Tropical Storm Irene said to be cause of bridge damage at NJAWC water treatment plant

New Jersey American Water Company and Monmouth County OEM are distributing water at three locations

New Jersey American Water and the Monmouth County OEM have established three water distribution locations where customers may go to receive bottled water. Those locations are:

Middletown High School North
63 Tindall Road, Middletown Township

Middletown High School South
900 Nut Swamp Road Middletown

Oceanport Fire House
Mertyl Ave and Monmouth Ave, Oceanport

The bottled water will be distributed until 11PM or until they run out.

UPDATE 8PM: MMM reader Tom Stokes just called in to report that 1 gallon of water per household is being distrubted at Middletown High School North, regardless of the size of the household. Proof of residency is required to get bottled water.

UPDATE 9:20: Tom Stokes reports the there is no more bottled water to be distributed at Middletown North. NJAWC is waiting for more bottled water to be delivered.  They will be at North throughout the night and all day tomorrow, according to Stokes.

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Click on the map for a full view of the area affected by the NJAWC water shutdown.

The bridge that collasped this afternoon as part of the “major infrastructure failure” at New Jersey American Water Company’s Swimming River water treatment plant sustained damage during Tropical Storm Irene last August.

Nearby residents are claiming that repairs were not done after Irene and that the bridge was bound to collapse.

Former Tinton Falls GOP Chairman Michael Laffey, an attorney who practices in Holmdel said, “NO work has been done to repair the bridge in the last year. This mess was completely avoidable and someone should be held accountable.”

Richard Barnes, NJAWC’s External Affairs Manager, told MMM that he had no information on the cause of the infrastructure failure.  “Right now we’re concentrating on restoring service to our customers.  We’ll have more information at a later time.”   Peter Eschbach, Director of Communications and External Affairs for NJAWC told a MMM reader who prefers not to be named that “small repairs to the wood” were performed on the bridge after Irene.

Middletown Mayor Tony Fiore told MMM that “this doesn’t look like a quick fix,” after he inspected the site of the infrastructure failure this afternoon.  “Irene appears to be the gift that keeps on giving.  We don’t know for sure that the storm caused today’s incident, but we remember pointing out the damage to NJAWC last summer and don’t recall repairs being made since.”

The Asbury Park Press pay site is reporting that there is another water main break in Neptune that has left 1600 residences without water.

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Not Front Page News

Christie Administration continuing McGreevey/Corzine practice of keeping utilities monies intended for municipalities.

Lost in the hysteria of Democrats fighting with each other was news buried on page 3 of yesterday’s Asbury Park Press that actually affects your property taxes.

The Editorial Board of the Monmouth and Ocean Counties paper of record actually met with local mayors!  Call that progress.  MMM criticised the APP editorial board last month for sitting down with Newark Mayor Cory Booker for no reason other than to boost Booker’s statewide name ID when they, until yesterday, hardly, if ever, meet with local mayors.

Middletown Mayor Tony Fiore and Long Branch Mayor Adam Schneider met with the Neptune Nudniks on Wednesday, at the behest of the League of Municipalities.  The mayors’ purpose was to bring attention to the State’s decades old practice of keeping the energy receipts tax that public utilities pay.

In energy receipts tax has been in existence for decades.  It was originally set up in lieu of property taxes to compensate municipalities for the utility infrastructure rights of way.  The tax used to be broken out on your utility bill.  It was paid by the utilities directly to the municipalities.

In 2002, during the McGreevey administration, the State started collecting to tax.  We all know what happens to money when to goes to the black whole of Trenton for redistribution.  Much of it disappears and the intended recipients get shafted.  Think Unemployment Insurance Fund and Transportation Trust Fund. 

Fiore told MMM that the League sued McGreevey to get the money but the State just turned around a reduced State Aid by a commensurate amount.

Fiore, Schneider and the League now want that money back.  It’s not coming, according to what State Treasurer Andrew Sidamon-Eristoff told the APP, “At this time we do not have the financial flexibility to make discretionary adjustment” to provide more from energy taxes.

Fiore told MMM that the energy receipts tax would have provided $4 million dollars to Middletown Township in 2011.  That would have saved the Library surplus the Township relied on, prevented layoffs and cleaned up a few snow storms.

What burns Fiore is not just the $4 million that Middletown didn’t collect from the utilities.  It’s the $1.5 million hit the Township continues to take in reduced State Aid from 2009 levels.  “We wouldn’t be increasing property taxes 1.97% this year if our Aid was restored,” said Fiore, “give us our $1.5 million back and I can reduce taxes by 2%.  The Board of Education got all of their Aid restored, yet they are still raising taxes.”

Schneider told the APP that not receiving the energy receipts tax is costing Long Branch “several million dollars.”

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Moody’s Affirms Middletown’s Bond Rating

Moody’s Investors Services has affirmed its AA2 rating on Middletown Township’s $67 million general obligation bonds.

