Well mayor, does that mean that you will pay back the salary you have received since you took on the second job???? Whats that, didn't think so.You are delusional if you think the first time criticism of you salary was apparent after the election. The taxpayers have been saying it since WE started paying it.

"Our government needs to get smaller, and we have to get back to our Republican principals, principals which may have gotten lost this past year," he (Acropolis) said.
May have??? Seriously??
24% increase in 2 years & we "may have" lost our way. A dollar a year is still more than he's worth.

So that means if the republicans won it would have business as usual?? What arrogance!! I can't wait till we vote the rest out. Oh and I wonder if the remaining council members have relatives employed in town on the Brick voters back.

this mayor isn't worth a buck

What? The mayor woke up! But what he, the Mayor fails to realize is the door out is next. Also, looks like a huge rift among his backers on the council. Stay alert newly elected council,

Does he think we are all stupid and do not see this as a re-election ploy? @KMC...you're right. It would have been business as usual had the republicans won. I surely don't have stupid written across my forehead. Too little too late.

He who speaks with forked tongue, STeve, the damage is done. You want smaller gov't and lower taxes? First, sell foodtown and Traders Cove, that would lower our debt tremendiously. Second, fire Juan and all your other friends and family who have had job titles created just for them. And finally, NO salary or benefits for council members, MUA board members, and every other person you have snuck in.

Come on Mr DeLuca, you know the governor forced you to give up your council salary in order to be appointed to the DMV job. Don't you get it? You guys lost because of the deception and lies.

just can't make this stuff up...DeLuca didn't speak up, because he was a "team player". makes you wonder how many more situations arouse that he didn't do what's best for Brick, to be a "team player" ? they took & took and now with 40 days left in their terms, they've "seen the light" the remaining 3 need to go, but I'd prefer seeing them replaced with Republicans, so what happened with a full council of one party, doesn't ever happen again.

To the current Council members- If you truly care about the residents of Brick, make the changes now while you have full control. Pass the ordinance to reduce the Mayor salary to $15,000 and the Council salary to $4,000. Pass an ordinance eliminating health benefits for ALL elected and appointed positions in Brick. The opposition coming from Sangiovanni and Brando is a joke! One of them works for Brick Transportation with a good salary, benefits and pension, and the other is working at the BTMUA and receiving disability retirement benefits from his former job in law enforcement. Take the high road, do this now and in 2 years this will be something you can use for your re-election campaign that you can be proud of and not have to resort to negative campaigning. Respect is earned.

I expect change from that $1

Two people that should be on the bus and out of Brick 1. Brian the TEAM player,it was alright when you got the D.M.V. job no experience in that field but the powers to be took care of you,TEAM PLAYER...2. MR.Mayor it is overyou live in Brick but kept your job in Toms River,SEE YA........

Too little too late Mr.Mayor, I can't even say nice try.

Suddenly Acropolis "sees the light". The "team" is at each other's throats. I love it. What happened to all the good natured banter, with Scaturro giggling at everything when they thought they were all in charge. It's too late people. The horse is out of the barn. Just more BS from a bunch of losers who see the handwriting on the wall. Don't fall for it , Brick voters. Get them all OUT.

How about the cops reduce there salaries.. There a big part of the cost to this town. These clowns earning $90,000 plus.

The hidden reason that Dan Toth kept silent was because he allegedly will jump ranks and become a Democrat or even Independent soon, to start his campaign for mayor. He definately is not a TEAM PLAYER but has plenty of BULLETS lined up for his selected few in the voting booth. This person's playing voters for their vote, nothing else. Ever wonder why he abstains on the council vote so often? Think about it. Check out his so called business and his other job as an agent for a local realty company, with regards to the old Foodtown property. His allegance is to himself and his ego. Brick is just a stepping stone for this faker. Listen to his words because everything he says is self promoting double-talk. Dan is for Dan, not Brick. He has improved the BULLET VOTE for his own party, no yours, not mine but his. He must be silenced and voted out next time he runs.

Stevie looks like he's trying to rearrange the deck chairs on The Titanic. Forget it Stevie. You and The Clowns will be all gone by the next election. Too late to try

Finally I agree with you. But they all must go.

