety of our homes and most importantly, the safety of those who actively walk, run, drive or play in our neighborhood,” resident Diane Mullaney said at the Township Committee meeting.

Mullaney said that the clinic is near a school bus stop, senior center and the neighborhood’s only entrance and exit road. “Ultimately, the township neglected to keep the best interest of our neighborhood in their decision,” she said....

“The [state’s] municipal land use law … was amended a decade ago to specifically designate methadone clinics as business uses, allowing municipalities to only ban them from residential zones,” Township Attorney Brian Nelson advised.

Because the clinic is located on Route 35 in a business district, this law stifles any legal recourse from the township, Nelson said.

“Neither the mayor nor the governing body members were particularly pleased with this answer,” Nelson said.

“If you’re asking for us to pull the CO, which is what it sounds like you’re asking, we can’t legally do it,” Mayor Anthony Fiore said to residents.


“If you’re asking to put the township at risk for amajor lawsuit to do so, I don’t think that’s our fiduciary responsibility when we’re told by legal counsel that we won’t win.”...

“Nobody other than the zoning officer and code officials receive notice of these CO’s.”

Mercantante said that similar transfers happen every day.

“No member of this committee, including myself, had any knowledge that this facility was a methadone clinic,” Fiore said....

“I don’t want this business in Middletown, and I don’t think anyone else wants this business in Middletown. However, Route 35 is a state highway and it is a state business zone,” Fiore said.

“None of the committee is happy about this; in a best-case scenario, it’s terrible,” said Committeeman Steven Massell....

“We can control everything with respect to making sure that they are operating in a legal fashion and that they’re not going to cause those quality-of-life issues that you mention,” Fiore said.

“That’s our job. That’s our priority as a township committee, and we will do that.”...

Fiore said that the township also relies on the vigilance of neighborhood residents to help police.

“This is a huge township. You’re the eyes and ears, and if you see something there, we need to know about it,” he said.

Clarification on Main Library Parking Lot Engineering; Main Library Parking Facts

I received the following from Middletown Library Director Susan O'Neal, who after reading comments about the Library left on this blog, felt it necessary to clarify a few points about the the Main library's parking lot expansion project.

For several years, I have been informing the library Board of Trustees that the growth in library usage was creating a shortage of parking. My observations were that a shortage could pop up almost any day and time, and I recommended a parking capacity and usage study to be put into the Board's capital projects plan. By last fall, it was at the top of the list of things that we needed to do. As with all of our capital projects, the library intended to use its reserves, not to ask the Township for funding.

In the Summer of 2010 I was authorized by the Board to send out RFP's, Requests for Proposal, to engineering firms for an assessment of a number of parking lot matters. They included:

a study of parking lot use and capacity,
addition of more handicapped parking stalls,
safety of pedestrian crossing the lot,
the possibility of a drop off lane near the entry,
short term parking,
widening the parking stalls, and the
possibility of adding a drive up pick-up window.

Multiple proposals were received, and two firms were selected to be interviewed by the full Board. These firms represented the two lowest proposals in terms of cost. They were DW Smith and Maser Consulting. DW Smith had been the engineer who designed and carried out the water remediation project at the back corner of Main in 2009. Mayor Scharfenberger was present for the DW Smith presentation, but had to leave before the Maser presentation. The contract was awarded to Maser Consulting, in the approximate amount of $29,000. [I'm writing this from home so I only remember the approximate amount]

Maser conducted a comprehensive traffic and use study in AUgust and September 2010; I met with them several times to discuss library needs, etc. and they made and revised plans for a few months. In January, 2011, three proposals were reviewed by the Board at their meeting. Frankly, this presentation did not go well. The Maser team followed Mr. Settembrino's layout of his four point plan for library finance, which had everyone on the board stunned. The main problem, though, was that additional parking in 2 of the 3 proposals would cover additional land with pavement and would generate storm management and environmental approvals that skyrocketed the costs. I asked Maser for a 4th plan that would avoid these issues and costs and get the maximum parking out of it that we could.

