Monmouth Dems Petition to STOP Brookdale Layoffs!

Help us STOP layoffs and budget cuts at Brookdale Community College

210 Layoffs

Facing steep cuts to Brookdale's 2015 budget, the Brookdale Board of Trustees recently recommended the elimination of 210 faculty and staff positions.
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$6 Million

Monmouth County government has cut 23% of its funding, or $6 million, to Brookdale Community College in just 3 years. This does not include the additional $1.5 million that is expected to be cut out of 2015's funding.
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12% Drop in 3 Years

Brookdale has seen a sharp decline in enrollment, to the tune of 12% in just 3 years. The lack of faculty and services is expected to drive this number further.

YOU CAN HELP!

Sign our petition to tell the Monmouth County Freeholder Board to restore funding to Brookdale Community College!

Letter: Brookdale Cannot Be Saved Due To Politics And Corruption, Should Be Merged With Ocean C.C.

The expressed opinions or views of this letter does not necessarily represent the opinion of the MiddletownMike blog:

Dear Editor,

Convicted Felon Peter F. Burnham, the former President of Brookdale Community College (Monmouth County) has now been released to serve out the remainder of his five-year sentence for felony official misconduct and theft by deception, for stealing college funds, under parole supervision.

Regardless of where Burnham is now, the county college has been faced with some pretty serious financial problems that likely would not be there had Burnham managed the public monies entrusted to his oversight properly, as he was well paid to do. The college is now facing a massive restructuring that would result in 210 employee positions being slashed.

Former Brookdale Board of Trustees Chairman, Howard Birdsall, who served 20 years on the Brookdale Board, is currently awaiting trial on criminal charges for violating the state’s pay-to-play laws in his role as CEO of Birdsall Engineering, a firm with major public contracts all over New Jersey.

The college’s building Larrison Hall is named after a Monmouth County Freeholder who died under indictment for taking bribes.

Brookdale suspiciously had a campus in Guayaquil, Ecuador during the 1980s and 1990s. Ecaudor is a country with a U.S. dollar banking system that has little anti-money laundering oversight and a massive amount of cocaine trafficking taking place within it's borders. Why a county-funded New Jersey Community College would seek to locate a campus there is highly suspect.

Brookdale is currently facing massive faculty and staff layoffs. The students and educators are the real victims of Burnham-Birdsall mismanagement that is typical New Jersey fraud and corruption.

Brookdale cannot be saved. Brookdale's executive staff should be fired and the institution merged into Ocean County College.

Eric Hafner
Toms River NJ,

Op-Ed: Elimination of 210 Educators and Staff At Brookdale Is Outrageous

The expressed opinions or views of this letter does not necessarily  represent the opinion of the MiddletownMike blog:

It is outrageous that Brookdale Community College is proposing to eliminate 210 educators and staff, to balance a budget that was subject to theft by College President Peter F. Burnham and mismanaged by Chairman Howard Birdsall, who is under indictment for political corruption.

When the Parole Board considers Mr. Burnham's case, they will not be allowed to release him early if they believe he is likely to re offend. I believe he is likely to re offend because he already misused an executive position of public trust to defraud the public. Even after he was under investigation, Burnham embezzled federal financial aid funds using his son's information. Burnham could still be prosecuted by federal authorities for the financial aid funds theft, and it would be in the public interest for federal prosecutors to do so.

Burnham simply should not be paroled. His crimes were not victimless. The students, faculty and staff are paying the price for his crimes.

I believe the best way to fix Brookdale would be to terminate every executive employee and make the institution a northern branch of Ocean County College. OCC President Jon Larson is a decorated military commander with strong ethics and he has proven himself as a true visionary with efficient, goal-oriented executive leadership that shows results. It would also be sensible for Monmouth County taxpayers to share a community college with Ocean County.

The people of Ocean County would be honored to welcome our friends and family in Monmouth to join our county's relentless pursuit of quality higher education, that is both affordable and accessible to all by expanding Ocean County College northbound.

Shared services agreements have a track record of saving money and maximizing the quality of government services offered. It would be a disservice to the people of Monmouth County to continue attempting to salvage what is clearly a broken institution, especially given it's dark criminal past.

I truly hope the Monmouth County and Ocean County Freeholders will work together to make a shared community college system a reality, to help assist our residents seeking to expand their academic horizons and employment opportunities, especially given the challenges of living in a post-Sandy environment with an unemployment rate above the national average.

ERIC HAFNER
TOMS RIVER

******
ERIC HAFNER IS A TOMS RIVER RESIDENT AND LONG-TIME NEW JERSEY POLITICAL OPERATIVE. MR. HAFNER PREVIOUSLY SERVED AS MEDICAL CANNABIS POLICY ADVISOR TO MANALAPAN TOWNSHIP.

Ouch!

(Via The Other 98%)

President Obama's Weekly Address 6/9/12: Congress Must Act to Keep our Teachers on the Job

WASHINGTON, DC— In this week’s address, President Obama urged Congress to take action now to put our teachers back to work in classrooms, because the best predictor of individual and American success in this economy is a good education. In 2009 and 2010, we helped keep hundreds of thousands of teachers on the job, but we must do more, which is why the President sent Congress his jobs bill in September that helps states prevent more layoffs and rehire more teachers. It’s time for our elected leaders to come together and take action on the President’s bill to help our students and economy, and put our teachers back to work.

