Middletown Withdraws from Unfair Affordable Housing Proceedings

MIDDLETOWN, NJ – Last week the Middletown Township Committee directed its attorneys to withdraw from court proceedings that commenced in July 2015 to address unrealistic affordable housing obligations imposed upon municipalities throughout New Jersey by the Supreme Court.  On Wednesday, July 17, 2019, the Township Attorney applied for an Order of Dismissal, which was entered by the Hon. Jamie S. Perri on July 19, 2019.

As a result of the demise of the New Jersey Council on Affordable Housing (“COAH”), municipalities have been subjected to proceedings in Superior Court to address ongoing and ever-increasing demands by the Fair Share Housing Center (“FSHC”) to develop more high density affordable housing. Read the rest of this entry »

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Middletown’s Millennial Mayor

Tony Perry

Tony Perry, 28, will become the youngest mayor in Middletown’s history when the Township Committee meets on Sunday to reorganize for 2019, according to an announcement by the Township.

Perry was elected to a three year term on the Township Committee last Election Day. He has been a member of the Committee since November of 2017 when he was appointed to fill the vacancy created when Steve Massell resigned upon taking office on the Monmouth County Tax Board.

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Stephanie Murray resigns as Middletown Mayor

Stephanie Murray

Stephanie Murray resigned as mayor of Middletown Township this afternoon in a hand delivered letter to the Township Clerk.  Her resignation from the Township Committee is effective immediately, MMM has learned.

Murray cited her increased job responsibilities in her letter.  She became the part time Borough Administrator of West Long Branch last summer and was promoted to full time administrator earlier this year.

Once considered a rising star in Monmouth County political circles, Murray’s prospects for higher office took a hit in 2016 after the Asbury Park Press wrote an inaccurate and incomplete story about her family’s financial difficulties.  Never-the-less, Murray was overwhelmingly reelected by Middletown voters last November and was selected to serve as mayor this year by her colleagues on the Township Committee.

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Hit and Run Driver Pleads Not Guilty To Killing 15 year Old Atlantic Highlands Girl

Toni Ann Marletta in Judge Ronald Reisner’s Court Room, June 20, 2016

Toni Ann Marletta, the 50 year old Leonardo woman accused of killing Marissa Procopio, 15, of Atlantic Highlands, in a hit and run incident on Rt 36 last July, pleaded not guilty to Knowingly Leaving the Scene of a Motor Vehicle Accident which resulted in a death, a Second Degree Crime, two counts of Third Degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child and one count of second degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child this morning during her arraignment in Judge Ronald Reisner’s Courtroom in Freehold.

Assistant Monmouth County Prosecutor Meghan Doyle told Judge Reisner that the State has offered Marletta a plea deal which carries a 7 year sentence in state prison. Marletta has until September 6, the date of the next case conference, to accept that deal.

Peter M. O’Hara, Esq, Marletta’s defense attorney, said that he would be filing a motion to suppress some the the evidence against his client.

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Middletown Rabies Clinic Cancelled

Middletown Township has announced that the rabies clinic scheduled for Saturday, January 23 has been cancelled due to the expected storm.

The Health Department is currently working to reschedule the clinic for a date in February. The new date will be announced on the Township’s website (www.middletownnj.org).

Please note late fees for 2016 dog licenses will not be charged until March 1st. Please call 732-615-2097 with any questions.

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Middletown Reduces Spending By Almost $1 Million

Middletown Mayor Stephanie Murray

The Middletown Township Committee is slated to introduce their 2015 budget tonight with a spending decrease of $959,463. The total budget as introduced will be $69,437,466 compared to 2014 spending of $70,396,929.

Decreased non-tax revenues, including parking permits and court fees, of $2.8 million and increases in snow removal costs of $1.3 million and insurance costs of $600,000, were off set by savings from shared services agreements with other municipalities and the Middletown Board of Education, as well as utility cost savings for $223,000.

The tax levy on Township property owners will increase $428,484 to $46,964,220, not including the Township Library.  With the library budget of $3,445,649, the overall tax levy increases by $486,502.

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Middletown PBA takes negotiations to facebook

A rant against Mayor Stephanie Murray and the rest of the Middletown Township Committee was posted anonymously on the business facebook page of the Middletown Township PBA Local 124 yesterday afternoon.

Written by “I am a police officer in Middletown Township,” the post alleges that Murray and the Township Committee are not paying police officers salaries and claims that officers are subjected to sub-standard working conditions.  The anonymous officer claims that the Township Committee gave themselves a 20% raise:

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Smith Visits Monmouth On Sandy Anniversary

Congressman Chris Smith, center, meet with Middletown Administrator Anthony Mercantante, Public Works Director Ted Maloney, Mayor Stephanie Murray and Committeeman Tony Fiore (right) in the Township’s new Emergency Command Center on the 2nd Anniversary of Superstorm Sandy.

Congressman Chris Smith visited Howell and Middletown Townships on the second anniversary of Superstorm Sandy to assess the progress of recovery and determine remaining needs to be fought for in Washington.

Smith joined Mayor Bill Gato and Deputy Mayor Rob Nicastro at the Mariners Cover community along the Manasasquan River to the the sites of four demolished homes that had been damaged by Sandy and Hurricane Irene in 2011, and one remaining home that is slated for demolition. The homes were purchased by the township with state and federal funding.Disney Princess Chambre de rebond

In Middletown, Smith joined Mayor Stephanie Murray, Committeeman Tony Fiore, Administrator Anthony Mercantante and Public Works Director Ted Maloney in the Township’s Emergency Command Center from where Fiore directed the rescue and recovery efforts two years earlier in the aftermath of the storm, before touring three sites in the Township still in need of federal support.  While in the command center Smith recalled that NBC’s Andrea Mitchell showed up and asked to interview him. “I told her to interview Fiore because he was the one doing the work. She refused, so I spent the interview talking about him and the amazing work he was doing protecting the lives and property of his community.”  Fiore was Mayor during the recoveries of Hurricanes Irene in 2011 and Sandy in 2012.

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Two Middletown Men Charged With Arson

Sean Powers photo via facebook

Sean Powers, a twenty-two year old Middletown volunteer firefighter has been charged with starting the fire that left him with critical burn injuries.  William Rohweder, 23 of Middletown was also charged with arson of an abandoned barn in a residential area.  The fire at 251 Monmouth Ave was reported to Middletown authorities on Saturday morning at 5:48 AM.  Powers’ address is 260 Monmouth Ave.

According to a statement from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, both young men have been charged with one count of second degree Conspiracy to Commit Aggravated Arson, one count of second degree Aggravated Arson and one count of third degree Aggravated Assault.

Because of his status as a volunteer firefighter, Powers has also been charged with Official Misconduct, an offense that carries a maximum prison term of ten years and a minimum period of parole ineligibility of five years, upon conviction.

Powers is in critical but stable condition at The Burn Center at St. Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston.  Judge Honora O’Brien Kilgallen set Powers bail as R. O. R. (Released On Recognizance) so long as he remains in an in-patient. Upon his release from The Burn Center, his bail will be reviewed.

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Money Magazine Honors Middletown (Again)

Middletown Mayor Stephanie Murray, right, and Committeeman Tony Fiore at Memorical Sloan Kettering’s ground breaking last week.

Monmouth County’s largest municipality, Middletown Township, has yet again been named one of the best places to live in the United States by Money Magazine.

Strong economics, a clean environment, a highly educated and stable population, low crime and an abundance of leisure, cultural and recreational opportunities clinched the honor for the Township that has also been named the best run municipality in New Jersey by MoreMonmouthMusings for eight consecutive years.

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