May 8, 2007
By Deanna Speck, Borough Clerk
May 8, 2007, 19:30
GENERAL COMMENTS – Commissioner’s Meeting – May 8, 2007
The meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m. in Room 102 of the Borough Hall and the announcement of Public Meetings was read by Commissioner Colombi. After the Pledge of Allegiance and a moment of silence roll call was taken. Commissioner Colombi, Commissioner Rochford and Commissioner Borden were present along with the Borough Administrator, the Borough Solicitor, the Assistant to the Administrator/Deputy Clerk and the Borough Clerk.
Commissioner Rochford made a motion to waive the reading of the minutes from the April 24, 2007 meeting. This motion was seconded by Commissioner Borden and was passed with a unanimous vote.
Once Ordinance 2007-15, an amendment to Code Chapter 65 entitled Alcoholic Beverages, was announced, Commissioner Borden explained that this is a technical amendment to bring our ordinance back in line with the State Statute. The statute states that the fines are $250 for the first offense and $350 for subsequent offenses. It was further noted that this ordinance provides the Court may suspend or postpone for six months the driving privileges of the defendant. If the defendant is under the age of 17 when sentenced then the six month suspension on their driving privileged would begin after they reach the age of 17. Commissioner Colombi opened the public hearing on the ordinance. As there were no questions Commissioner Rochford made a motion to close the public hearing, which was seconded by Commissioner Borden. The motion was passed by a unanimous vote. The ordinance was then adopted on second reading by a unanimous vote.
Once Ordinance 2007-16 introducing an amendment to Chapter 226 entitled Utilities, Water and Sewer was announced, Commissioner Colombi stated that the increases in certain fees reflects information received through the recent bidding process on water and sewer service installations. Commissioner Rochford noted that the last time any of these fees were increased was in 1992. Commissioner Colombi announced that the public hearing on this ordinance will be held at the May 22, 2007 Commissioner meeting. As there were no questions, the Commissioner voted unanimously to adopt the ordinance on first reading.
All resolutions were passed unanimously without any questions.
On Resolution 2007-05-08-094 authorizing the signing of a professional services agreement for a Library Building Consultant, Commissioner Colombi explained that the update in the building plan is required so Haddonfield would be eligible in the future for State grant funds for building components. Commissioner Borden stated that a good portion of the work authorized is for the consultant to get community input. Commissioner Rochford stated that he was glad to see that the Library Board knows we need third party funds for any major work and noted that the Princeton Library, where the consultant is the Director, relied heavily on outside funds for their new building.
Commissioner Colombi announced that the Rotary Club proclamation will be presented to that organization at their meeting on Wednesday, May 9, 2007. Commissioner Rochford noted the many different things within Haddonfield that the Rotary Club has been involved in and supported. He finished by stating that he is proud to be a Rotarian.
The fourth grade students from Elizabeth Haddon School were asked to stand, introduce themselves and ask any questions they might have. Those in attendance were Robert Lincoln, 144 North Drive; Jean Genlach, 315 Homestead Avenue; Daniel Kaly, 347 Kings Highway West; Patrick O’Malley, 411 Elm Avenue; and Eric Ranalli, 110 Lansdown Avenue. Mr. Lincoln asked what was being done about the poor roads and pot holes. Commissioner Colombi replied that Public Works is working on getting the pot holes fixed. She also stated that the Borough is committed to spending $1 million per year to improve the roads throughout town. Commissioner Rochford stated that people should call Public Works to report pot holes so that an accurate list can be compiled. Mr. O’Malley asked if any police officers in town have been hurt because they did not have bullet proof vests on. The Police Chief replied that there have been no injuries locally, but it is a problem nationally.