Available Part Time Position in the Township Clerk’s Office- Middletown Township; Say What??

After threatening massive police layoffs if the members of the Middletown Police Department did not agree to substance health benefit contributions during contract negotiations, while also placing blame for those potential layoffs on the Middletown Library in order to vilify and extort nearly $500k worth of funds from it's treasury to balance the Township budget this year, then laying off nearly the entire staff of the Middletown Parks and Recreation Department, leaving just it's Director Gregg Silva siting behind his desk, canceling the Fall Brush Pick-up (only to pick up the brush in record time anyway due to the after effects of Hurricane Irene), sighting the need to sell the Middletown Swimm Club and canceling Middletown Day; how does the Township has the nerve to announce that it is looking to hire a part-time Clerk????

With everything that has transpired this year in Middletown and the mayor telling everyone that Middletown is broke and needs to cut back on expenses how can the Middletown justify spending money by creating a part-time position to help the full-time Township Clerk Heidi Brunt? What's the matter can't she handle the job herself, why does she get extra help at the expense of so many others?

It doesn't make sense. But then again when does anything in Middletown make sense? Below is the posting for the position that was posted on the Middletown Township website Tuesday.

Clerk/Typist- Responsibilities include office filing, scanning records, records destruction, processing license applications and permits. This is a fast paced office with various different procedures and services. The Township Clerks Office administers the Elections for the Township and required presence to work for each election mandatory. Knowledge of MS Word, Excel, and Outlook a must; ability to create mail merges and spreadsheets with formulas is also required. Knowledge of AR/AP would be helpful as well as knowledge of the Imaging/scanning of records. Lifting filing boxes and climbing stairs is also part of the job duties. Resume may be e-mailed to hbrunt@middletownnj.org or mailed to Township of Middletown, One Kings Highway, Middletown, NJ 07748 by October 12, 2011.

This sounds like a great opportunity for the right person, you better apply now!

After Receiving $41.1M Tax Subsidy For Economic Development And Job Creation Campbell's Soup Co. Announces Layoffs

Nothing like wasting tax payer money on corporate welfare when the money could have been used for other more important things like education, health care, property tax relief, infrastructure....

Once again Governor you definitely have your priorities straight!.

Campbell's Soup Co. Announces Layoffs: MyFoxPHILLY.com

CAMDEN, N.J. - Campbell's Soup Co. plans to lay off about 770 people worldwide, Including about 130 people at its Camden headquarters, in an effort to reduce overhead and improve efficiency.

The reductions will be phased in over the next two years and will result in a savings of about $75 million dollars.

The cuts include about 10 percent of the company's workforce in Camden, its longtime headquarters.

Fox 29's Steve Keeley has more in this Wednesday morning live report from "Good Day."

Public Hearing To Discuss Budget At Tonight's Middletown Workshop Meeting

One of the items on the agenda at tonight's Middletown Township workshop meeting that will be held at Town Hall@ 8PM, will the public hearing on the 2011 proposed Township Budget that was introduced last month.

I am hoping to be at tonight's meeting but I don't know if can will make it. I am curious to know exaclty how much the SOA (Superiors Officers' Association) and PBA union contract settlements have saved Middletown. I would like to know the cost to the Township per individual plan and per family plan of its cadillac employee health plan and then the same for the Township's HMO employees health care plan, so that it can be figured out approximately how much the Township will be saving based on these settled contracts. It has been reported that if union members wish to remain in the Township's health plan, members would have to contribute 25% of the cost, whereas if union members opt out of the cadillac plan into the HMO, members would contribute 1.5% of their salaries for health coverage. So it should be easy enough to figure out savings if the numbers are supplied.

Also based on details about the contracts and information released about the layoffs that effect the Department of Parks and Recreation, I believe several people have decided retired instead of being laid off. I am wondering how these retirements have affected the budget? Seeing how the Township is using $3.5M in surplus funds to pay off tax appeals this year instead of bonding for the funds, this budget is only holding $500K in reserve. These retirements are bound to eat into the remaining surplus which would leave the township dangerously close to running out of money by years end.

APP: Middletown deal with police saves jobs; 9 other workers let go

Below is what the Asbury Park Press is reporting about the deal that was struck between Middletown and it's Police Unions, it's pretty much what I had posted last night with a few more detail concerning the PBA agreement and additional information about those who were laid off in Parks & Recreation.

Four police officers won't have to turn in their badges as a result of a last-minute deal struck Friday between the township and the Superior Officers Association.

However, the township's savings from a new four-year contract for the 21 members of the association does not help the nine Parks and Recreation Department employees who were laid off Friday, said Anthony Mercantante, township administrator.

Township officials gave the local Policemen's Benevolent Association until Monday to vote on a separate contract, which could save the jobs of six police officers, Mercantante said.

"This agreement saves jobs," said Mayor Anthony Fiore, referring to the superior officers' pact. "This should serve as a model for the Legislature or for other towns that can't get things done."

