Dueling Mayors in Belmar
Belmar Mayor Matt Doherty and Former Mayor Ken Pringle
Belmar Mayor Matt Doherty said, “Ken Pringle is like a jaded ex-girlfriend who won’t go away.”
Ken Pringle, who was mayor of the oceanfront borough for 20 years before Doherty took over in 2011, isn’t sure how many times he’s sued Doherty and the borough since he left office. “Four or five, I’m not sure.”
Both Doherty and Pringle, who served together for four years, are Democrats. Doherty was a councilman during Pringle’s last term as mayor.
At issue is the beachfront and money.
Pringle contends that Doherty and the Council are using the Beach Utility Fund to subsidize borough operations and to keep property taxes artificially low, in violation of the Public Trust Doctrine. Doherty says that while Pringle was mayor Belmar’s property taxpayers subsidized the beach and that Pringle raised taxes 14 years in a row. Doherty has not increased Belmar’s taxes since becoming mayor, keeping the borough’s spending flat at 2010 levels.
Posted: May 11th, 2015 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: Beach Access, Belmar, Birdsall Engineering, Matt Doherty, Monmouth County, Monmouth County Court, Monmouth County News | Tags: Beach Access fees, Beach Badges, Beach Parking fees, Beach Utility Fund, Belmar, Birdsall Engineering, Birdsall Services Group, Jim Bean, Joy DeSanctis, Ken Pringle, Law suits, Matt Doherty, Michael Seebeck, Public Advocate, Richard Chen, Robbin Kirk | 1 Comment »