Regionalization: Delay Due to Experts

By
Muriel J. Smith
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Delay due to experts – When it comes to the subject of regionalization, it appears Highlands Mayor Carolyn Broullon is more concerned about hearing from the public and keeping her constituents informed than the tight lipped governing body in the neighboring town of Atlantic Highlands.
It also appears that the neighboring mayor and council in Atlantic Highlands  retained an “expert” financial consultant who does not even know the names of the towns, or the schools in the boroughs.  The “Experts” approved contract, which was signed by the Borough Administrator confuses who is hiring his firm … Highlands or Atlantic Highlands.
This is the contract where his firm would be reviewing the financial structure and impact of the proposed regionalization in order to enable the two towns to come up with a cost sharing agreement  to let the regionalization question get on the November ballot.
After Atlantic Highlands cancelled the planned mediation set for March 30 because their financial “expert” had a family medical emergency, and set another date for April 21, Mayor Broullon called a special meeting  in Highlands for April 12 at 6 p.m.  “to inform and update residents and individuals of recent filings involving the Regionalization of Highlands, Atlantic Highlands and Sea Bright in a K-12 school district. Attendees will be given an opportunity to give their input on the Regionalization“.
It is still NOT definite the meeting Atlantic Highlands scheduled for March 30, then put off until April 21 will actually take place. Their financial expert has  yet to confirm that he can be present then either.
      After several months of trying to get more information on school regionalization from Atlantic Highlands officials,  this VeniVidiScripto journalist filed an OPRA with the Atlantic Highlands Borough Clerk to see the contract between Robert Benecke, the financial expert, and the borough.  A request responded to with the usual accommodating cooperation of the borough clerk.
The OPRA-ed information turned up several facts:
  • The contract was submitted by Benecke on behalf of his firm Beneke Economics on Oct. 3, 2022  and included his “team” of experts, specifically mentioning Chelsea Gleis and “two Ph.D holders State University of California and Economics Princeton“.
  • The proposal was apparently e-mailed to the borough’s labor attorney, Matthew Giacobbe in response to his request for the proposal. The three page document was signed electronically by Beneke;
  • It was agreed to and approved by Borough Administrator Robert Feragina on Oct. 7, 2023;
With 2023 not yet occurring, it appears to be an error overlooked by then borough attorney Jason Sena;
  •  It was approved by resolution 2022-152  at a regular council meeting Oct. 13, 2022 with Sena in attendance. Official records do not show either an executive meeting or a discussion at the Oct. 13 meeting before action was taken.
  • The resolution for approval on Oct. 13, 2022, was introduced by Councilman James Murphy, again with Sena in attendance, and seconded by Brian Dougherty, and unanimously  approved with all council members present.
Murphy recuses himself from matters concerning regionalization since his wife is president of the Atlantic Highlands Board of Education.  In spite of always recusing himself in regionalization matters, neither the Mayor nor anyone on council objected when Murphy offered this resolution.  Additionally the Borough Attorney, Jason Sena, failed to comment on Murphy’s motion and subsequent vote to approve a contract for the $6,000 payment for no more than 40 hours of the consultant’s service.
  • The administrator’s  Oct. 7 signature on the document, with or without the 2023 error, appears to bind the borough to that agreement … some SIX days BEFORE the Council Resolution,
  • The experts agreement said the areas of work  included  “to prepare a financial structure and impact analysis (report) on the proposed consolidation of the Highlands Elementary, Atlantic Highlands Elementary and the Henry Hudson Regional High School districts as well as the possible consolidation of Sea Bright schools.”
  •  The contract Beneke sent, and Ferragina approved, reads “Prepare a financial structure and impact analysis (report) on the proposed consolidation of the Highlands Regional, Atlantic Highlands, and the Henry Hudson Regional school districts  as well as the possible consolidation of Sea Bright schools…”
  •  It does not appear that Mr. Benecke was aware, when he signed and sent the contract, of the towns, the number of schools, and where they are located,  or the districts involved.
  • Mr. Benecke’s approved contract continues to read “if we are selected, Highlands will be well served with objective state of the art services and advice…..”
Apparently, Mr. Beneke did not realize it was Atlantic Highlands with whom he was signing a contract, not Highlands..
  • The signed Oct. 3 contract continues that Beneke “thoroughly understands the scope of services, regionalization, school consolidation and the arising fiscal impacts…”
Again, the contract refers to the interested parties as Highlands Regional, Atlantic Highlands and Henry Hudson Regional, speaks of the Sea Bright schools and  how “Highlands will be well served by his services.”
  • In explaining why he was qualified for the job, Mr. Beneke included several paragraphs of his background experience, noting he has “worked on many transactions from a structuring viewpoint….”
There are no references to any experience dealing with any regionalization issues or conducting any studies of two or three towns sharing any costs in a regional school proposal.
  • The contract sent Oct. 3 also said the work would be completed within two weeks of signing the contract.

In indicating Beneke would be the financial consultant at the mediation, the Atlantic Highlands Council did not pass, or even discuss publicly or hold any executive session whether this requires an amended contract with the consultant to appear at mediation sessions with Highlands.   Nor did the resolution approved at the Council table six days after it was approved by the administrator make any reference to any work other than   “examining debt, expenses, impacts of levies and tax rates,  providing guidance,  and preparing an assessment distribution and fiscal plan,” unless ” other financial work as necessary” includes mediation discussions with the Highlands financial consultant in a formal mediation within the same $6,000 contract.

However, at the March 9 Borough Council meeting, when attorney Matthew Giacobbe appeared via ZOOM and explained the mediation process in more detail, he said he had asked Beneke “to assist us.”  It appears from further statements by Giacobbe that Beneke has either never communicated any of the results of his study of last October or he has not pursued the study yet.

The attorney  did say the numbers in the Porzio and Kean regionalization reports “are not exact,”  prompting former Councilaman and financial analyist Michael Harmon to urge that the numbers be in place before mediation.

Harmon also expressed surprise that this has not been accomplished and agreement of numbers is apparently still not in place just over two weeks before a scheduled mediation.

Since both Harmon and Sea Bright  councilman Erwin Bieber had earlier presented numerous figures and calculations in reports before the governing body, Councilman Jon Crowley said they would forward those reports to Beneke as well., Giacobbe said “we want to have him look at it” as he has been doing..

When asked at the March 23 meeting why the March 30 meeting had to be cancelled because of Mr. Beneke’s family emergency, rather than have someone else, like Ms. Gleis present in his stead, Councilwoman Lori Hohenleitner said  at the meeting “we only want to have the best expert and that’s who we feel is the best expert.”
Mr. Ferragina confirmed for VeniVidiScripto Friday, March 28, that Mr. Beneke, the financial expert for the borough, has not yet been confirmed for attendance at the April 21 meeting.

 

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