In a statement issued on Friday, March 23, the rating agency said,

“The Aa2 rating reflects the township’s sizable tax base, low debt profile, and sufficient liquidity and reserve levels. The affirmation also considers the township’s narrow fund balance of $2.14 million (or 3.5% of revenues) in fiscal 2010. The primary driver of the $3.70 million fund balance drawdown was due to an influx of negative tax appeal judgments following the 2009 revaluation, which resulted in $1.3 million impact on fund balance. Additionally, decreased state aid and increased health care and retroactive labor salary expenditures further pressured operations. However, in fiscal 2011, new management responsively conducted a reassessment of assessed valuation and reduced the budget by 5.8%. The unaudited year-end fund balance for fiscal 2011 is estimated to be $5.87 million (or roughly 9.2% of revenues). Moody’s expects the township to improve and maintain liquidity and Current Fund balance to reported unaudited figures. Inability to achieve such levels, will result in negative rating credit pressure.”

Moody’s recognised the Township’s prudent management, low debt level with rapid amortization and sizeable tax base with high levels of resident income. 

Mayor Tony Fiore said that he was very pleased by the rating agency’s opinion.  “At a time when many municipalities, including some of our neighbors, are seeing their credit ratings reduced, I am pleased that Moody’s recognised the prudent decisions that our administration has implemented during these most challenging economic times.”

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Middletown Library President Resigns

Randall Gabrielan. Photo Credit: visitmonouth.com

Randall Gabrielan’s tenure as president and trustee of the Middletown Library is over.

Gabrielan submitted his resignation to Mayor Tony Fiore this morning, almost three weeks after Fiore asked him to step down.   Fiore asked for the resignation on January 25 upon discovering that Gabrielan, an author of history books about local area towns, had been signing purchase orders as an officer of the library for sales of his own books.

“In his letter of resignation Gabrielan admitted that he was wrong and that he understood my position in asking for his resignation,” said Fiore, “I appreciate that he did the right thing for the Middletown Library and taxpayers by stepping down.   I also appreciate his many years of service to the library.”

Gabrielan, who earns $36,000 per year as the Executive Director of the Monmouth County Historical Commission, could not be reached for comment.

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Who Should Challenge Pallone?

The filing deadline is April 2.

With all the attention and excitement being paid to Joe Kyrillo’s U.S. Senate candidacy and a new map that most think makes Frank Pallone even harder to beat, there is little if any talk about a GOP candidate in the 6th Congressional District.

So let’s throw some names out there and have then have a poll.   I start with names that come to mind.  Please add names in the comments. Over the weekend I’ll create a poll.  

Former Highlands Mayor Anna Little

Selika Josiah Gore, Marlboro

Matawan Councilwoman Toni Marie Angelini

Matawan Councilman Tom Fitzsimmons

Assemblywoman Amy Handlin

Atlantic Highlands Councilman Peter Doyle

Keyport Mayor Bob McLeod

Former Middletown Committeeman Tom Wilkens

Middletown Mayor Tony Fiore

Hazlet Committeeman Scott Aagre

James Hogan of Long Branch

Oceanport Councilman Joe Irace

Former Freeholder Bill Barham

Former Assemblyman, triCityNews Publisher Dan Jacobson

Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno

Freeholder Director John Curley

Who else?

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How Much Are These Commissions Costing Monmouth County?

Are they all necesarry?  What can be privatized?

The thing that I found most disturbing about the Middletown Library story is that Randall Gabrielan, in addition  to being president of the Middletown Library, is a employee of Monmouth County.

In his role as Executive Director of the Monmouth County Historical Commission, Gabrielan is paid almost $36,000 per year and earns pension credits.  I wonder if Executive Director of the Historical Commission is one of the jobs that you can retire from, start collecting a pension, and go back to work the next day.

I don’t mean to minimize the seriousness of the Middletown Library situation.  It is serious.   It’s bad enough that Gabrielan sold his own books and signed his own purchase orders.  Even though the sales did not amount to a great deal of money, what stinks about what he did in Middletown in addition to the obvious, is that the library could have gotten Gabrielan’s books cheaper from Barnes and Noble or really cheap from Abebooks, Middletown Mike’s  favorite book seller, for the library’s shelves. 

I suppose we should be grateful that Mayor Fiore and the Township Committee got wind of Gabrielan’s practice, that has been going on for many years, before he bought Middletown Mike’s newsletter, beautifully bound in brown cloth with gold lettering for $59.00 per copy from Abebooks.

I wonder if the Monmouth County Historical Commission has also been buying Gabrielan’s books.

But I digress.

Why does the Monmouth County Historical Commission have a paid executive director?  How many of the other 25 volunteer county commissions have paid staff? 

The Monmouth County Board of Freeholders are taking their budget meetings on the road this month.  Let’s ask them if there are savings to be had in these 26 commissions.