The 4th plan was reviewed by me, Tony Mercantante, Ted Maloney and one of the Maser engineers. Tony mentioned that including this project in the Town's 2012 Capital Improvements Projects might get the library better pricing. This is the germination of the inclusion of this project in the Transfer of Library reserves to the Township settlement. At this time it was obvious that refinement of the last design, specifications for bidding, and the permissions and tests needed would require additional engineering work. Maser asked if they should prepare a proposal for these next steps, and I said yes.

The proposal came in on May 13, several days before the library board meeting. We were all informed by Committeeman Settembrino that all further engineering work on on the library parking lot would be conducted by the Township Engineer of record, that is T&M. The Board briefly discussed this at their meeting.

The next engineering work to be done will build on the Maser study, not duplicate it, as some have asserted incorrectly.

The Middletown Library will be expected to use the services of T&M if the project is in the Township's CIP list for next year [and presuming T&M is the Township engineer in 2012]

The Library will be expected to pay all hard [construction] and soft [design, project supervision, permits, testing] that the Township engineer dictates is required.

And ultimately, maybe this is all moot. The library faces a huge cut in its operating budget next year, unless the TC is willing to provide more than the minimum funding level, and thus support the library at close to the 2011 level. A close analysis of our fiscal position is forthcoming. It is my personal belief as the Administrator of the Library, that the library should not undertake debt financing for this project, but rather maintain it's prior practice of saving until enough cash reserves are available, and then proceeding. This will be the Library Trustees' decision. I believe the problem of not enough parking will continue to grow, as library business is on a significant upswing. It is unclear to me whether the TC will provide permission for the library to proceed with any capital improvement project in the future unless it is totally under their control, except, of course, for the payment.

Lastly, I hope that in the length and detail of this explanation, it is not lost on the reader that the library's plans included addressing numerous safety issues, not just additional parking. We DO need more handicapped parking, we DO need to eliminate the double parking in the lot for pickups and dropoffs, we DO need to add more safety measures for pedestrians who have to cross a traffic lane to enter the building!!

We have nearly 2,000 visitors per day at the library. Their safety is of keen importance to us.

Susan O'Neal, Library Director

Middletown Update and Background Proposed Four Ponds Development Plan

At the behest of the Township Committee, Township Administrator Tony Mercantante, posted the following letter the Middletown Township website late yesterday, the letter is an attempt to give some background information behind the history of the rezoning of the Avaya property in Lincroft that is a hot-button issue in town and ready to explode. At least three separate citizens groups are now involved and on record as being opposed to the project.

What this letter doesn't tell residents about is how, much like the infamous "Town Center" project, the Township went to Torsevias (the owners of the property) and pitched this idea to them. The township would never have been able to rezone this property if the owners weren't on board with it. Promises were made and palms were greased in some way to make this happen, now the Township needs to backpedal before it's too late.

Unfortunately it may be too late for that already, money has been spent already on the project by the owners, they would want so type of reimbursement for there troubles i'm sure, which will tie this project up in the courts for years at a cost of millions of dollars to the tax payers of Middletown if it doesn't go through.

And as usual, the Township is blaming Democrats in Trenton for inaction on the issue of COAH. They wont dare point a finger at the Governor for vetoing the COAH bill that was past by the assembly last year. If COAH was on the top of the Governor's priority list, he would be taking the lead on this issue like he has been while bashing teachers and unions.

But don't confuse the issues of COAH and this project, the opposition to this redevelopment is not COAH based as the Township wants you to believe. The opposition is opposed to the project based on quality of life issues and concerns such as infrastructure, traffic and the effects of having many more students enroll in area schools.

Dear Residents:

The Township Committee has asked that I provide a summary of the circumstances surrounding the proposed Four Ponds Development Plan at the former Avaya property, which is part of the Township’s state-mandated Council On Affordable Housing (“COAH”) housing plan.

