By Art Gallagher
Bob Ingle is reporting that Assemblywoman Cleopatra Tucker has withdrawn the legistration she proposed that would have required bicycle registration fees and license plates. According to Ingle, Tuckers intent was to protect elderly pedestrians. OK, if you say so Assemblywoman.
Congratulations are in order to Fair Haven Mayor Mike Halfacre who used these pages to first bring Tucker’s legislation to light. Thanks also to the MMM reader who brought the bill to Mike’s attention.
Posted: January 13th, 2011 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Mike Halfacre, NJ Bicycle Registration | 4 Comments »
By Mayor Mike Halfacre, Fair Haven
Today, Governor Christie will deliver his State of the State Address, wherein he will lay out his accomplishments over the past year, and set forth his agenda for the coming year. He faces many challenges, as do the taxpayers of the State of New Jersey. Unfortunately, many elected officials still don’t get it.
Case in point: On January 6, 2011 New Jersey once again took steps to safeguard its reputation as a laughingstock. No, I don’t mean the introduction of Snooki’s friend Deena, an actual New Jersey native on MTV’s Jersey Shore. Instead, I mean the introduction of A-3657 by Assemblywoman Tucker (28-Newark) in the New Jersey Legislature. Yes, once again NJ reality TV pales next to reality of NJ politics. New Jersey would be the first state in the nation to require bicycle registration.
In the midst the toughest public budget time in memory, when all of Trenton is buzzing with talk of education reform, civil service reform and arbitration reform, and when, for the first time in decades, there is real hope for New Jersey’s taxpayers, Assemblywoman Tucker’s bill takes on the difficult and pressing issue of…unregistered bicycles. Yes, Assemblywoman Tucker wants us to register our bicycles with the MVC. Just like our cars.
I am not making this up. Under the proposed legislation the Director of the MVC will start to issue license plates to bicycles, for a registration fee not to exceed $10.00 per year. Whenever a bike is sold, the buyer must go to MVC and transfer registration and pay sales tax, just like on a car. If you ride an unregistered bike, you could be fined $100.00. (Word is that Assemblywoman Tucker is coming after running shoes next)
I admit, I am a little biased against this ludicrous law. I own bicycles. I have two road bikes, a triathlon bike, a mountain bike, a cyclocross bike, a fixie and a cruiser. My wife has a mountain bike and a cruiser. I have three kids, each with at least one bike. That makes about 12 bikes in my home. Add in the frames without wheels, and the wheels without frames, and I could probably piece together a couple more. Under this law, I’ll have to register each one of them.
A fellow Fair Haven elected official picks up old bikes put out in the trash, fixes them up and donates them to kids who don’t have bikes. At any one time he has dozens of bikes in his garage. Under this law, he’ll have to register each one of them.
Another friend of mine is an avid cyclist, who easily has 25 bikes in his garage. Under this law, he’ll have to register each one of them.
When is enough? When will the nanny-state Democrats “get it”? We are sick and tired of these petty and frankly, stupid laws.
What possible purpose could this law have other than to add another fee or tax onto the backs of New Jersey’s already over-burdened taxpayers? Is there some massive sales tax loss being suffered by the State on the sale of second hand bikes? Or is this a devious attempt to track and identify illegal immigrants?
None of the above. It’s worse.
Here’s the angle: Imagine all the new MVC employees that will be required to handle the volume of paperwork this requirement will generate. All union members.
Posted: January 11th, 2011 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: Mike Halfacre | Tags: Mike Halfacre | 7 Comments »
By Mayor Mike Halfacre, Fair Haven
The storm of December 26-27 2010 was more than a significant weather event. Published reports have called it one of the top six snow storms in New Jersey history. Many veterans of the DPW in this and other towns do not recall conditions as severe as the ones encountered overnight on Sunday and into the early morning hours of Monday. The magnitude of the storm is illustrated by the fact that snowfall rates of 1 inch per hour are generally considered too heavy for plows to keep pace with, and this storm had periods of 4.5 inch per hour accumulations. Add in the strong, near hurricane force winds and the resulting snow drifts, and this storm will be recorded as one of our area’s worst.
In Fair Haven, our DPW had two men in sand trucks on the road by 11:30 am on Sunday. By 3:30 p.m. Sunday, 7 more employees were on the road plowing. Fair Haven had 9 men, including two who came in from vacation, as well as the DPW Supervisor, operating up to 7 plows and 3 loaders through out the duration of the storm. These were all of our resources. All continued to work until Monday evening, with the last crew and DPW Supervisor leaving at 10:30 p.m. Monday. At that time, late on Monday, almost all streets were open with at least one lane.
The sheer volume of snow required the DPW to remove snow with front-end loaders, slowing down the removal and making it a street-by-street process. This takes a long time, and was the reason most streets had only one lane open while the front end loaders, trucks and plows cleared one street at a time.