Hey not to take the heat of the Mayor , but how bout the our Freeholder Lacey? He is out Freeholder at 30k and is the Brick MUA Director at 135k. He seems to fly under the radar , unreal as it is. On the dollar salary, good idea, problem is who would want this job for a dollar, 15k, going forward. Its a lose , lose for anyone wanting to be Mayor going forward. I say, give him a dollar for the next two years, why not!

so the Republicons are in a circle and shooting .....well that is the best thing we could ever have hoped for........now if we can just figure out how to get them out of every undeserved job they were given in the past 3 years , the slaughter will have been complete

Re; Mayor/Council salaries. Back in the dark ages, the salaries were modest. Dan Newman was elected Mayor and he considered the job full-time and got his salary greatly increased. When he was voted out, largely due to some illegal campaign tactics by an opponent, he reduced the Mayor's salary on his way out. Mayor Scarpelli raised it again, Mayor Acropolis went along until it became politically damaging, then personally reduced the amount that he would accept. So the rule seems to be take all you can get away with and when it endangers your position loudly announce that you're looking out for the citizens and reduce it. PAU. (Politics As Usual).

This is how I recall the sequence. If there's a Brick historian out there who finds an error in my recall, let's hear it. The important thing is that the voters understand how it works.

Cutting Mr. A's salary is "grandstanding" The next mayor will revisit the issue and what Mr. A is doing only confuses the value of the job.
The real issue is Mr. A's shameful taking of the CRONY job in Toms River...thats the job he should quit and allow all people of NJ apply for the job by showing qualifications, not just "Friends in high places."

"Team player" Deluca ?.....your "team" is the citizens of Brick who put you in office to represent them not your team of cronies who have been ripping off the citizens of Brick. See what happened to you for being on the wrong "team".

As for Dan, he may be a nice guy but seems to be out of touch and no guts. He is not aware of whats going on in the council and relies on the Patch for info. Only has made one not to popular ordinance(bamboo) and bows out of voting for most things because of conflict of interest.....why bother if you're not going to do anything?

Dan, I believe you're in damage control mode. you still haven't given an explanation why you never spoke up about raises, layoff's, jobs given out or all the goings on in our town that you claim to have found out only thru the Patch .... just to name a few. if you need to obstain from so many circumstances in town due to your outside dealings....maybe you're not the guy the taxpayers need.

Too little too late.......... Good Riddance

hey Dan Toth, what "team" are you playing for....or do we only find that out when you lose your election ?

Wow such hatred and bitterness hiddin behind screen names, lets see if you will post this stuff about the new council majority, because if you think that they won't appoint their own supporters to local positions you are wrong. I really did not see any platform from them other than opposing everything the current council was doing. so if you do support any of what is going on in town I sugguest you get involved for real instead of just commenting on the internet. One final point there is no registration as Independant and there is no Independant Party. You are on the County roles as Republican Democrat or Undeclared.

toth tries to come across as Mr. Nice Guy with his heartwarming stories at the end of the council meeting, and maybe he is not a bad person, but he is a member of Ali Baba and the over the hill gang., tied to Cartine and the whole bunch we should be sick of by now, and he has to go also.

Nothing like closing the barn door after all the "ANIMALS" left.
QUESTION:What goes up and never comes down? Besides a political pay check.

As always, if anyone would like to speak about any particular issue, please either email me at CouncilmanDan@comcast.net or call me at 732-458-3788. I will be more than happy to discuss any issue at all.

As I recall, it was Scarpelli, who with his all Democratic council, called it a full time job, which it never was, and raised his salary from $12,000 to $50,000. This not being enough he sucked in dirty money until he admitted to "$5,000" which was only a way to avoid 20 years. Thought Acropolis would be a breath of fresh air, but the smell around him and his crew was even worse. Can politicians ever put the voters first when they get elected? It seems not.

This is great ..its like turkeys running around trying to avoid the AX...Go Dem's and good luck..