Commissioner Colombi announced the Commissioners have scheduled a resolution at the May 22, 2007 Commissioner meeting to set the tax rate for the voter approved Open Space fund. The proposed rate will be one cent per $100 of assessed value for the first year of the program. This is half the maximum amount allowed the referendum. Commissioner Borden commented on the process involved, stating that once the tax is enacted the money goes into a fund to be held until an ordinance is passed stating how the money would be spent. At this time no decision has been made regarding how the funds will be used. Commissioner Rochford stated that now the Borough can apply for more grants and Green Acres Funding where matching dollars amounts are required. He pointed out that the County also has an Open Space Tax for which the Borough is forwarding to them $88,000 for the second quarter 2007. It is felt that the Borough does not currently get an appropriate share of this money. Commissioner Borden explained that the Borough will collect approximately $103,000 for this fund in the first year. He further noted that a property owner with an averaged assessed value of $220,000 will pay an additional $22 per year.
Kirk Peterson, 214 Lakeview Avenue, asked when the resolution setting the open space tax rate will be done. Commission Colombi replied that the resolution will be on the May 22, 2007 Commissioner Meeting. Mr. Peterson then thanked the Commissioners for setting this up and indicated that he will have recommendations for the use of this money in the future.
The public comment portion of the meeting was then opened by Commissioner Colombi.
Glenn Moramarco, 311 Reillywood Avenue, stated that he is a member of a newly formed organization called “Save Our Schools” (SOS). The members of this organization are urging the Commissioners to adopt the School Board Budget as proposed by the Board of Education without any changes because there is no clear mandate either for or against the budget since the voting results were so close. He is confident that if the Commissioners exercised their independent judgment regarding this they see that it is a reasonable budget. He noted that this was the only “J” District school budget in the state to be defeated at the polls. He further stated that at a time when we are forced to engage in a search for a new District Superintendent, a new high school principal and a new elementary school principal, a cut to the district’s school budget would send a terrible signal to prospective applicants. Our ability to attract high quality applicants to these crucial long-term positions may be depend on the Commissioner’s willingness to support the Board of Education’s budget. It is the goal of SOS to recruit people in the community that support the school budget and to help support the schools. Another goal of SOS is to collect over 1,144 signatures of those in support of the school budget and to present this to the Commissioners. Mr. Moramarco then commented that this town has worked actively to maintain the attractiveness and reputation of its downtown shopping district in the face of challenges from its neighbors. In fighting to stem these challenges from neighboring communities, we simply cannot afford to endanger this town’s single best remaining asset – its fine public schools. He finished by stating that the Commissioners need to leave the budget as it is to show their support for our schools.
Mr. Peterson stated that he voted against the school budget, one of his reasons being that he is on a fixed income. He stated that the State system is broken and needs to be fixed through tax reform. One way is through a grass-roots system state-wide by the residents. Commissioner Rochford expressed his opinion that the funding formula needs to be more fair. “J” District schools get the lowest amount of funding from the State, and for Haddonfield that is approximately 7%, which is not fair.
Deanna Burney, 115 The Mews, stated that she hopes the budget is approved as it is because support needs to be shown to the principals and teachers of the schools. She commented that some of our teachers have as many as 120 students per day, which leaves them no time to learn from other who have been successful. Teachers need time to step out of their classroom and observe others. She stated that variability of teachers is important because their knowledge base needs to grow. She feels that the local school systems need to start tapping their own resources within their own system when positions open up. Ms. Burney finished by stating that this is the time to show support for our schools.
Commissioner Rochford stated that there has been interaction between the Board of Education and the Commissioners regarding the recent school budget issue. The BOE has been very helpful with this situation. He further noted that the new 4% caps on tax increases going into effect in 2008 will affect how this budget needs to be looked at also. He asked all residents to share their thoughts with the Commissioners. The final decision has to be made by May 21, 2007.
Commissioner Borden complimented the SOS organization on their goals. He expressed his views on the impact of the vote defeating the school budget and his concern about the low voting turnout. He stated that he is very concerned about the types of information handed out prior to the election, as he believed that some of it may have violated election laws. He also remarked that after last year’s budget was defeated a committee of citizens spent time reviewing in detail the BOE budget in an effort to find something wrong, but as there was no report published, it can only be concluded that there was nothing to be found. He finished by noting that the questions before the Commissioners are whether or not this is an appropriate budget for our schools and whether or not there are cuts that could or should be made.