As part of the deal, Superior Officers Association members will get a 1.5 percent raise in the fourth quarter of 2011 and 2 percent raises in each of the contract's subsequent years, Mercantante said.

Middletown will realize savings by association members either paying a larger percentage of the costs of an existing health plan or choosing to enroll in a new, more restrictive plan that will be cheaper for the township, Mercantante said. Association members who opt for the township's top health plan will have to pay 25 percent of its cost, as opposed to 1.5 percent of their salaries, Mercantante said. Members can also choose a plan with more restrictions and continue to pay 1.5 percent of their salaries, he said.

The township's layoff plan had included the demotions of one lieutenant and three sergeants to the patrol division, which would have led to the layoffs of four other officers, said Fred Deickmann, Superior Officers Association president. The agreement means the superior officers will not be demoted, he said.

"This is a fair deal for these trying economic times," Deickmann said. "We're glad the collective bargaining system worked."

Of the 16 non-police employees facing termination, nine were laid off, three retired and four were shifted to different positions, Mercantante said....

read more >>> Here

Middletown Settles With Police SOA Union; PBA Members Vote Tomorrow To Save 6 From Layoff

I don't have all the facts but according to a friend that attended this afternoon's special Middletown Township Committee meeting a contract settlement was reached with the Middletown Police Senior Officers Association (SOA) and a settlement with the Middletown PBA is pending union vote of approval scheduled for tomorrow morning.

Details of the settlement between Middletown and the SOA are as follows according to what I have been told:

• 4 year contract with salary increase of with 7.5% during length of contract broken down as follows - 1.5% 2% 2% 2%.
• No demotions or reduced pay for current Senior Officers.
• No layoffs of Senior Officers (thanks to 2 retirements instead)
• Members must contribute 25% of the cost of health plan if they stay with Township's current health care plan, otherwise they must switch to a HMO based plan that members must contribute a percentage of salary to participate in (details of this however are a little sketchy and more clarification is needed.

As for the terms of the contract settlement between the Township and the members of the Middletown PBA, terms were not announced officially because the PBA union will be holding a meeting with it's members Saturday morning (tomorrow) for ratification (terms are believed to be similar). Once the contract is ratified details will be released at Monday night's (May 2nd) Township Workshop meeting.

It was stated however, that if this contract between the PBA and the Township is ratified only 4 of the 10 planned police layoffs will take place , saving 6 positions.

More details as they become available over the next few day...

APP: Middletown's layoff plan uncertain until today's deadline

Kevin Penton of the Asbury Park Press has been all over the Middletown layoff story since word of yesterday and today's special Middletown Township Committee meetings were announced. Yesterday there were three articles posted online updating the situation.

According to Penton, no deal had been struck between Middletown and it's Police unions, which was why yestderday's special meeting was cancelled, however further negotiations seem to be ongoing and the Township is hopeful that it will be able to proceede with today's special Committee meeting scheduled for 5 pm.

The spectre of layoffs will hang over the township until today's deadline, as
municipal and police union officials failed to strike a deal on Thursday.

With Middletown's layoff plan scheduled to take effect on Saturday,
officials from the township, the Policemen's Benevolent Association and the
Superior Officers Association have been in talks this week on how to reduce
expenditures, Mayor Anthony Fiore said.

To meet the legal notification requirements in case a deal is struck, the Middletown Township Committee scheduled 5 p.m. meetings for Thursday and today.

As of 4 p.m. Thursday, today's meeting is on, said Cindy Herrschaft, Middletown's public information officer.

Middletown's original layoff plan called for the elimination of 26 positions, including 10 police officers and 13 employees in the township's Parks and Recreation Department.

But with some employees agreeing to retire, the number of positions to be eliminated through layoffs has decreased, Fiore said....

Read more >>> Here

In The Face Of Tax Increases And Layoffs Middletown's Mayor Fiore Justifies $20K In Bonuses to Tax Assessors

It never seizes to amaze me what the news media considers news when it involves Middletown. Case in point; Monday night was Middletown's monthly Township Committee meeting and the only news coming from the Asbury Park Press, Redbankgreen.com and Middletown Patch about the meeting was that Middletown will be sticking to it's intention of not exceeding Governor Christie mandated 2% cap on budgets, which is nothing new and has already been reported on numerous times, and that the budget will be introduced on April 4th, which I mentioned over the weekend.

What should have been reported as news by these three is the fact that in the face of a tax increase, employee layoffs and other potential service cuts, Tax Assessor Charles Heck and his assistant will be receiving bonuses worth $20,000 ($15K for Heck, $5K for his assistant).

Mayor Fiore justifies these bonuses because Charles Heck supposedly saved the Township $50,000 while negotiating the price of the recent Township wide reassessment with Reality Appraisal (a former employer of Heck's) and worked many long hours helping prepare paper work for Reality Appraisal leading up to the reassessment.

When you factor in that Heck is will be receiving a statutory 2.5% raise to his $108,500 salary along with the $15,000 in bonus money, he will be receiving quite a windfall from the Township this year when other will be losing their jobs.

In the audio clip below you can hear Fiore at his best "fibbing" about why the Township Committee is giving Heck his bonus and about how last year, the entire Township Committee was in agreement about providing Heck and his assistant this windfall.