Our DPW regular schedule resumed at 7:00 a.m. on Tuesday with continuation of snow removal. By 10:00 a.m. 2 trucks were picking up trash, all of which was picked up by 5:00 p.m. Snow removal crews continued until 3:30 p.m. A sand truck continued to operate, to hit the critical areas until dark.
On Wednesday recycling was picked up town wide and completed by 4:00 p.m. Snow removal crews continued throughout the day, with the sand truck again continuing until dark. Thursday saw continued snow removal, as well as an additional town-wide garbage pick-up.
There were no incidents or mechanical failures during this event. The most significant struggle was the snow plows repeatedly getting stuck on Sunday night.
I am very proud of our dedicated DPW employees, who worked in excess of 30 straight hours from Sunday afternoon until Monday night clearing the roads. The fact that there were no major incidents, injuries or accidents is a testament to their dedication. Further, three employees have voluntarily switched their scheduled day off on New Years Eve to Monday, so they could work to get the streets as clear as possible for when school to resumes on Monday. (I know it is a huge burden, but please make every effort to clear sidewalks in time for the walk to school on Monday)
I am also proud of and grateful to all of those who helped their neighbors; our volunteer fire and first aid squads who were repeatedly called out in terrible conditions; and our police employees who were on the road in the worst of the conditions.
Although we believe we performed admirably under the circumstances, there is always room for improvement. Therefore, we will be conducting a complete and thorough review of all of our processes and decisions, and will make adjustments where necessary, so our performance will be better during future events.
Thank you for your patience, and please have a Happy and Safe New Year!
Posted: December 31st, 2010 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: Fair Haven, Mike Halfacre | Tags: Blizzard 2010, Mike Halfacre | Comments Off on Notes On The Storm
The Star Ledger is reporting that the Rumson-Fair Haven Bulldogs have defeated the defending champion Matawan Huskies for the 2010 Central Jersey Group 2 High School football championship, the first championship for the Bulldogs in the history of the Regional High School.
Matawan Mayor Paul Buccellato and his colleagues on the borough’s council will be donating $200 to the Food Bank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties to payoff a friendly wager with Fair Haven Mayor Mike Halfacre and the Fair Haven Council. Halfacre told MMM that he and his colleagues will donate $200 to to the St. Mark’s Food Kitchen at Trinity Episcopal Church in Matawan, as a goodwill gesture, despite winning the wager.
Anyone wishing to make a donation of food to the Foodbank of Monmouth and Ocean can call 732-918-2600 or email [email protected]. Donations to St. Mark’s Food Kitchen can be arranged by calling 732-591-9210 or emailing [email protected].
Posted: December 4th, 2010 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Foodbank, Matawan Huskies, Mike Halfacre, Paul Buccellato, Rumson-Fair Haven Bulldogs, St Mark's Food Kitchen | 7 Comments »
Proceeds to benefit local food bank of the winner’s choice
Matawan Mayor Paul Buccellato and Fair Haven Mayor Mike Halfacre announced today that they, along with the council members in both boroughs, have engaged in a friendly wager on the upcoming Central Jersey Group 2 high school football championship game between the Matawan Huskies and the Rumson-Fair Haven Bulldogs.
The Mayors and Councils of the two municipalities have agreed that the losers of the wager will donate $200 worth of food to the foodbank of the winner’s choice.
The game will take place Saturday December 4th at 3pm at Kean University.
“In the spirit of friendly competition, I asked Mayor Bucellato to join me in this friendly wager and I’m glad he accepted,” said Halfacre. “Due to the difficult economic conditions, food banks are being hit with a double whammy: less people donating and more people who need help. If we can have some fun with this and at the same time raise awareness and make a nice donation, I think it’s a win for everyone.”
Buccellato agreed, stating “that economy has had an impact on numerous families in the area” and the two municipalities wanted to do something that would benefit the community. “There is a critical need among the local and regional food banks as they are experiencing unprecedented food shortages,” Buccellato said. “We believe that we can help this need and at the same time support our football teams.”
If Rumson-Fair Haven wins, the Foodbank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties will receive a donation of food. In Matawan wins, the donation will go to the St. Mark’s Food Kitchen at Trinity Episcopal Church in Matawan.
Anyone wishing to make a donation of food to the Foodbank of Monmouth and Ocean can call 732-918-2600 or email [email protected]. Donations to St. Mark’s Food Kitchen can be arranged by calling 732-591-9210 or emailing [email protected].
Posted: December 1st, 2010 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: Press Release | Tags: Food Bank, Matawan Huskies, Mike Halfacre, Paul Buccellato, Rumson-Fair Haven Bulldogs | 2 Comments »
MMM has called the Fair Haven Mayors race for incumbent Mike Halfacre. He ran unopposed.
Likewise, Oceanport Council President Joe Irace was reelected tonight without a challenge.