There seems to have been dealings between only some of the council members. If you remember correctly two years ago the Republican mailers excluded one of their own. He literally ran as in Independent and still won. As far as this council is concerned this is not the time to jam any "new" rules down anyone's throat. It is time to go back to a bipartisan form of government. It is time to end all the nepotism. It is time to end all the backroom deals. It is time to find people who want to serve the residents. Brick Township is polluted. We have to clean it up. We started already on Nov. 8th. If anyone wants to ask Dan Toth a question call him. He provided his personal phone number.

DAN,you and the others are joined at the hip with the Gang of 7,4 down and 3 to go. Since you are so connected that you can not vote why wait for the elaction of next year when 3 of you will also be gone.How come we hear from you now,trying to save face. People are judged by the company they keep and you chose rhe wrong group,Stay with all of your business ventures,that way you can always vote PRESENT.We need people to make decisions that are best for the people of Brick,you make decisions that will help you,NO MORE GOOD OLE BOYS NETWORK... We are mad as hell and wont take it anymore....See Ya.

I have respect for Dan for abstaining from a vote that would be a conflict, they same caant be said about the others. And I believe him when he says he wasnt told about something. Steve and his clowns have a habit of excluding other council members. You have to remember wht they did to mrs. Russell. By Steve and crew excluding Dan IMHO only goes to prove they are afraid that he might tell those who pay his salary, THE TAXPAYERS. If he tells it would get shot down just like the OIP.

IMHO any type of a purchase or large expenditure, should be put forth to the people to vote.

I find it interesting that Mayor Acropolis stated that we have to get back to Republican principles at the end of the council meeting last night. When Scott Pezzarus was asked what was in the 15 year bond ordinance on first reading for $5.9 million bond, Scott Pezzarus stated that the largest item was $650,000 for work on the firing range. Absolutely no one corrected him.
When I got up to speak, I asked if the bond ordinance included $3.5 million for Traders Cove and Scott Pezzarus said I was correct. That makes almost $18 million for Traders Cove. I said that Traders Cove is a money pit and then proceeded to state that the county gave the town $1.5 million for the park that was built there. The cabana has been removed but 2-3 feet of dredged material from Lake of the Lilies have been placed right over the top of the park that was there. I asked that the spending be postponed until the new council comes on board to be able to justify the additional spending at Traders Cove and other spending. So much for transparency. The mayor said they heard the people load and clear. Hearing is one thing, comprehension is another.

Looks as though the 7 republican council members and Mayor have turned on each other. Great job Brick - power to the people!

Since the Mayor has volunteered to cut his salary to $1, will he continue to do his required job as Mayor? Will the Mayor even put forth the effort to be a good steward or will he just give up? 54K is a lot of money to just cast away. Nothing has change regarding the requirements of both his full time jobs even if he agreed to not take a pay check. If he is a quality person he still would give up one job. As a voter and a tax payer I expect him to put in a healthy honest 40 hours a week to lead our Township. That is what he agreed to do when he won the office. – His commitment to the voters. If he doesn’t put forth the required effort he lied.

Dan is the only one who speaks his mind and isn't afraid to but heads with the status quo... If mike thulen was sooo interested in saving money then he wouldn't have hired hi girlfriend in recreation at $50000 a yr...

If they were serious about saving money then they wouldn't hire a new recreation director when there was one their... They also wouldn't hire someone with no expierence as Tax Assessor at $100.000 when they could have promoted from within. And why did they agree to pay Juan 150.000 with no experience as ABA and admitted a know crook(Ritacco) is smarter then he is.

Art Sholty
Go get a glass of whine and read a few passages from the bible. It'll do you good.

Sholty, Could you name these valid citizens, honest to a fault.who are not related to you or Acropolis? And I guess we must assume they follow him from his house to town hall at 7:00AM. You can't believe this crap that you spew.

1.FIRE JUAN BELLU
2.FIRE SCOTT PEZZARAS

Lets get rid of them all next election.. Hey Art,the plurality was 3,000 votes so get over it.. Next Nov. its going to be a landslide.while you and Mr. Gutter Alan C. get tard and feathered as your other4 are run out of town ...AMEN

Whats going to fun in the mean time is how Susan and James react to all of the barrage of questions about their suspect past. MY first question to Susan is how come you moved 12 timES in eleven years and went bankrupt. I think ill ask that question every meeting 12 different ways. I also would like James to explain the crimiNAL charge in front of the TV camera's . oh yea its gonna be fun,

This is all so interesting.

craftwork,
You sound like a fool. The attacks against these candidates is exactly why they swamped your guys. Make sure to bring these issues up at the meetings so the electorate can see who cost the Rs the election. You really sound like an @$$.