The thing is though, that when I spoke to former Township Committee Sean Byrnes about this he said that he had no recollection of a discussion taking place about Heck saving the Township $50,000. He stated that they wanted to pay him more because of all the tax appeals he had been working on, and that they subsequently approved the $400,000 price tag for reassessment by Reality Appraisal and that they (the Committee) must have worked this deal out later without him. He stated, as I had posted earlier, that last year when he was a Committeeman the Committee attempted to pass a similar resolution to reward Heck but t was dropped when he opposed it.

Fiore really needs to think about this before he opens his mouth again on this subject, I really can't understand how he or anyone else can justify this when other peoples livelihoods are at stake. How can he look those, about to lose their jobs in the eye and tell them that someone will be receiving a bonus at their expense? If I were in contract negotiating with the Township right now, I wouldn't cave in and give anything back when something as blatant as this is being waved in my face. I'd play hardball until the end.

It doesn't make sense to spend $20,000 to save $30,000 when you expect a person to do a job that he is well compensated for already. Middletown tax payers should be benefiting by having the complete $50,000 put towards tax relief, after all it is their money more so than Heck's.

On a side note, I hope those on the Library Board are paying attention to this. This is a perfect example of what others tried to warn them about before they voted to hand over $500,000 of reserved funds to the Township. The Township Committee can not be trusted to spend OUR money wisely or prudently. It's OK to give a$15,000 bonus to an already highly compensated tax assessor but it is unconscionable give 1% raises to the lowest paid employees of the library, a raise that would average out to about $1 per week in their paychecks?

Shame on you Kevin Settembrino and the rest of you who sit on the Township Committee for allowing this to move forward.

Middletown Mayor Holds A Gun To The Head Of Library System In The Attempt To Extort $1.2M; Massive Police Layoffs Threatened

There is no other word for it other than EXTORTION.

In a press release posted on another blog, Middletown Mayor Tony Fiore has stated that if the Middletown Library doesn't turn over it's $1.2M in surplus funds within the next few weeks, the Township will have no recourse other than to layoff 26 individuals from the Township's payroll. Most notable of those 26 individuals being threatened with job loses are 10 police officer(which would put the public safety at risk) and the elimination 13 people (leaving just 1 person in place) from the Department of Parks and Recreation (the equivalent of abolishing the department altogether).

This demand is essentially placing a gun to the heads of those that run the Library, forcing them to turn over funds to the Township or be perceived as being the ones responsible for the laying off of members of the Middletown Police Department.

So now that Middletown's budget "D"day has finally arrived, after numerous warnings from both former Township Committeemen Patrick Short and Sean Byrnes about planning for the inevitable rainy day that was coming, Fiore and friends are turning to the only untapped revenue source that they sense is vulnerable to their advances.

Under today's political environment it's easy to pick on unions, public servants and institutions that seemingly are doing better than others.

The bottom line with the Library is that it's trustees have managed it better and have done a superior job at planning for the future with it's budget, than those that have controlled the Township Committee have done with their own. And for that, the library is now threatened with the replacement of it's trustees, the potential of being turned over to the County and being made the scapegoat if the public safety is placed in jeopardy by the elimination members of the local police force.

Before attempting to extort funds from Library by threatening layoffs that would effect public safety, how about looking closer to home for some more budget cuts.

Over the past two years, while the town has been raising taxes and eliminating jobs the Township hired a Superintendent of Crossing Guards (taking responsibility away from the police), an Assistant Township Planner and an Assistant Township Administrator along with another Township Attorney. How about cutting some of that fat?

And what about the Arts Center and the Swim Club, each are draining funds from the Township at unsustainable rates. What is going to be done about them? How about abolishing all the boards and committees that the Township funds, do they come under the heading of essential services? I think not.

To be honest with you, I think this is just an elaborate, high stakes bluff on the the part of Fiore and his boys. There is no way they would risk the public's ire and do anything that would threaten the operation of the Middletown Library. It is used by to many people that considered it to be a treasure and the most superior library in the State.

To put it in another way, they don't have the balls to hand it over to the county!

The Library and those that operate it should stand firm against this criminal act and not succumb to the pressure from those that can't control their own mismanagement.

Enough is enough with placing blame on others, first it was the teachers and their union, than it was public workers and their unions and now it's the evil library and their millions that are coming between you and your tax dollars, not the gross mismanagement of Township funds by a bunch of political budgetary know-nothings that think that budgets are put together by osmosis!

Scharfenberger's Green Initiative: Buy 5 New Trucks With SnowPlows While Laying Off 40 Employees

Gerry Scharfenberger likes to think of himself as the father of the Middletown Green Initiative, after all it was his idea even though there isn't much to show for it except for the promise to turn off some lights and eventually install a few solar panels on the top of the Arts Center.

That was until now.

The Township has just taken possession of 5 brand new,beautiful Chevy Sliverado pick up trucks equipped with snowplows at a cost of $33K each.

Can someone tell me what he and the Township Administrator must be thinking when they purchase over $160K worth of trucks when the Township started the year with a $5M budget deficit? Do they think that the road to fiscal responsibliity must be driven down in trucks that cost the taxpayer $33K each?


