Borough of Point Pleasant Beach MINUTES
The Mayor and Council of the Borough of Point Pleasant Beach met at 12:04 PM. The Municipal Clerk read the notice indicating compliance with the Open Public Meetings Act.
Reverend Fred May delivered the Invocation.
Municipal Clerk Ellsworth administered oath of office to Mayor Vincent Barrella, Councilwoman Kristine Mercuro Tooker and Councilman Raymond Cervino.
Municipal Clerk Ellsworth administered the oath of office to Fire Chief John DeMillo, Assistant Fire Chief Vincent Storino, and Deputy Fire Chief Michael Brodeur.
Municipal Clerk Ellsworth called the roll. Present were Mayor Barrella and Council Members Mercun, Loughran, Tooker, Cervino, and DiCorcia. Councilman Dixon was absent.
Motion by Councilman Mercun to appoint Councilman Loughran as Council President was carried by the following roll call vote:
VOTE: Council Members Mercun, Tooker, Cervino, DiCorcia….YEA
Councilman Loughran….ABSTAIN
Councilman Mercun: explained the process employed in selecting professional appointments – Mayor Barrella asked that he participate in the interview process for Borough Attorney, Prosecutor and Municipal Engineer and also had the public employees, who would have to deal with these professionals everyday, present during interviews.
Motion by Councilman Mercun, seconded by Councilman Loughran, resolutions covering the items listed below, were carried by the following roll call vote:
CONSENT RESOLUTION #1:
a) Appt. of Sean Gertner, Esq. (Gertner Snyder, LLC) as Borough Attorney
b) Appt. of Raymond Savacool (CMX) as Borough Engineer
c) Appt. of Warren Korecky (Supplee, Clooney & Co) as Borough Auditor
d) Appt. of Steven A. Zabarsky (Citta, Holfzapfel & Zabarsky) as Municipal Prosecutor
VOTE: Council Members Mercun, Loughran, Tooker, Cervino, DiCorcia….YEA
Motion by Councilman Mercun, seconded by Councilman Loughran, resolutions covering the items listed below, were carried by the following roll call vote:
CONSENT RESOLUTION #2:
a) Approval of Temporary Budget for 2008
b) Establishment of Interest to be charged on delinquent taxes and water-sewer utility bills
c) Establishment of 6% penalty for Tax Delinquencies over $10,000.00
d) Establishment of meeting dates for 2008
e) Authorize Council to administer ABC licenses & enforce state statutes
f) Appointment of Tax Assessor to act as agent on Tax Appeals and Execute Settlements
g) Designation of newspapers to be used for legal ads during 2008
h) Designation of depositories for municipal funds during 2008
i) Establish 2008 salaries for certain Borough employees in accordance with agreements
j) Appointment of Maryann Ellsworth as Assessment Search Officer for 2008
k) Appointment of Christine Riehl as Tax Search Officer for 2008
l) Appointment of Kathryn Beno as Deputy Finance Officer for 2008
m) Appointment of Eileen Farrell as Assistant Municipal Clerk for 2008
n) Approval of Application for Safe & Secure Communities Program for 2008 and appointment of Lt. DiCorcia as grant coordinator
o) Appointment of Councilman Cervino as Liaison to the Chamber of Commerce
p) Appointment of Councilmen DiCorcia and Loughran as Liaisons to the Board of Education
q) Appointment of Eileen Farrell and Karen Mills as Deputy Registrars for 2008
r) Appointment of Councilwoman Tooker as Class III Planning Board Member
s) Appointment of Guy Dempsey as Deputy Emergency Management Coordinator for 2008
t) Appointment of Kyle Grace as Deputy Emergency Mgt Coordinator for Operations for 2008
u) Appointment of Municipal Representative (Robert Meany) and Alternate (Sharon Cadalzo) to Ocean County Community Development Block Grant Committee for 2008
v) Appointment of Christine Riehl as Public Agency Compliance Officer for 2008
w) Authorization for Mayor and CFO to act as signatories on Borough accounts
x) Appointment of School Crossing Guards, Police Matrons, Parking Enforcement Officers and part-time Communications Operators for 2008
y) Appointment of Class I and Class II Special Police Officers for 2008
CONSENT RESOLUTION #3:
a) Set fees for special DWI sessions
b) Re-establishment of Petty Cash Funds for 2008
c) Designation of CFO to act as Governing Body Secretary during Budget Workshop sessions
d) Establish $10 late fee for late payment of dog license fees
e) Establish annual Halloween curfew
f) Approval of exemption from municipal portion of dog/cat license fees for volunteer fire/first aid personnel
g) Approval of exemption for one bulk pick-up fee per annum for volunteer fire/first aid personnel
h) Set mileage reimbursement rate for 2008
i) Program Payment of annual lease fee to State of NJ for Rickover Park and open space at junction of Routes 35 and 88
