Where's The 2009 Municipal Budget?
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By Chesterfield NewJersey.com in Misc. Published: Tuesday, 13 October 09 - 03:10 PM (GMT -05:00) Last Updated: Saturday, 12 June 10 - 06:12 AM (GMT -05:00) |
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The Township Committee approved the 2009 Municipal Budget six months ago (see May, 13, 2009 Meeting Minutes), yet they still haven't posted it online. They posted last year's budget in its entirety--not just a one-page cheat-sheet--so why not this year's? What are they hiding now? While other municipalities are becoming more open and transparent (e.g., Lumberton, Westampton), these guys are actually going in the opposite direction.
PS: Now this is openness and transparency, Hightstown Borough, which posts its adopted budgets, proposed budgets, audits, financial statements, debt statements, meeting minutes from the last five years!, agendas with e-packets (whatever those are), zoning and tax maps. Hightstown's website isn't much to look at, but hey, it's the content that counts, not the cosmetics (see, e.g., Chesterfield's new website design).
News
"Lumberton to promptly release minutes," Burlington County Times, Dec. 3, 2009. Lumberton to make closed-session minutes available to the public, providing a "more transparent government" (as opposed to Chesterfield's brick-wall policy on transparency).
"Public Notice of Contract Award," Chesdurrfield Township Committee, Nov. 17, 2009. TC awards contract to Environmental Resolutions, Inc., ranked 14th among pay-to-play firms in New Jersey, after soliciting bids for sewer system operation. Notably, Committeeman Durr wanted this contract to go to ERI from the start. See 8/27/09 Meeting Minutes.
"Home Builders (You Heard That Right) Get a Gift," New York Times, Nov. 14, 2009. Hovnanian Enterprises to get tax refund, as much as $275 million. Meanwhile, feckless township officials can't even get the developers to replace the dead trees they planted (see August 27, 2009 Township Committee Meeting Minutes). Hey Planning Board--keep hooking yourselves up while letting Khov off the hook.
"Public Notice of RFPs," Chesterfield Board of Education, Nov. 13, 2009. School Board is searching for a negotiation consultant to help them handle next year's teachers' contract. Remember how well they handled it the last time? Negotiating in secret, then declining to disclose the terms of the contract to the public who paid for it. Serving on a school board is thankless work...deservedly so when it's done like this.
"Getting Listed," Burlington County Times, Nov. 13, 2009. New Jersey ranks among the Top 10 States On The Fast Track To Fiscal Disaster. Keep giving away those no-bid, no-incentive-to-compete-on-price contracts, Township Committee, Planning Board, School Board. Update: Township solicits RFQs for all professional services this coming year, a radical departure from the past practice. We'll see if this is sham-bidding, or if TC pulls a "School Board" by awarding so-called "competitive" contracts to the same service providers as before.
"Property taxes continue to rise in county," Burlington County Times, Nov. 8, 2009. Chesterfield has the fourth lowest property-tax rate in the county. Jeez, talk about grading on a curve...Is this why local officials act as if they're entitled to run the township like their own private Rotary Club--just because the tax rate compares favorably to other municipalities in Burlington County, New Jersey, home of the highest property taxes in America?
"Students discovering online collaboration," Star-Ledger, Nov. 7, 2009. Teachers and students are blogging, Twittering, Wiki'ing, podcasting, video-conferencing. Meanwhile, members of the Chesterfield Board of Education (i.e., the people in charge of your children's education) don't even have email addresses. C'mon, people, catch up with the kids. No school board left behind.
Misc.
♦Shouldn't local officials promote local businesses at least as much as they promote themselves? Officials in Medford Township get it right, posting an online directory of local businesses on their municipal website, Shop Medford First. How about a Shop Chesterfield First instead of the current marketing slogan, First Grease the $mart Growth?
♦The New Jersey School Boards Association held its annual conference in Atlantic City at the end of October, and the members of the Chesterfield B.O.E. attended at taxpayer-expense (see Aug. 19, 2009 Meeting Minutes). Hopefully, they also attended those seminars on Engaging the Public and Communicating Effectively--then maybe they'll post their official email addresses and start engaging in two-way communication instead of relying on their old-school strategy: ignore the electorate until election-time, rally the yes-voters, marginalize everyone else, pad the school budget by $50k +/- in case it's shot down and the Township Committee has to give it a haircut to save face.
♦Speaking of School Board indifference to taxpayers, check out the latest monthly status report on the $37 million elementary school under construction. Most (if not all) of those millions in "soft costs" are being paid to firms that didn't have to compete for the contracts, including a $100,000 "allowance" to bond counsel Capehart & Scatchard, ranked 18th among pay-to-play firms in New Jersey. If you think the School Board should be more frugal with non-educational expenses (e.g., proofreading contracts), or if you object to pay-to-play out of principle, let 'em know: send them an email join their Facebook social network.
♦BTW, don't bother to criticize the School Board at one of their monthly meetings. They expressly reserve the right to prohibit comments from the public that are "not related to matters before the board...." These people know how to handle constructive criticism--turn off the microphone.
♦Read this 2004 New York Times article on Chesterfield, "For New Jersey Towns, an Experiment: Putting Growth Here, Not There." Best quote: "I just wanted to be sure it would be fair, and it was," said Larry Durry [sic]. Fast-forward five years to Philadelphia Inquirer article on Chesterfield, "Controversy over land deals in Chesterfield Township." Interesting definition of fair, ya think? See also conflict of interest, openness, transparency, public service, personal gain, and $mart Growth.
♦Read this article, The Need for Civility in Local Government Dialogue, by Chesterfield Township Solicitor John Gillespie (of the law firm of Parker McCay, ranked 5th among pay-to-play firms in New Jersey). Note the accompanying "10 Commandments of Public Civility," including, "Thou shalt not ridicule or belittle...a member of the public, simply because he or she disagrees with you on an issue." Isn't this the same solicitor who called a local resident "disgruntled" in the Philadelphia Inquirer?
Dis*grun*tled /dɪsˈgrʌn
tld/
Show Spelled Pronunciation [dis-gruhn-tld]. Displeased and discontented; sulky; peevish. Ex: Her disgruntled husband refused to join us.
Meeting Minute Highlights
♦Township Committee, Sep. 9, 2009. Township Committee awards competitive contract to engineering firm for $2,300. Wow, talk about misdirection! Click here and here to see some of the taxpayer money these guys squandered on no-bid contracts last year, including $288,185 to Environmental Resolutions, Inc., ranked 14th among pay-to-play firms in New Jersey.
♦Planning Board, Sep. 8, 2009. Local resident questions Planning Board, but solicitor tells her to "layout" her questions in writing. What's the point of attending Planning Board meetings if they tell you to put it in writing? Isn't that what email is for?
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