Steve Weinstein, 247 Kings Highway West, a resident and the new President of the School Board addressed the Commissioners. He mentioned a situation where there are approximately 8 votes that may not have been counted, but stated that the Board has decided not to pursue having these election result dismissed and a new election scheduled. This is due to the potential costs involved. In making this decision the Board is placing their faith in the Commissioners to do the right thing with this budget. Although, there is no easy answer on what to do with this budget, he stated that the community, as a whole, needs to begin figuring out where they are on this issue. There are more young families living in town saying that it costs too much to live here, which means to him that this is a long term issue. He believes that having two budgets fail at the polls back-to-back like this means the faith in the Board of Education is being lost. He would like to have the BOE and the Commissioners put their collective heads together on this issue, no matter what the outcome of the current defeated budget. In finishing, he invited all residents to come to more meetings to voice their thoughts.
Dan McCutcheon, 37 Avondale Avenue, expressed annoyance at the need to have the BOE budget before the Commissioners for a second year in a row. He does not believe people don’t trust the Board of Education. He chastised the Commissioners over the fact that there was nothing from them in the way of advertising and such to the public about getting out to vote at this election. He questioned if the Commissioners had done anything about the “illegal” flier mentioned by Commissioner Borden earlier. He applauded the Save Our Schools organization and their mission. He finished by stating that if the quality of the schools goes down, then having a nice downtown doesn’t make it worth staying here.
Commissioner Borden responded by stating that it is not the Borough’s budget and this was not our election. Therefore, it is not appropriate for the Commissioners to advocate the budget prior the BOE election. It was the job of the Board of Education’s job to encourage voting and to get their budget passed.
Lori Bushy, a Haddon Heights residents and a fifth grade teacher in Haddonfield, also admonished the Commissioners about not helping the BOE in getting the word out to vote at this election. The teachers in the Haddonfield School district are deserving of everyone support.
Commissioner Borden pointed out that he has suggested in the past that a grass-roots type of group should get together prior to the BOE election to start doing this type of election work.
Commissioner Colombi stated that all of the Commissioners are advocates for the school budget, as each has either children or grandchildren in the school system. She pointed out that this district has approximately 2,000 students, which equates to approximately 4,000 parents, yet only about 900 people voted in this last election. This is not even one quarter of the parents in this district.
Commissioner Rochford remarked that although opposition was voiced, be it “illegal” or not, there was no communication to counter negative remarks made regarding this by the citizens. The Commissioners cannot do anything for an election that is not even theirs.
Vince DelDuca, 16 Mt. Vernon Avenue, regarding the “illegal” flier placed in The Haddonfield Sun, asked if something had been done by their staff to validate the information before it was included in their paper. Commissioner Borden replied that in elections people can print and say whatever they want but the source must be identified, whereas this flier was printed anonymously. The Commissioner then commented that the job at hand now is to look at the budget, not to do something about the flier. Commissioner Rochford suggested that the SOS organization may want to look into this matter.
Art DiPadova, 126 Centre Street, disagreed with Steve Weinstein that people are losing faith in the Board of Education. In addition, he feels that the best way to look at the results is to realize that those that voted for the re-election of the incumbents also, in effect, voted for those who put the budget together.
The Borough Solicitor pointed out that the poor turnout at the polls could be partly due to the fact that there was no contest in the Board of Education candidates being voted in.
Mr. Peterson asked if, some years ago, there had been a bond issue to expand the schools in which the Borough put out information to the public in support of the bond. Commissioner Colombi stated that she did not recall doing anything like that. Mr. Peterson then commented that the latest Municipal Matters information published in What’s On may be incorrect regarding where the Arbor Day tree was planted. He thought it was on Friends Avenue, not Haddon Avenue as published. Also, he asked for clarification on the name of Crows Woods being changed to Crows Woods Nature Preserve. The information in What’s On gives the name as Crows Woods Nature Area. He questioned if there would be a resolution in the near future renaming this. Commissioner Colombi indicated there would be.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:45 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Deanna Speck
Borough Clerk
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