The Township Committee has many concerns about this proposed project, which is why the Township is currently litigating the COAH’s revised third round rules before the New Jersey Supreme Court. Not only has the Township joined in the League of Municipality’s lawsuit, but the Township also filed its own lawsuit, which was just recently accepted by the Supreme Court. It is unclear, however, when this case will be heard, which could be anywhere from 6 months to a year, or more, from now. In the meantime, the Township is still subject to COAH’s rules, as they existed three years ago.

It is the Township’s belief that we should not be punished by these rules since, we believe there are plenty of affordable housing units, including rental units available throughout the Township. This fact is largely the basis of our legal position. Further, the Township does not have a history of exclusionary zoning that would be in violation of the original Mount Laurel doctrine. Unfortunately, this legal doctrine has evolved into something it was never intended to be, which essentially hands control of much of our zoning over to developers and in some cases the courts.

Making matters worse, the Appellate Court recently invalidated a large portion of the revised third round COAH rules that gave the Township a variety bonus credits for past performance and for allowing the creation of affordable rental housing. Without these extra credits and other mechanisms thrown out by the Court, the Township’s affordable housing obligation could grow significantly higher than it already is. Fortunately, the Township sought and secured a stay from both COAH and the Supreme Court of the Appellate Court’s ruling on this matter. Now, the Supreme Court will decide the ultimate merits of this issue, but the outcome is far from certain, which is why the Township has actively been seeking legislative action that has not been forthcoming. The legislation that has been proposed so far, in most cases would be a giant step backwards, making matters far worse. Fortunately the Governor vetoed the bill that was actually passed by the legislature since it would have increased the Township’s affordable housing obligation possibly two-fold.

As a result, the Township has been forced to zone a number of properties in a way that it would not have otherwise, only to satisfy COAH’s requirements. It is also critical in order to stem what are known as Builder’s Remedy lawsuits, which essentially strip away any local control and allows the courts to order the approval of housing developments. In fact, the Township is currently subject to a challenge by the owners of the Bamm Hollow Country Club. Specifically, since challenging our plans, they have been seeking to construct 1,200 multi-family dwellings that would include at least 240 COAH units upon their 277-acre property. They also have an application pending for 50 homes which the property is currently zoned for, which is also not actively being pursued. That application will not make this litigation go away as they are continuing to seek a development many times that size. We are currently seeking a stay before the Appellate Court in this matter in an effort to try to resolve it through sound planning without facing the prospect of 1,200 more units of housing in Lincroft. The reality of the situation is that if the Avaya property had not been zoned to allow for the development of residential housing two years ago, Bamm Hollow would likely be building 1,200 court-ordered units on its property by now.

These are the unfortunate realities currently faced by the Township until the Legislature or the Courts act appropriately to eliminate these irrational mandates that do nothing but promote poor planning and development while wasting hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars. I would note, however, that the Avaya property is still also zoned to allow for commercial development, so the Township is not impeding that from taking place should market conditions allow for it. Further, the Township has been encouraging businesses to move into the site along with seeking economic development assistance for prospective tenants from the state.

Simply put, due to legislative inaction, the Township was left with no option but to include Avaya property as part of its housing plan three years ago to allow for residential development. The reality is that the alternative would be far worse for Lincroft and the Township as a whole. We would like to encourage all residents, as many of you have in the past, to write and call Senate President Steve Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver who should be held accountable along with the entire State Legislature for failing to act on the Governor’s proposed COAH reforms. With those reforms, there is at least a chance that this project may not have advanced to this point.

Sincerely,
Anthony P. Mercantante, P.P. AICP
Township Administrator

Heard It In The Hallways....

Last week when an anonymous poster left a tidbit of information in the comments section for the post "Middletown Tax Assessor To Receive $15K "Bonus" Under New Salary Ordinance", referring to Middletown Township Administrator Tony Mercantante being offered a job in Trenton by the Christie Administration, I found it hard to believe. I didn’t think it was plausible that the guy would leave a nice cushy position in Middletown making over $125,000 a year, to take a less stable, patronage job that wouldn’t pay him anywhere near what he is currently being paid. But I kept it in the back of my mind and started to ask around. What I was told surprised me, but after it was explained I could understand it.