How is a purchase like this justified when the Township has plans to layoff about 40 employees? Who is going to be driving these trucks? Maybe the Township will have the laid off employees use them to drive to the unemployment office. I am sure that the Police Department is glad that they agreed to a salary freeze for this year. We need to save every penny possible so that purchases like this can be afforded. At $33K each this totals well over $160K, which is the equivalent of salaries for 4-5 average employees on the Township payroll.

The Mayors' Green Initiative should be about saving the green not spending it, especially since the Township does not have it to spend.

Cha-Ching!


Instead of parking these new vehicles in the Public Works Yard they are located in the school parking lot at Croydon Hall. They have not been registered yet, either.

Middletown Vote “Yes” On The School Budget

Today’s the day; finally it’s time to vote on the school budget and chose those that we feel will represent the best interests of our children and community here in Middletown. I intend to vote in favor of the budget and for those that have shown that they really care about the future in which our kids are heading and I encourage all that read this blog to do likewise.

We will all vote to either approve or disapprove the school budget for our own reasons. I chose to vote “Yes” on the school budget because as a member of a community that values our children’s future it would be irresponsible for me to do otherwise.

Voting “No” today on the current Board of Education budget proposal will only lead to further cuts to the budget that has already been trimmed by $9.6 million. This budget has been cut to the bare bones, there is nothing left to cut without directly affecting the quality of our kids education.

Those that take Gov. Christie’s advice and vote against any school budget that does not include a teacher’s wage freeze and higher contributions to health care are naive to think that it would make a difference in Middletown.

Governor Christie took $11million dollars worth of state aid away from Middletown, a temporary wage freeze and a 1.5% contribution toward benefits by the teachers in no way would make up for that loss.

Christie is making teachers a scape-goat in his fight against unions and is trying to have local municipalities do for him what he wasn’t able to do on the state level, which is break already negotiated contracts with the unions to circumvent their collective bargaining agreements.

It’s a fight that Middletown students cannot afford to participate in; 124 individuals will be losing their jobs come June, 72 of which are teachers, larger class sizes and the loss of individual attention to students needs are looming.

The Asbury Park Press has an editorial today that asks to “Think before you cast your ballot today” it states:

”…voters should support budgets where districts have worked hard to economize and vote against those where not enough has been done to control costs.” And “…Some districts have worked hard to save taxpayer money all along and should not be punished for it now…” “…If your district made every effort to excise all the fat from the budget, this year and in the past, support it…”

This is the exact case in Middletown; the Board of Education has worked extremely hard over the years to control costs but regardless of those efforts Middletown students are being penalized for other districts excesses.

The editorial concludes with:

“…But bear in mind that a defeated budget will likely amount to little more than a protest vote. The better option may be to take it out on incumbent school board members, replacing them with more fiscally prudent candidates, and putting pressure on state lawmakers to approve reforms that will help contain the salaries and benefits of teachers and all public employees. “

I agree with the first sentence of the above quote, if the Middletown school budget is defeated it will amount to little more than a protest vote due to the fact that the Township Committee will then only make a token effort at spending cuts. But be aware, any more spending cuts to the budget could lead to more teachers being laid off and extracurricular activities being eliminated.

The second part of the quote in general I agree with, however in Middletown that is not the case.

The incumbents on the board of education over the years have done a fine job overseeing the education of our students and they are one of the reasons why Middletown had been voted one of the best places to live in the United States by Forbes Magazine a few years ago.

While I am not officially endorsing candidates for the Board of Education, I believe that you couldn’t vote wrong if you choose all three current members Pat Walsh, Dawn Diorio and Leonora Caminiti for new terms. They have worked extremely hard over the years to ensure our kids receive a quality education while keeping the tax rate one of the lowest in all of Monmouth County. They have continually seen to it that tax rate increases have remained below state mandated caps and have even done a better job at keeping rate increases lower than the Township Committee has done over the past 5 years.

If you decide to use your vote as a protest in order to vote against the budget or for unproven candidates that may have political agendas or ties to Middletown Republican Party and have never even attended a Board of Education meeting than you get what you deserve; a school board that will be crippled by undo political influences and essential services, like after school activities and sports being eliminated.

I don’t want that happening in Middletown, neither should you.

I will make up my own mind about the budget.

I was forwarded the following letter last night by someone who wished not to be identified. The person took acception to Governor Christie's recent statement that urged voters to turn down their local school budget if teachers in their towns refused to take a wage freeze .

I agree with the letter writer and the comments that this person added at the bottom of it from a few who responded to the story that was posted on NJ.com about the governor's comments.

I think the governor's comments were both reckless and callous. If voters turn down school budgets across the state next week it will result in more teachers being let go and sports programs and after school activities being cut or eliminated, which would be a real shame due to the fact that many students need of those types of programs for possible scholarships opportunities and to bulk up their college transcripts in order to get into their preferred college of choice.

Here's the letter:

Imagine telling your grown kids, heck, your parents how to vote. I don’t know about you but it would go over like a lead balloon in many New Jersey households. I believe one of the basic tenets of the constitution is the right to make a free and unfettered choice on how to vote on Election Day. Chris Christie must have missed that day in civics class.

I would never have believed this headline if I had not read it for myself.