Totally agree with Denny D..Show your ignorance in a public forum and many others who no where rhe bodies are buried will embarrase Mr. A.C. followers. Two can play the same game.Just start with all the relatives and groupies at Town Hall,that should have the Republican machine missing gears. GO FOR IT......

Just watched the council meeting. Department of Community Affairs, Federal Guidelines, D.E.P, C.A.F.R.A. Land Use Law, Municipal budget guidelines, ETC.... with the rest of of red tape Municipalities deal with. Once realized, will be an eye opener and truly an education. Keep Brick in your thought and prayers our future and our quality of life depends on it...

A good faith gesture will not get you re-elected!

My comment will be short and to the point,Bye Steve, always remember the job you didn't do for Brick, because we will never forget. Now go make your money elsewhere.

Stevie are you and your puppets trying to be "martyrs"? I guess you have enough paybacks coming in from other sources that owe you that you can throw $50,000+ out the door. Oh ya, who paid for your nice boat? The republican destruction of Brick is coming to an end soon. Yea

""We don't need anyone telling us what to do, especially people going out the door," said Councilman Joseph Sangiovanni, who will remain on the council next year."

Oh but you do, Mr. Sangiovanni. You guys have shown repeatedly that you need the residents of Brick to tell you what to do, and with this recent election, we're showing that you'd better listen.

Anthony, you are 1000 percent right. We the voters have the right to tell our elected officials WHAT WE WANT not what they may want. And if they don't do what they are told, they will suffer at the ballot box, just like steve's cronies found out 2 weeks ago. It's time politicians wake up and LISTEN to the folks who elected them.

Art, give it up. Your hatred for Dan is discusting, childish, and your mental state is unsettling. Just because Dan refuses to do what your lor and master Steve wants him to do, doesnt make him a bad person, in fact, it makes him the type of Team player the tax payers want. He is a member of OUR team.

Art why did you get fired from your public job? Was it because you refused to be a team player, or was it because your hatred shown through?

In today's Asbury Park Press's local news... A must read:

http://www.app.com/article/20111124/NJNEWS/311240041/Brick-mayor-volunteers-reduce-his-pay-1

APP reported today 11/25/11: "On Tuesday, Acropolis also urged the new council to roll back the 24-percent tax increase." This important piece to this puzzle was left out in this Patch article. -- If the Mayor now suddenly believes in this, what prompted his insisting on a 24% tax increase? The Mayor now knows he burned his bridge and his republican colleagues. Unfortunately the rest of them, the Council, didn't have the foresight to challenge the tax increase. If they did they may still be in office. - It doesn't always pay to be a team player.

Isn't it amusing to see the Republicans fighting among themselves... Sangiovanni telling outgoing councilman Thulen that he has no right to tell the remaining council members what to do, with Brando chiming in. Both these guys have had their nests "feathered" for them with high paying jobs that they never would have had if they weren't connected with a political party. What ever happened to qualifications?
Both these guys should take the hint and resign now with "dignity" and be happy with their other politically appointed positions rather than to face the embarassment of losing in two years, or worse, being recalled before that ever happens. In the meantime, let's start taking a closer look at returning to non-partisan government.

Again I say, "Sal Petoia for Mayor" on a Democratic ticket, if required.

Mr Petoia in reality there is no such thing as a Non-partisan government. All that will be different is that there will be no "official" party backing of the candidates. In the past when this was the format of the governmemt in Brick the parties were still backing the candidates.

And since everyone here is concerned about their property taxes please turn to the Board of education with your concerns because this is where the majority of your property taxes are going. You are paying more for your utilities than you are for the municipal portion of your taxes.