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Fiore Playing Hardball With Middletown Library President

Randall Gabrielan. Photo Credit: visitmonmouth.com

Middletown Mayor Tony Fiore has asked for the resignation of Middletown Library Board President Randall Gabrielan because Gabrielan has been selling books to the library personally and signing the purchase orders for those books himself as president of the board, according to a report on Middletown Patch.

Gabrielan, a former insurance broker, is also the Executive Director of the Monmouth County Historical Commission, a pensionable position for which he earned $35,391 in 2010, according to APP.com’s Data Universe.

Middletown’s Vendor History report on Gabrielan reveals that he has sold the library $778.45 worth of books since 2007.

Gabrielan told Patch that he considered Fiore’s move to be “political retribution” for his opposition to the Library turning over $500,000 of its surplus to the Township in last year’s budget.

Fiore said that it is a matter of ethics and fiscal accountability.  The mayor has turned the matter over to the state’s Department of Community Affairs’ Division of Local Government Local Government Services.

Library Board Trustee Sherry Miloscia also signed Gabrielan’s purchase orders.  Yesterday, Library Director Susan O’Neal informed Fiore that Miloscia resigned effective January 20.

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Fiore Will Remain Mayor

Tony Fiore will be elected to serve another year as mayor of Middletown when the township reorganizes on Sunday, January 1.

Committeeman Steve Massell will be Deputy Mayor.

Stephanie Murray will take the oath of office for her first term on the committee.   Murray replaces Deputy Mayor Pam Brightbill who is stepping down after two terms.

Fiore said that his top priority in 2012 is to continue to find cost savings and to keep the township’s property taxes stable.

Additionally, Fiore wants to implement the lessons learned in 2011 to improve real time communications with Middletown’s residents.  “We learned a lot as a result of the December 2010 blizzard and the aftermath of Hurricane Irene.  We will be improving our communications in the coming year.”

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MMM Year In Review – January

Tony Fiore was sworn in as Mayor of Middletown.  Shaun Golden was sworn in as Monmouth County Sheriff.  Tom Arnone was sworn in to his first term as Freeholder.  Rob Clifton took the Freeholder Oath of Office for the third time.

Despite the hullabaloo New Jersey’s mainstream media and the Democrats made of Governor Christie and Lt. Governor Guadagno being on vacation at the same time during the December 2010 blizzard, Governor Christie’s approval ratings were very strong, 53% favorable, in the first FDU poll of the year.

A severely mentally ill 22 year old man, Jared Loughner, opened fire on a crowd in Tucson, Arizonia.   He killed 6 and injured 14, including Congresswoman Gabby Giffords.  The national mainstream media and Democrats in Congress blamed the massacre on the Tea Party and Sarah Palin.    President Obama was presidential in calming the rhetoric and healing the nation.

Fair Haven Mayor Mike Halfacre used the digital pages of MoreMonmouthMusings to knock the wheels off a bill sponsored by Assemblywoman Cleopatra Tucker that would have required New Jersey residents register their bicycles with MVC at a cost of $10 per bike, per year.

At a meeting of the Highlands Republican Club, former Mayor Anna Little declared the New Jersey Supreme Court is unconstitutional.   The the club banned MMM blogger Art Gallagher for reporting what Little said. 

Governor Christie held a Town Hall meeting in Middletown.  During the meeting Christie criticized President Obama’s leadership, a theme that became a staple for Christie throughout the year, causing a draft Christie for President movement among  GOP leaders and donors nationally.

triCityNews publisher Dan Jacobson put MMM blogger Art Gallagher on the front page of his paper.

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Fiore Will Not Be A Candidate For Freeholder

By Art Gallagher

Middletown Mayor Tony Fiore, fresh off his reelection to his second term on the Middletown Township Committee, says he will not be a candidate to fill Freeholder Director Rob Clifton’s seat early next year.

Earlier this week, Politickernj reported that there was a “major push” to get Fiore to enter the race.  Fiore said he has been receiving overtures from various county leaders to run for months, that he has a great deal of respect for the current Republican Freeholders and that it would be an honor to serve with them.  However, running in a county-wide campaign for two consecutive years after just having completed a campaign in Middletown is not in the cards given his family and career obligations.  The Fiore’s have a 4 year old and a one year old.  Tony was recently promoted in his job at Prudential Financial Services.

Clifton was elected to the State Assembly two weeks ago. He will take office in Trenton at noon on the second Tuesday in January and must resign as Freeholder before he joins the Assembly.  Clifton’s replacement will be elected at a convention of the entire Monmouth County Republican Committee.  The winner of the convention will take office immediately and be expected to defend the seat in the November 2012 general election and again in 2013 at the scheduled expiration of the term.

The current contenders are Howell Mayor Bob Walsh, Holmdel Deputy Mayor Serena DiMaso and Manalapan Deputy Mayor Ryan Green.

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