“Gov. Chris Christie urges voters to reject school districts' budgets without wage freezes for teachers” NJ.com

First of all, you have to wonder what the real reason is behind this declaration. Is it that Christie is nervous about the tax increases that have accompanied those proposed budgets? The ones that were caused by “The self-proclaimed “conservative” Republican is cutting suburban property tax relief by amounts unimaginable even under the liberal Democrat he defeated” to quote Paul Mulshine.

Those tax increases scare him and that does not even take into account what will happen the following school year when districts have no tax relief to offer their residents. He may be at war with the NJEA but his GOP legislators are the ones who have to hang their hats and their necks on the line for this budget, especially next year when they run for election. From what I hear the legislative kitchen is getting pretty hot these days.

Then you have to wonder why the Governor doesn’t lead by example. Let him take a pay cut and contribute 1.5% of his salary to his health insurance. Well he hasn’t even offered. Neither have all those legislators in Trenton who should know better.

They can’t even get the stories straight in Trenton, because today at a Senate budget hearing , Department of Education Commissioner Bret Schundler said he would not recommend voters reject those budgets when they go to the polls on April 20. Schools are dealing with a nearly $820 million cut in funding while facing increasing salary and benefits costs. He tried to reinterpret what the Governor said to make it sound more palatable. I’m sorry, I like many other voters choked on the Governor’s very clear words.

If you check out the latest Monmouth University/Gannett poll it makes it very clear.

The governor is more likely to be blamed by registered voters for impending teacher layoffs statewide than either the teachers unions or local school boards, according to the results of a Monmouth University/Gannett New Jersey poll.

Fully 44 percent cite Christie as the party responsible for school districts reducing work forces in order to balance budgets for the next school year, while 28 percent blame the unions and 17 percent the school boards, according to poll results.

"It's Goliath versus Goliath," said Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute in West Long Branch. "But the governor's bluster in taking on the teachers union has backfired."

It goes on to say,

When asked specifically about the governor’s proposed cuts in state aid to towns and school districts, more than half (52%) feel those cuts are unfair in comparison to cuts made in other areas of the budget. Only 28% say these cuts in local aid are fair.

“The local aid reduction, particularly to schools, was always going to be the flashpoint for criticism of the plan, and the governor’s clash with the NJEA only increased the heat. If part of his strategy was to win over public opinion, it hasn’t been an overwhelming success,” said Murray.

I don’t even need a poll to tell me that. I found some particularly enlightening words on Bluejersey.com.

I think it's fair to say the students are being held hostage in the disputes between the Governor, the school boards, and the unions. In that complex multi-sided hostage standoff, Christie just asked the bystanders to shoot the hostages. We already have voters who routinely reject school budgets because they resent paying taxes for the public school system that has been benefiting our society for generations. To recklessly ask them to reject budgets wholesale is in my opinion a shocking tactic, especially when rejecting a budget will not release school districts from the contract their leadership willingly signed. Rejecting the budget won't hurt most teachers directly.

I say let people judge each budget on its own merits. Let’s not let anyone dictate to us how we should vote. In Middletown, the budget has been cut by a staggering amount ($9,608,000) and is already putting 124 district personnel on the street in July. Those people and many others will be joining the ranks of the unemployed who will require unemployment benefits from our deleted funds. They may find more residents going into foreclosure and selling homes, dampening a poor housing market.

The one thing I can promise is that if budget are voted down your kids will be the ones that are hurt.

Just listen to some fellow residents posting on NJ.com

Posted by lakeline
April 12, 2010, 3:14PM
I'm not a teacher, but I have two kids in school and I wish the Governor would stop hurting their education. Since he has failed to sway the Teacher's Union himself, he's pushing us to do it for him. Every failed budget reduces a kids education in multiple ways. Sure, negotiate with your teachers for reasonable compromises, but Vote Yes for your budget. We don't all have the Governor's money to send our kids to Private School

Posted by netspider
April 12, 2010, 2:44PM
Gov. Christie you have crossed the line with this statement. Shame on You. How can you ethically make a comment on how anyone should vote.

Posted by kadtom
April 12, 2010, 2:31PM

Are you kidding Me? The governor is now trying to dictate what the public people should do?? I can't believe I voted for a dictator who's children don't even attend public schools? I moved to Chatham for the good schools. Good schools and location are why my property values are highly appraised. If I want to vote yes I will! Don't dictate to the people who elected you governor! You lost my vote, that’s for sure.

Site for Monmouth Poll: http://www.monmouth.edu/polling/admin/polls/MUP33_1.pdf

Letter: Unheeded Suggestions And Mismanagement Lead To Inefficiencies And Layoffs

Middletown is once again showing its true colors of mismanagement with the layoffs of approximately 40 employees. Layoffs might be required, but the employee making the least amount should not be the first to go.

Recently, Middletown hired a supervisor to oversee crossing guards. Why is this position required when the town has had crossing guards for years? This is just one example of the bloated government that taxpayers are footing the bill for.

There are many other cost saving measures that could take place, which might result in layoffs, but will make the town more efficient. Committeeman Sean Byrnes has presented quite a few suggestions at numerous meetings that consistently go unheeded by the rest of the Committee. Some of these are requiring engineering firms to bid on each capital project the town enters into, consolidate the maintenance operations between DPW and Parks & Recreation, if not with BOE also and consolidating the Sewer Authority into Public Works Dept., thus eliminating duplication of legal and engineering services.