The person that I talked with did not want their name mentioned, but as a Township employee they can be found very often around Town Hall. This person told me that Tony Mercantante was indeed offered a job down in Trenton, somewhere within the State Planning Office and he will be leaving Middletown for his new gig sometime in May.

When I questioned the person why Mercantante would leave Middletown, they explained it thusly:

The late Judy Stanley, who was often referred to as the Queen of Middletown, was very fond of Mercantante and acted as a mentor to him for many years. She was instrumental in Mercantante’s rise through the system. It was Stanley that brought Mercantante back to Middletown as a planner after a few years absence working out of state and it was her idea to promote him from his Township planning job to his current position as Township Administrator, when Bob Czech left that position in order to become Monmouth County Administrator a few years back.

Once Judy Stanley placed Tony Mercantante into the position as the Township Administrator, it became evident to some that he was in over his head. They thought that he had a problem with telling the truth, as in, being to honest when some one asked a question, while others thought that he was (is) a bungler who causes more problems than what he solves.

Allegedly, 3 out of the 5 currently sitting Township Committee people can’t stand him and have been making it extremely uncomfortable for Mercantante to do his job. As a result, it’s often hard to get a straight answer out of him. And on top of it all, Mercantante has to deal with a Township Attorney who has a Napoleon Complex and who also happens to be the #2 Republican in Middletown, Brian Nelson, on almost every decision, every day (that alone would be enough for me to seek out new employment).

So, as a result of all this, I was told that the powers that be, seeing that things have not been working out to their liking for sometime now, have worked out a face-saving arrangement for Tony Mercantante to leave his position as Township Administrator, for a job with the Christie Administration in Trenton.

If this turns out to be true, and I have no doubt about the person who passed along this information, than I want to wish Tony Mercantante well in his new position down in Trenton. I’ve personally never had a problem with him he has always been personable with me on the few occasions that we have talked. He probably deserves better than what he is getting, I always thought that he was on top of things, but then again since when have I thought anything that meant a damn to those that run Middletown anyway.

Good luck Tony, your going to need it now more than ever.

APP: Middletown assessor to get $15G payment for reassessment work

So what do you know, I guess someone over at the Asbury Park Press has been reading my blog.

In today's paper APP report Kevin Penton has written an article about the $15,000 bonus that Tax Assessor Charles Heck will be receiving for doing his job.

Two things that stand out in the article are that no one would make themselves available for comment other that Tony Fiore; not Township Administrator Tony Mercantante or Charles Heck himself, would comment.

Secondly is the arrogance of Fiore himself. Fiore is quote, "Let's face it, without this money, there would have been no incentive for them to do the work." referring to Heck and his assistant working extra hours for the bonus, instead of doing what would be expected from someone who earns $108,572 from the tax payers of Middletown.

Lets face it, Heck has a very cozy job, so cozy that he is able hold similar positions in town other towns, which has increased his salary and benefits to over $164,000 according to Data Universe , so let's not try and kid anyone. Heck should not be getting anthying extra from the Township for doing a job that he is already highly paid to do.

Any money that the Township has realized as savings from Heck's work should go to saving jobs, not lining Heck's pockets. For Fiore to justify Heck's bonus by stating ,"To spend $20,000 to save $50,000, that's a pretty good spend." as he did at Monday night's Township Committee meeting is asinine. The whole $50,000 belongs to taxpayers and should be used towards saving jobs,services or paying off debt. Not for lining a political flunky's pockets.

Ordinance 2011-3027 And When Is A Salary Freeze, Not A Salary Freeze Explained

I had some spare time on Friday so I thought that I would do a little research into the new salary ordinance being proposed by the Middletown Township Committee. I went down to Town Hall to request some information about it, but before I explain to you what I found out, here is a little rundown on what the new ordinance is about and what it is replacing.