For John C: You are right that even in non-partisan government the parties back their candidates; however, no party designation appears on the ballot, giving independents a better chance at getting elected. Brick had non-partisan government that worked successfully for over twenty years until Republicans sought to change it because they werent gettng full advantage of a greater number of Republicans being registered. Partisan government doesn't assure that the "best" will run for office... only that those chosen by the "bosses" will. Greater participation by unaffiliated people is needed to introduce fresh ideas, but the path needs to be made easier and fairer for them. My concern is that we have honest people seek office for the benefit of the commkunity, not for people who seek to get rich off the taxpayers.

Sorry for the typos.

Let me also add that under non-partisan government we didn't have nasty partisan campaigns such as what we just witnessed in this past election, and we had much greater participation for voters to choose from. Without party designation on the ballot, voters had to vote for the person and what he/she stood for. And there was far better cooperation among council members.

Nepotism is everywhere people, not just town hall...fathers & sons, siblings, etc... on the police force, public works, firemen, Believe me, I am NOT an Acropolis fan & will be voting him out, however, if you are going to fight - fight fair. He is not the only elected official collecting paychecks from two tax-paying positions. I don't think that it is right, but it's no different than any one person collecting tax-paying welfare or unemployment money while working under the table, essentially ripping us off, or someone claiming dependents they are not eligible to claim for a higher tax return, or the numerous other frauds that cost me money. I happen to agree with Joseph Woolston when he said our votes should not be about Republican or Democrat, but rather about the individual. Suggestion: If you plan to vote, research the candidates. Had the people of Brick voted no in April, it would have forced the current council & Mayor to budget with-in the 2% cap. As the results showed, the residents were cowards, gave in, & still complain. The taxes will not go down. As per Tuesday's council meeting, the new council-elect people didn't know how the bond process occurs or that there are national safety regulations for playground equipment. They really do have a lot to learn. I hope they catch on quickly.

Excellent comments. Hard to disagree with you. There are always people scheming to beat the system and getting away with it. As far as the new people are concerned, there is always a learning curve. That' why seats are staggered.

After thought to John C, who doesn't believe there is non-partisan government: Those who wrote the Optional Municipal Charter Law recognized that partisan politics could be divisive and disruptive, so they wisely provided an alternative that would help mitigate the influence of the parties, i.e. non-partisan government. It takes a little more effort on the part of the voters to better learn about the candidates since unless they know the candidate personally, their party affiliation would remain unknown. That prevents a voter from simply casting for either a Republican or Democrat. That should result in a better informed electorate and, perhaps, better people serving us who may be less beholden to the party bosses. Joseph Woolston understands this, as does "Tired of the BS". I'm glad to see some people are waking up.

Mr Petoia, don't you think that every candidate in each election as well as the office holders will be labeled with their party affiliation, or by their backers and supporters? by their opponents in public and in every form of media available? It is impossible in today's world for there to be a non-partisan anything. In the past when Brick had this format of government the teams were exactly the same it was the Democrats and the Republicans backing the same people that are involved and in control in each party today.

Also in regards to a few comments above and others I have seen in the past I would like to make a few statements of pure fact without being attacked for partisan stance or affiliation on this message board:
Your tax Bill is a total of all your local tax obligations, Municipal, County, Fire District and Education/ Schools, please forgive if i missed a minor one. Your municipal taxes if broken down to a monthly basis on an average home in Brick is probably lower than most of your utility bills. In addion the Housing Authority is not supported by your local taxes it is supported by the rents collected from the tenants and an annual grant of money from the Federal Government through HUD. The MUA both here and in Toms River are also not funded through your taxes, they are supported by the water rates collected in the water bills and fees charged to developers.

how the entire country doesnt GRIP every election, just goes to show the IQ of the population

Imagine asking Brick residents to be more concerned about the Board of Ed rather than the Town's budget. The Town in the last 4 years raised taxes $26 million, the Board of Ed $10 million and in the last 3 years the BTMUA lost $14 million in operations and $5 million in investments as of 3/31/11 when the Dow was 12800.
If anything, the Town, then the BTMUA and at last the Board of Ed deserve scrutiny in that order.