Middletown has a fantastic library system that provides many services that could be provided by the Arts Center. These services are so intertwined in purpose that Byrnes has suggested that the Library and Arts Center be combined. This would offset the high costs of keeping the Arts Center open. Mr. Byrnes even suggested that revenue could be generated by conducting a daycare facility there for commuters.

There are many suggestions that are going unheeded and randomly reducing employees from all departments is certainly not an efficient means of balancing a budget.


Marilyn Tuohy
Pt. Monmouth

$140 million Middletown school budget calls for tax hike, layoffs

Here is the latest news from last night's Middletown Board of Education budget meeting, I couldn't make it there so I have been waiting for word about what transpired:

BY JENNIFER BRADSHAW - The Asbury Park Press

MIDDLETOWN — The Board of Education unanimously approved a proposed $140.3 million budget tonight that calls for a 3.9 percent tax increase and 124 layoffs to close a gap in the spending plan.

Superintendent Karen Bilbao said in order to make more than $9 million in cuts, all nontenured teachers in the district would have to receive notices of nonrenewal.

Supplemented by a $123.8 million tax levy, the budget had to be substantially trimmed after state aid was cut by $7.2 million for the 2010-11 school year. In addition, $2.8 million in state aid was cut from this year's budget.

After the state announced its aid numbers for 2010-11, layoffs grew to 72 teachers, 20 paraprofessionals, 16 secretaries, eight facilities staff members and seven administrators for $4.1 million in savings.

At the crowded meeting, Bilbao asked the public not to think of the cuts as "people" but rather as "positions," meaning that tenured teachers in those cut positions could be reassigned.

Bilbao announced at the meeting that she, in addition to several others in the central office, would be freezing their salaries for a year, in light of the cuts.

According to the district, the 3.9 percent total tax increase will add $183 a year in taxes to an average assessed home of $435,000.

If state aid cuts had not been so deep, the tax increase would have been 2.7 percent, the district said.

Tonight's meeting was the first introduction of the district budget, originally scheduled to be unveiled at the March 18 workshop meeting. It was postponed after state aid numbers came out a day earlier.

Bilbao also said the district teachers union was asked for a salary freeze regarding the following school year, as well as a freeze on stipends for those teachers involved in extracurricular activities, but both requests were denied.

Linda McLaughlin, president of the teachers union, read from a prepared statement in defense of the union's stance, stating that the existing contract between the union and the district was hard to come by, after hostile negotiations in previous years.

The teachers of the district are also taxpayers and not exempt from economic troubles, she said. A freeze would "(Make) our families even more vulnerable in a shaky economy," she said.

Earlier in the month, it was announced that the district was already working with a $4.3 million budget hole, caused by increased district costs, and a loss of $2.8 million in surplus funds, through an executive order mandating all districts to use the money in their surplus accounts to cover expenses for the remainder of the 2009-10 school year.

Business administrator Bill Doering then said that the district's surplus funds are often used as budgeted tax relief for the coming school year, with an absence of those funds causing a hole in the subsequent year's budget.

To see the Final Budget Presentation and the Final 2010-2011 Proposed Budget from the Middletown Board of Education, you can go to the BOE's website by clicking >>> Here to read them.

This is a bad job by the teachers union when so many in Middeltown and around the state are hurting, they should be ashamed of themselves! What about the families of the 124 people that will now lose their livelihoods in this vulnerable economy?

It's just another case of I have mine to hell with you if you don't have yours.

They should have accepted the wage freeze.

MTEA Refuses Wage Freeze And Plans to Stand Up To "Schoolyard Bully" Christie, But At What Cost?

I received the following email while at work last night so I was unable to post it here until this morning. The email is from MTEA President Linda Guyer and was sent to all members of the Middletown teacher’s union Friday afternoon. After reading it my jaw was left hanging open.

With the Middletown Board of Education facing an $11million budget deficit and in the face of potential layoffs of many of its members that would affect class size and loss of programs throughout the district, the MTEA is planning on taking the advice of its parent organization, the NJEA and stand up to the “bullying” tactics of Governor Christie. They are planning to oppose any and all attempts at reopening their existing contract that would lead to wage freezes or any other type of givebacks by their members.

Instead they will attempt to get the message out to parents of district school children about how looming layoffs will affect their kids and to put a spotlight onto “lies” that the governor is telling everyone about their union, essentially using the children that they teach as a wedge between parents and Trenton.

In the past, I always thought of myself as a good union man, but there are times that battles should be fought and times when union members should use their heads and common sense should rein. With an $11million budget deficit staring them in the face, the MTEA should be worried more about protecting the jobs of its members and not about fighting over a wage freeze.
The economy is bad and the state unemployment rate is over 10%, there is little sympathy to go around for public union members who, over the past few decades have gotten fat off the land while private sector employees have had to deal with corporate downsizing, stagnant wages and rising health care co-pays, so if the MTEA expects township residents to be behind them, I think they are in for a rude awakening.