j) Set clerk stipend for special Board of Adjustment meetings
k) Appointment of Christine Riehl as PERMA Fund Commissioner
l) Appointment of Christine Riehl as Insurance Fund Commissioner and Maryann Ellsworth as Insurance Fund Personnel Administrator
m) Appointment of Maryann Ellsworth as NJ DOP Systems Administrator
n) Appointment of Karen Mills as Board of Health Officer
o) Appointment of Robert Meany as Principal Public Works Manager
p) Re-establish OPRA administrative fees for 2008
q) Designate Fire Chief to sign documents and act as liaison for Firefighter Certification
r) Re-establish Condo Conversion Fee Schedule for 2008
s) Re-establish property tax exemption policy for disabled veterans
t) Re-authorization for CFO to issue hand written checks prior to Governing Body approval
u) Appointment of Scarlett Johnson as part-time clerk in Clerk/Finance office
v) Approval of Payroll #26A (-$382.50) and Payroll #1 ($226,034.38)
w) Approval of hand checks and wire transfers ($2,046,203.26)
CONSENT RESOLUTION #4:
a) Approval of hand checks for November and December 2007 ($29,487.11)
b) Accept NJ Division of Highway Traffic Safety ‘Aggressive Driving Grant’ ($6000)
c) Approval of Relocation Assistance Agreement with County
d) Payments to Schoor Depalma/CMX from escrow accounts (3788.25)
e) Payment to Schulman, Wiegmann from escrow account ($225)
f) Payment to CME from developer escrow accts ($586.14)
g) Payment to O C Landfill for tipping fees ($20,000)
h) Accept NJ DGLS Shared Services Grant ($16,200)
i) Re-Appoint Marie Kurtzke as MAC Coordinator
k) Salary adjustment for James Broyles for completion of certification courses
l) Establish Standing Council Committees for 2008
VOTE: Council Members Mercun, Loughran, Tooker, Cervino, DiCorcia….Yea
Mayor Barrella: “I would like to first thank all of those who are here today and assure them, and all of the residents of the Beach, that I will devote my efforts to improving what is already a great town. I especially want to thank my family, particularly my wife Barbara, and my children Melissa, Michael and Richard for their support. I want to thank my aunt Ann for being here today. She has always been like a mother to me and her presence makes this day even more special.
I want to thank Councilmen Dixon, Loughran and DiCorcia, all of whom took time out from their schedules to meet with me, share their views and offer valuable advice. Councilman Mercun’s assistance has been invaluable. I am sincerely grateful for his willingness to participate in the process leading up to the appointment of the borough’s professionals. We both agreed that in putting together a team of professionals it was essential that the Borough Administrator and CFO, Christine Riehl, actively participate in that process. Christine, thank you for doing so…. also thank Court Administrator, Michelle Sargent, for her participation as well.
The professionals appointed today were chosen through an unprecedented bipartisan collaboration of elected officials and borough staff. I am confident that they will excel and help us overcome the numerous challenges facing us in the upcoming year. These challenges can only be overcome through hard work and a spirit of cooperation that transcends party lines. I do not expect that we will always agree, but do expect that we will always respect each other’s opinions, even as we articulate our disagreement with those opinions.
I will not sugar coat the magnitude of the problems we face. It is no secret that the single most important environmental issue facing Point Pleasant Beach is the condition of our lakes. I am hopeful that the DEP will finally approve our application for a Lake Louise dredging permit and that we will also be able to take real action with respect to the Lake of the Lillies.
The Lake of the Lillies has been a political football that has pitted neighbor against neighbor for too long. It needs to be dredged. It is the responsibility of this governing body to move aggressively with our State and County governments to address the problem. This governing body needs to work to insure that the State and the County provide the financial resources to remediate the problem in amounts commensurate with their respective responsibility for its creation.
From a financial perspective, the task of this Council has been made more difficult as a result of the artificial 4% cap on property tax increases imposed by Trenton upon the state’s municipalities. Because of the unique nature of the Beach, as the playground for northern and central New Jersey, this cap will have a greater impact upon us then on other towns.
