Ok, this time it’s gone too far. I’m fed up!. I really feel I’ve been nice long enough. I’ve tried doing things the nice way.
Unfortunately, that hasn’t worked.
Now I’ll get down to some cold hard facts and opinions based on the actions or inaction I was hoping would be resolved or made known to the public before I got to this point.
But things have only gotten worse.
So this is the second in a series of articles intended to expose the moral corruption in our schools, in our towns, in our elected officials and the employees that work for us.
This series, which unfortunately may never end because there is so much to expose, will go from the hallways of our schools to the hallways of our State house, and lots of hallways in between.
For those who don’t like what I have to say, save the threats.
Save the phone calls.
Save the nastiness on Facebook.
Simply look the other way, think that everything is hunky dory in your part of the world, and don’t read my blog. The time will come when you think, “Hey, I wish I knew that because I could have done something about it.” But by then, it might be too late.
It’s almost too late now.
Because of another commitment, I missed the Oct. 27 regular meeting of the Atlantic Highlands Borough Council. But upon listening to the official recording of that session, I realized my new series on how the public is being mistreated by elected and appointed officials at all levels of government is probably going to be never ending.
It seems every meeting there is at least one more way, by at least one more elected person, that so easily shows how little they really care for or are concerned about the opinions or even questions from the people they are supposed to represent.
No one can doubt that one concerned resident who attends an awful lot of Atlantic Highlands and sometimes other municipal meetings of different boards and commissions is an organized, astute, intelligent, determined, interested voter.
He has no desire to win any office, no intention of ever getting personal about any issue; he simply wants elected officials to do their jobs and keep the people informed.
He tried again at this meeting for both. He found out, once again, he was unsuccessful at each.
It was a very fine line, almost ludicrous, that the officials, apparently with the advice of the attorney, drew between the Harbor Commission throwing a party for customers at the Harbor, with public money and the borough council to spending even a single cent on a party for the men and women who put their lives on the line and lose sleep at night simply to help anyone in need, including those customers of the Harbor.
Council all agreed at the meeting…at least none objected…its was legal and proper to throw that money on a party for the Harbor Commission. But not okay to help the volunteers defray the costs of the party they were throwing to thank the folks who took time out to show appreciation for them at a public function.
Know what the difference was according to the borough attorney? That party, and it’s my guess it cost around $6,000 or so, the Harbor Commissioners approved? That was just for a party the Harbor Commission decided to have. Then they decided to invite the boat owners to it. That was okay.
So I guess, according to these elected officials and their attorney, it’s okay for a tax generating commission to spend money when they feel like having a party.
Furthermore, it’s OK for them to limit who can go to that party. They simply invited folks they wanted to attend, their customers. Not all the customers of the harbor even. Just the specific ones they sent invitations to. That was OK, Council agreed last night.
But that party at the Shore Casino that the volunteers paid for themselves, as their way of saying thanks to those who gave them recognition? Well, the borough can’t just give out taxpayers’ money for something like that!!!!
They couldn’t just give dollars to someone else having a party!. Even for the volunteers they had lavished praise on earlier in the meeting.
Let me get this straight. The Harbor commission can have a party and give a check to the restaurateur,. But the Borough Council cannot since they weren’t hosting the party or limiting who could come.
That, my friends, is about the cheapest, most low down, sneakiest way I have heard of not wanting to spend a cent on volunteers who are so generous with their time, talent, and lives.
So who do you think looks more important to your elected officials? The customers who are invited to a party simply because they pay their bills? Or the volunteers who want to say thanks for the thanks they’ve received for a few hundred people.
What a way to encourage more volunteering. Or to show appreciation for the outstanding ones we have.
By the way, council members did not even say whether they individually made any donation to the party the volunteers threw. I can’t remember if any of them came to it.
Got all of that straight? It gets worse. Read on.
How about an outright lie by the councilwoman to the same quiet spoken resident?
The taxpayer, addressing the entire governing body, began to explain that someone did go to “the Church” for information after the last meeting when it was suggested he do so. It was a question on the status of any proposed purchase of Mother Theresa School.
But instead of being courteous, and letting the resident and taxpayer even finish his statement, the councilwoman cut him off, and sharply said “what do you mean by “the church”? He calmly answered, “that’s what YOU said at the meeting.” The councilwoman, without taking a breath, denied that, and responded she had said the church leaders, not the church…
Simply a lie.
And outright lie.
No excuse, no confusion, no mistake.
A Bald Face, unmitigated, absolute, utter lie
Listen to the recording of the Oct. 13 council meeting yourself. It could not be more clear. “The Church” doesn’t sound anything like “the leadership of the church.”
If you cannot trust an elected official sitting at the council table at an official meeting to tell the truth on a simple statement that can be proven so easily how can you trust her with your tax dollars, your budget, the improvements to your town, or for that matter, any municipal decision?
Oh, keep reading if you think that’s all that happened. People from “the Church,” or any church, or any religion were dealt another blow by the same councilwoman at the same meeting!
The councilwoman who wants to raise flags or have parades to honor other groups of people actually wondered aloud at the meeting about the Knights of Columbus holding an event to honor the local volunteers “because it’s always In our church.” She has been thinking about it a lot, she said, and “some things need to be analyzed.” She then actually suggested the groups honoring the volunteers go somewhere else, like “there’s a chapel at Fort Hancock, sometimes,” why not think of going there?
So now a Catholic Church in the borough, and an international organization like the Knights of Columbus, aren’t welcome to invite everyone to come to a church in Atlantic Highlands?
A church going councilman explained to her, as did the mayor, that the Knights of Columbus and St. Agnes Church are both part of Atlantic Highlands, pretty active and generous parts of the town, by the way. They pretty much can hold any event they want in their own facilities.
And by the way. Does that mean she doesn’t want a community organization like the Knights of Columbus to invite local volunteers to her town? Does she now want a local community like St. Agnes parish to invite volunteers from other towns to come to the town to be appreciated? And, by the way, at the same time, to these visitors to see our great restaurants, great shops, great First Avenue businesses we have here?
Is “the church” so wrong in wanting to brag about its home town and its volunteers?
Besides, unlike the Harbor Commission, they even invite everyone to join in the thanksgiving and appreciation of volunteers.
And just one more little thing. It’s probably natural for elected officials to be vain. Egotistical, even. It is certainly evident many times. I perceive it as belittling a local resident and trying to make light of all his questions rather than a jab at me or anyone else not in attendance at the meeting. When the still calm and composed resident mentioned that someone had written about what “the Church” had to say about the proposed acquisition, some of these things had been written about and were written about on line, he was blithely told him she was happy “she” , referring apparently to the writer, always used a good picture “of me when she’s going after me.”.
You elect local residents, people who live in your town, to run the business of your town. You do it at the County level as well, and at the state level, too. Your obligation doesn’t end there. When they’re not doing their job, ask questions, get answers, and when you don’t get the answers, go higher up. Sure it hurts. But it’s your town, your county, your state. Keep it the way you love it. And hold those officials accountable!