Since my kids have been categorized as “other learning disabled” and have had IEP’s, I have tried not to speak out against the school system or their teachers even though we have had to fight the system. As a result, my kids have been very fortunate to have some of the most caring professionals teach and look out for them, so I can empathize with the situation that the MTEA finds itself under, but it’s time to bite the bullet and do what’s right.

Protect your union members by taking a wage freeze and protect the taxpayers of the district and their children by helping to keep the looming budget cuts and tax increases to a minimum.

If program that benefit my kids and kids like them are cut or eliminated and their education and futures are put at risk then I would hold the MTEA and its members accountable for their failures just as I plan on holding Governor Christie accountable 4 years from now for putting all of us in this situation in the first place.

*From:* Guyer, Linda A
*Sent**:* Friday, March 19, 2010 4:15 PM
*Subject:* URGENT!! General Membership Meeting
*Importance:* High

To All MTEA members,

As you all are acutely aware, we a facing the fight of our professional lives right now. The devastating cuts that the governor has proposed will have chilling effects across our state and impact /our/ school district to the tune of over 11 million dollars! This will mean layoffs, larger class sizes and a possible loss of programs. The Board of Education and the Superintendent are in the process right now of developing a budget that will be presented to the County Superintendent on Monday.

We need to stand up to the bullying tactics that our governor is using to incite the public through the media. Governor Christie has said that he would be /happy/ to sign bills that would violate collective bargaining. NJEA has said that we need to PROTECT our collective bargaining agreement! We must think of it as our bible in the workplace! Our collective bargaining agreement gives meaning and integrity to our workplace. Our contract is never reopened in boon economies to provide
the benefit of an increase, and we should not be expected to reopen it now, when we bargained fairly for our settlement. On Thursday March 11^th at Representative Council, a motion was made, seconded, and unanimously passed */_not_/* to agree to or approve a salary freeze. The NJEA’s stand is also very clear on this critical issue, “We will not open our contracts or freeze our salaries”. Our principles are not for sale.

I welcome any and all suggestions that our members have in order to face this crisis and get the truth out to our community about the lies that the governor is telling. We need as many members as possible to attend the upcoming budget meeting on March 24^th to get the word out to the community about how the looming layoffs will affect their children. We as a union must stay together and take action where we can.

This is what NJEA recommends that we can and should do in the next 72 hours:

* Call your Assemblymen
* Visit their offices
* Write letters if you haven’t done so yet
* Get your family members and friends to write letters
* Visit the NJEA website for talking points
http://www.njea.org/page.aspx
* On the NJEA website is a separate area called Keep the Promise
where you will find the analysis of the bills, Q & A, and the
truth about pension funding
* Use the Legislative section on the NJEA website to Cyber Lobby and
also watch the video about our pensions and pass it on to friends
and family

We know that there are many questions and concerns that need to be addressed and are going to be holding a General Membership meeting on Tuesday, March 23^rd at Jacques at 4:00, to discuss them. Our NJEA Uniserv Representative, Marc Abramson will be in attendance as well. Please make every effort to attend this very important meeting in order to be informed and united as we navigate these unprecedented changes.

We need to fight the schoolyard bully and not back down!

Sincerely,

Linda Guyer, President

Amy Johnson, 1^st Vice President

Byrnes: 2010 Will Bring Layoffs To Middletown

BY TOM SHORTELL - The Independent

Growing financial woes and increasing debt will force the township to institute layoffs next year, Committeeman Sean Byrnes said at the Middletown Township Committee workshop Dec. 7.

Byrnes predicted the township would cut people from the municipal payroll because of a myriad of financial problems. In 2010, the township faces shrinking revenue and mounting debt, he said. Additional restraints could emerge if New Jersey's financial problems bring less state aid or if unions win their lawsuit to end government furloughs, he said.

"There's going to be layoffs," Byrnes said.

The township will also face contract negotiations with four labor unions next year, including the Policemen's Benevolent Association and the Superior Officers Association, said Anthony Mercantante, township administrator.

"[Next] year is going to be ugly — UG L-Y, ugly," Byrnes said.

The township has begun making a layoff plan should the Township Committee ultimately decide it's the best way to manage the budget, Mercantante said. However, he said the move is a precaution commonly taken by municipalities before budget discussions begin.

"You just need to be prepared, not knowing how much the Township Committee is going to raise taxes, if at all," he said.

The state's Civil Service Commission would have to approve any layoffs, Mercantante said. The process typically takes months, he added.

"The existence of a plan does not necessarily mean layoffs are going to happen," he said.

The committee's two Democrats, Byrnes and Committeeman Patrick Short, raised the issue of layoffs in a debate over how to pay $1.3 million in health insurance bills and workers' compensation. The township's insurance manager warned the committee during the summer that insurance costs were running high for the year, they said.

The workshop agenda contained a resolution to pay those bills with money from the not-yet-created 2010 budget through an emergency appropriation.

The Democrats, however, refused to vote for the resolution. The $1.3 million, when tallied with existing debt, would put the township in a $4 million deficit to begin 2010, Byrnes said.

"It's a huge number, and it's frightening. I think we can do it [balance the 2010 budget], but I think there's a lot of radical steps that need to be done," Byrnes said....

Read More >>> Here