06 Dec Borough Meeting Highlights 12-4-2019
Dear CTWWW Members and Friends,
On December 4th, 2019 approximately 30 taxpayers attended the monthly borough meeting, which was called to order at 5PM and adjourned at 6:50PM.
Please check the borough website for future meeting dates and times as they have changed.
In attendance: Christopher Fox, Mayor
Scott Golden and Amy Korobellis, Commissioners
William Blaney, Solicitor
Donna Frederick, Municipal Clerk
Carl O’Hala, Deputy Clerk
Commissioner Golden presented the Police Report. Commissioner Korobellis read the current balances in the Borough’s bank accounts as provided by the CFO. The Mayor did not offer a Public Works report.
As you are aware, questions are submitted to borough leadership a week before the scheduled meeting. Carl O’Hala, Deputy Clerk, shared the following updates.
- Mawhinney lawsuit – Per Solicitor Blaney – Depositions are in progress and will continue into the new year.
- Ethics Violations, per Mayor Fox, has had “no movement.”
- The conflict counsel is working with the Cape May County Prosecutor’s office and there could be issues concerning Brady and/or pre-Brady letters. This is a personnel issue and details cannot be released.
- The Bittner Document, an important piece of paperwork in the Ferentz lawsuit, is OPRA-able. Neither Mayor Fox nor Commissioner Golden was in favor of releasing this information but have decided to allow it.
- Chief Ferentz investigated the possible gunshots heard by residents and determined it was fireworks. A meeting attendee reiterated that the sounds she heard were not that of fireworks.
- There will be no additional requests for qualified proposals (RFQP’s) for 2020. Mayor Fox has said for the past few years that he would like to send everything out for bid but nothing has come to fruition. Soliciting for bids could significantly save money for the taxpayers.
- Solicitor Blaney confirmed the statute regarding health insurance of elected officials and will provide the statute number via email to the CTWWW.
- The Living Shoreline Project is an interesting topic. It is now a matter of debate as to whether the Borough should move forward with it or not.
Mayor Fox expressed confusion regarding details related to the project such as WWW costs incurred, likelihood that the borough would even receive the grant money necessary to complete the project and most importantly, how would the borough pay for the land that would be used in the development.
Watch the video of the meeting as it was revealed the Borough has spent in excess of $80,000 over a 2 -year period on costs related to the project. When questioned about the checks that were written, borough leadership was uncertain about who and where the checks were directed.
OPRA paperwork has been received and is being reviewed at this time.
- The master plan will be completed once several items are added in order for the borough to be in compliance with NJ laws and regulations.
Additional highlights include:
A grant in the amount of $185,000 for ‘A” Avenue street work. This will most likely be added to the 2020 budget.
A conversation regarding the estimated surplus being carried forward to 2020 was limited. The Mayor could not answer questions regarding next year until he sits with the auditors at the end of 2019.
A question was asked about estimated rising costs from shared services with Wildwood, the trash removal contract, as well as the judgment of $272,000 and how the Borough can sustain itself.
This is very important because in the last two years, there has been a school tax reduction that has assisted in keeping taxes unchanged. It appears that this reduction has evaporated and taxes will need to be increased. The Mayor expressed no interest in discussing the topic of taxes or this possibility.
We are asking that everyone attend the December 30, 2019 workshop meeting as quite a few important items are discussed for the next year.
The meeting is held in the borough hall at 9:00AM.
The first regular monthly borough meeting will be held on January 8, 2020 at 7:00 pm. Please mark your calendars. We will keep you apprised of any changes in this schedule.
Thank you again for your financial support throughout the year as it allows the meetings to be videotaped and professional guidance hired as needed. To view the videos go to the https://ctwww.org/ website. The latest video is always on the homepage. There is a separate page for the prior videos. Also the newslink page has articles and the communications page has all of the newsletters.
Enjoy a happy holiday season.