All my figures come from the Town's, BTMUA's and Bd of Ed's budgets. These are their numbers, not mine. These budgets are on the websites. Anyone needing copies of these, I will be happy to provide.
It's too bad that political operatives hide behing fake names.

I find it interesting that anyone still believes that the 24%budget increase and referendum were one and the same. All anyone has to do is look at the summary page of the budget. Only 7% had to be cut to be within the 2% CAP. Although some expense figures were pumped and some revenue figures were lower than they should be, who would want to allow the mayor to make cuts? The mayor hasn't done anything correct, why give him a chance to mess up again when we were going to get hit with 17% anyway?

Morrissey

Why don't you ask Dr. Caprio from Rutgers University if any money is hidden in the budget due to the referendum. The PBA hired him as their expert to verify that there was a shortfall in revenues in the 2011 budget and without the referendums passage there would have been layoffs and cuts in services.

What are your credentials to prepare a CAP levy work book or analyze a budget?

And Joe where do you get your figure of 7% from, a little more than 4 cents of the tax increase was inside the CAP, leaving more than 8 cents required in the referendum required to balance the 2011 budget.

Ask any registered municipal accountant or certified municipal finance officer and the will tell you the same thing. Did you review the cap levy work book?

To the Flip Flopper himself. The Dems dont want you,the Publis does not want you. Your future is on the yellow brick road,please go away,you have NO credibility.You are the mouth that roared.,no substance,why not join up with Alan C. you can cty on each others tail....

To the Flip Flopper himself. The Dems dont want you,the Publis does not want you. Your future is on the yellow brick road,please go away,you have NO credibility.You are the mouth that roared.,no substance,why not join up with Alan C. you can cty on each others tail....

I am not making any excuses or statements. I mention the Board of Ed because it is the major portion of your tax bill and the turn out for the election on the school budget every April is quite poor. Before anyone should complain about their taxes they should make sure that they and all of their friends and neighbors are educated on the issues and take the time out to vote on the school budget. Maybe if the turnout was larger, more effort would be taken to control spending.

Every one who only leaves a code name after they blog are scared of a rebuttal that might get them in hot water. My name is, Art Sholty and don't you ever forget it. Say what you want because I know that what comes out of my mouth and print is the truth and nothing but the truth. Some of these blogs are quite interesting but most have been written under the tactic or cover of not knowing who the person is. You people are just scared and hide behind it to save being ridiculed Sal Petoia knows of what he says but people like Joe Lamb and Bullet Dan Toth are in it for the political excitement of stirring things up with lies. You are a bunch of phonies with nothing but negative thoughts on your minds. The fact that I took on Bullet Dan was not to ridicule but to advertise his political M.O.s This is knowledge for the future that can help you select the person running for elected office. You be the judge while I try and mention those who are taking advantage of you such as Joe Lamb the excommunicanted one of the DEmocratic Party. I give them (D) for doing this to him. Maybe the two party system is out so give it a thought like I'm doing. While you're at it, go to Church and ask God what he thinks about your thoughts, it helps.
Again, my name is Art Sholty.......now start throwing the stones, they don't mean anything, anymore.

Art I will be sure to light a candle for you when I go to church, looks like you could use God's help. Remember Art "let he who is without sin, cast the first stone" "Judge not lest ye be judged".

I will be sure to mention your name when I talk to Paul this week.

Scott: Regarding your last entry at 11:29, you are missing something. For people in your income bracket, the mayor and most of the council, the higher real estate taxes can be easily absorbed. For all too many who are living on the brink of financial disaster, the increase is intolerable. The council gave the people an awful choice: raise taxes or lose services. Many, especially seniors, were scared, and who's to blame them. They were basically extorted into voting to exceed the cap. There had to be other ways to reduce costs, e.g. maybe collect recycle once every two weeks, or eliminate high paying jobs like Juan Ballou (nobody really justified why we needed an assistant B.A.), maybe more effort could have been put in to sell off the Foodtown site, etc. Can you imagine if Acropolis' damp dream of purchasing the Ice Palace went through? The people have an absolute right to be upset and to take out their wrath on the incumbents. I predict there will be more "bloodshed" come the next local election... or maybe even before if people begin a recall election.