Ordinance 2011-3027 Amending Management Salaries and Non-Union Employees, which can be found on the township website under the Clerk's tab, is an attempt by the Township to be more transparent (TC Attorney Brian Nelson's words) when it comes to non-union employees salaries. The ordinance list about 50 non-union job titles broken down into 5 sections titled:

Management

Statutory Employees(N.J.S.A. 40A:9-165)

Officers

Elected Officials

and

Special Assignments (Expiring 12/31/2011)

Accompanying each job titled is a single salary figure with no further explanation, which leads one to believe that those salaries are the current employee salaries or will be once the ordinance is approved. It is very misleading.

This proposed ordinance will replace existing Ordinance 2009-2996 , which instead of providing a single salary per job title, contained salary ranges per job title. Employee salaries could fall anywhere within a range that would reflect position (title and description) value in the broad market place; the regional market place; specific industry, as well as allow comparison across industries.

As I said, I went down to Town Hall thinking that I could get some information via an OPRA request on employees that currently fill positions and their current salaries as outlined in Ordinance 2011-3027, but I was wrong. It seems that you can only OPRA actual document that contain information, you can't request that a list or document be generated to provide you with information.

Be that as it may, while I was discussing what I wanted to know, I kept being told that all the information that I wanted to know was listed in the ordinance and that NO employee would be receiving any raises in the ordinance due to a salary freeze which was in effect.

When I stated that the information I wanted wasn't there, that I questioned current salaries as opposed to salaries list in the ordinance and that current salaries for a handful of employees that I found on the APP's Data Universe where listed higher, sometime much higher, than those in the proposed new ordinance, it was suggested that I speak to Township Administrator Tony Mercantante.

Tony Mercantante explained that what I was trying to do was not possible because lists like the one I was asking for didn't exist. When I told him that I now understood that, that I questioned the salaries listed in the new ordinance and whether they were accurate, he stated hat the ordinance language will be rewritten before it is reintroduced Monday night because he had concerns that the language was misleading . Mercantante stated that the salaries listed in ordinance 2011-3027 are for starting base pay only and are not reflective of what individuals in those positions are currently earning. But the assured me that no one was getting a salary raise because there was a pay freeze in effect.

He said that many are making more money annually than what the ordinance calls for due to longevity and merit pay. When I asked him for a list of salaries of current non union employees so that I could compare anyway, he said some of those numbers may change between now and the time the numbers would be provided. I asked him how that could be when there is a "salary freeze" in effect? Mercantante became a little wishy-washysaying that the salary freeze is only for actual raises to the base pay rate; step raises, longevity, merit or promotional type raises are not affected by the freeze.

I asked how could that be when you are dealing with non-union employees? He said it is in the contracts. What contracts I said, since when did non-union workers and department heads have contracts? He said whatever contracts are in effect for union employees, the same terms of those contracts hold for non-union Township employees.

I left there shaking my head because it didn't make sense, but then again when did anything that the people who run Middletown do make sense?

So the bottom line for those asking questions or leaving comments on this blog is, proposed ordinance 2011-3027 salaries are starting base only and are not reflective of what individuals in those positions are currently earning. These salaries would be for new employees only, no current non-union employees will have money taking away from them based on the figures in this ordinance.

Also as far as I'm concerned,there is no true salary freeze happening. If a merit, longevity or other type of employment milestone is met by an employees of the township, they will be receiving a salary increase. So if you happen to one of the lucky ones who will enjoy a bump in your pay sometime this year congratulations! All others, piss off as they say.

On a side note, I asked Mercantante when the budget would be introduced. He said tentatively April 4th as part of the workshop meeting. He does not expect at this time to hold a special presentation meeting to introduce the budget, but that may or may not change just as the April 4th date might.

When I asked him about having to submit the budget to the state by March 16th, he said that date keeps changing because the state isn't ready. So as usual the budget introduction is a floating target, but when it is introduced, we will be able to see that planned salaries for all those listed in the ordinance without and Opra request YEAAHH !