Posted: November 2nd, 2010 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Joe Irace, Mike Halfacre | Comments Off on MMM calls Fair Haven and Oceanport Races
By Mayor Mike Halfacre, Fair Haven
On Monday, October 25th, I went to Trenton to attend an event organized by the New Jersey Conference of Mayors, which is the largest and oldest Mayor’s organization in the United States. The purpose of the event was to meet with Governor Christie, the Assembly Republicans and the Assembly Democrats to urge the passage of a key provision of the Governor’s “Tool Kit” reforms: capping interest arbitration awards to the 2% property tax cap passed by the Legislature and signed by the Governor last Summer.
Many of you may remember that when both Republicans and Democrats passed the Governor’s budget, there was much hoopla about the 2% property tax cap, and there was an emphasis on the need for passage of the “Tool Kit” reforms that would enable local governments to manage the cap. While the Tool Kit is composed of many Bills, there is almost universal agreement among Mayors that arbitration reform that mirrors the cap is vital.
There is currently pending before the Legislature two versions of arbitration reform. In one version, A-3283, arbitrators, mediators or fact finders would be prevented from recommending or awarding any settlement that would exceed by more than 2% the total economic impact on the public employer.
The other version, A-3393 has already been reported out of Committee, and may go before the full Assembly any day. This version does not require an Arbitrator to adhere to the 2% cap, rather, it simply adds the cap to a list of nine criteria that should be considered by the Arbitrator in making a decision.
For obvious reasons, the need for a hard cap on arbitration awards is vital to the success of the hard cap on property taxes. To provide otherwise will slowly and inexorably eat away at all governmental functions until all that are left are those functions that are carried out by collective bargaining unit employees. Eventually even those “protected” employees will be downsized to feed the public sector union monster.
The group from the New Jersey Conference of Mayors was made up of Mayor’s from both sides of the aisle. Republicans, Democrats, large towns and small, all who have engaged in the municipal budget process recognize the need for this reform. The need for arbitration reform is not a partisan issue, it is an issue of economic and financial necessity.
The Governor graciously met with the approximately 35 Mayors who attended. He was introduced by David DelVecchio, Democrat Mayor of Lambertville. The Governor gave us as much time as we needed, and answered questions. Governor Christie emphasized the need for a hard cap on arbitration awards, and asked us to take his message to the Assembly.
The group of Mayors then walked to the Assembly Republican caucus room, where virtually every Republican member of the Assembly listened as Mayor Arnone, Republican of Neptune City and Mayor Tarantolo, Democrat of Eatontown, gave their pleas for enactment and reform. The Assembly Republicans asked their own questions, and agreed that real reform meant a hard cap on arbitration awards.
The overriding message brought to Trenton by the Mayors is that we have done almost all we can on our own. We have shared services, some have laid off employees, some have laid off police, some have cut services drastically. We have, often, done all we can do to stabilize property taxes in our towns. What we need now is help from Trenton. For too long, Trenton has helped itself, and not given the State’s municipalities the tools needed to stop the rise of property taxes. Now there is an opportunity to pass meaningful reform, and we can not let it slip away.
After leaving the Assembly Republican Caucus room, we went across the hallway to meet with the Assembly Democrats in their Caucus room.
The Assembly Democrats did not let our bipartisan group of Mayors in to speak with them. An anonymous staffer came out and said that the Assembly Democrats would be in caucus for at least another hour, and then the Assembly would go into session. Assembly Speaker Oliver would not come out to speak to us, nor would any other Assembly Democrat.
Our bipartisan group of Mayors, organized by the bipartisan New Jersey Conference of Mayors, were left out in the cold by the Assembly Democrats.
When people ask me why the Great State of New Jersey has the highest property taxes in the Country, I now have yet another first-hand account: Because the Assembly Democrats don’t care about your property taxes.
Posted: October 27th, 2010 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: Mike Halfacre | Tags: Assembly Democrats, Mike Halfacre, NJ Conference of Mayors | Comments Off on Trenton Democrats Don’t Care About Your Property Taxes
John Lehnert, a Fair Haven councilman and former police officer was found dead outside a Jackson home this morning from a self inflicted gunshot wound to the chest, according to a report in the Asbury Park Press.
Mike Halfacre and John Lehnert at the Tour De Fair Haven bicycle race on Sunday September 19. Photo credit: Visual Xpressions, Fair Haven.
Fair Haven Mayor Mike Halfacre told MMM that the news came as a profound shock early this morning when he was informed of the tragedy by Fair Haven Police Chief Darryl Breckinridge.
Halfacre said there were absolutely no signs of Lehnert being troubled or depressed.
Lehnert leaves behind his wife and two young daughters. He recently graduated from law school, took the bar exam this summer and was expected to start practicing law soon.
Posted: September 21st, 2010 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: Fair Haven, Mike Halfacre | Tags: Fair Haven, John Lehnert, Mike Halfacre | 2 Comments »