Preliminary estimates of increased costs imposed upon us by the State, or resulting from contractual obligations, such as salaries, health insurance, and additional J1F premiums, total nearly $450,000, or $270,000 more than the State will allow us to raise through increased property taxes. In addition, we are facing an estimated. $325,000 increase in costs not subject to the 4% cap, those which can be covered through increased property tax levies, such as State mandated pension contributions and debt service. These amounts do not take into account increases for other operating expenses, such as the escalating cost of fuel and gasoline.
Unlike other municipalities, such as Lakewood and Toms River, Point Pleasant Beach did not, in last year’s budget, provide for the possibility that property taxes used to offset last year’s expenses would have to be refunded this year as a result of successful real property tax revaluation appeals. Because of this, we are now faced with the prospect of having to refund previously spent local and school property tax dollars. These refunds have the potential to decimate our surplus.
Over the past three years, governing bodies controlled by both political parties spent every dime of the Borough’s increased revenue from parking and municipal court fines in order to hold property taxes ‘stable.’ Whether you agree or disagree with their decision is irrelevant, the simple fact is that this practice was not sustainable in the long term, and because of this and other choices that were made, an increased cushion, which might have softened the blow this year, is unavailable.
To be fair, those governing bodies were not the first to engage in the practice of short term budgeting. It is, however, a practice that this new governing body must abandon if we are to bring financial stability to Point Pleasant Beach. We need to make fmancial decisions with an eye not only towards this year, but the future as well.
In short, Point Pleasant Beach is entering into a period of significant belttightening. Expenses must be carefully examined and controlled, but that alone will not suffice. The Borough needs to develop alternative revenue sources, and we need to do so immediately. This council must insure that Point Pleasant Beach derives its fair share of revenue from the tourism industry. To that end, I would ask that this Council immediately begin work on a plan to increase the Borough’s parking revenue, without raising its parking rates. This council cannot, however, take a myopic approach. It needs to listen to and examine other ideas, whether emanating from this dais or from the public.
The tourist industry, the state legislature and the governor must be made to realize that Point Pleasant Beach can only remain the desirable tourist destination that it is if they abandon their self-serving parochial interests. The tourist industry must recognize that it may be necessary to accept shortterm sacrifice in order to insure the future health of that industry and the town that has supported it for so long.
Trenton must give us the ability to raise additional revenue through such non-burdensome local tax levies on such things as the sale of alcoholic beverages, revenue derived from private parking lots and revenue from the sale of beach badges.
The state’s elected officials need to understand that the costs associated with the benefit and enjoyment their constituents derive from a stay in Point Pleasant Beach cannot be shouldered solely by the taxpayers of the Beach. Those who visit the Beach have an obligation to help pay for the services and police protection they receive. It is the responsibility of this governing body to impress this upon our elected state officials. When it comes to executing this important task, it is imperative that we act as a unified body of elected representatives of the people of Point Pleasant Beach, and not as Republicans or Democrats.
While the challenges facing Point Pleasant Beach are real and substantial, I am confident that this council, operating in a bipartisan fashion, along with our administrators and our professionals, are up to those challenges. I look forward to working with all these fine people for the benefit of the residents of the Beach.”
Councilman Cervino: thanked everyone for coming; “It is a daunting task that we face and hopefully the involvement and the energy I sense in the room right now will continue during the duration of Mr. Barella’s tenure…. all kinds of challenges facing us, not the least of which is the lack of experience for the three of us, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that the problems facing us in this great town cannot be overcome;” idea of Democrat and Republican, hopefully, will not be an issue, but all will do what is best for this town.
Councilman DiCorcia: wished all a Happy New Year; looking forward to working with Mayor Barella, Christine Tooker and Ray Cervino for the best interest of all; “I know it’s nice to be important, but its more important to be nice and I hope we can work that way through the coming year.”
Councilwoman Tooker: thanked everybody – family, friends and entire town; was wonderful growing up here and always dreamed of sitting up here; “We’re going to get a lot done and I really want us to be the party of the people…want the town involved, politics aside…want you on our boards our committees, volunteering, doing things, letting us know anytime you need something, you want something – it’s very important to us. My only regret in all this is my husband. He loved this town probably more than I do.”
Father Curt Kreml, St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church, gave the Benediction.
The meeting was adjourned at 12:40 PM.