Scott Pezarras,
If it costs $300 a year (plus you all lied about how much private costs would be) for every house to pick up garbage than thats what the service should cost every house, not $900+ if you house is nicer or by the water and $75 if you live in a retirement village.......second and probably more important that extra increase now was put onto the property tax burden , where the homeowner MUST pay that ever increasing bill or be threaten with a tax lien and foreclosure.......you cant get foreclosed for not paying a private garbage bill

27 years living in the public sector has made you lose touch with reality......i have found you out to be the worst kind of liar......you are out to serve yourself.......the great thing about the depression is it woke the private taxpayers up from their 20 year slumber and shone the light on public employees such as yourself (who much prefer to operate under the radar)

I maybe the last to add here but Mayor I am a former supporter you have given us far too much baggage to carry, you should have dropped your salary as mayor from the day you took the job with the MUA, now you want to turn back the tax increase?????????? You are a desperate man your ego is clouding you common sense. Without our support you have already lost the election when Joe was mayor you and the council found ways to cut bucks from the budget to make ends meet but those days are gone and so are you!
Brando should be the next on the hit list the mayor is chump change next to this side stepper!!!!

I want to thank the R's for the good laughs they have provided over the last week. Art is preaching the word of God, and at the same time violating the golden rule. John C claims not to be the loser of the election, yet knows the inner workings of the MUA, just like John C the COMMISIONER would. Then we have Scott who is telling us what the mayor told him to say, I have to say he does a wonderful job of skirting the issues and BSing around a question.

Ok Scott let's see if you will answer this question or dance around it. WHAT are the details of the solar panel farm? How much is it costing us to build? How much is the monthly maintence? After 5 or 7 years how much to we have to pay the company who installed it to buy it back and run it ourselves? Who are the contractors? How many bids did you receive?

There is my question(s). I will wait to hear the answer.

Me:
We are currently negotiating with the redeveloper, but I can tell you this much we are going to receive an upfront payment in the form of a redevelopment fee once the redeveloper's agreement is approved( somewhere around $2.5 millin) The solar panel farm itself is a 6 to 6.5 mega watt facility, it is going to cost the twp nothing. The redeveloper is going to build the facility either through private financing or if the twp credit option is taken by the redeveloper, the redeveloper will be responsible to make the annual payments. The monthly maintenance will be the responsibility of the redevelopers, as they will own the system. We will continue to collect annual lease payments from the redeveloper and purchase power at a discounted rate far below retail market rates. The number of years and the rates will be negotiated . At the end of that period of time the solar field will be GIVEN to the Twp. and the Twp will continue to sell energy to the grid for the remaining life of the panels (approx. 10 to 15 years after we take it over).

I can't tell you the name of the redeveloper yet as we are still negotiating these items. Since it is a redevelopment project and we only received one bid, we were advised by our energy consultant to interview key viable players in the solar business. Which we have done and are moving forward with one of those interviewed.

FIRE JUAN BELLU AND SCOTT PEZZARAS.......THATS A START TO THE CUTS THAT ARE NEEDED

Morrissey

Our form of government requires a Business Administrator, and I also serve as the tenured Chief Financial Officer for the twp, which the twp. is required to have by statutory requirement.

ok I get it. So it will be at least 3 or 4 years before anything is done. After all it has taken 3 years to negotiate foodtown and it still isn't sold. When you state " I can not tell you the name of the redeveloper" thats sends up a huge red flag. It means one of 2 things, the redeveloper is a political cronie being given the job, or there is no redeveloper.

Sorry Scott it is hard to believe ANYtHING that comes out of townhall. We have been lied to, threatened, exhorted, to the point, if you told us the sky was blue, we would believe it to be another lie,.

Me
We are meeting with them this week to continue negotiations. Unlike Foodtown site there is no need for DOT or DEP to get involved, so the project can move forward with construction as soon as the landfill capping is complete approx. 12 months.

You ask me for answers and when I give them you question their validity. We will have to have the council pass a resolution accepting the redevelopers agreement then you and everyone else will know who the redevelopers are.

Scott: I understand what you are saying, but you still miss the point. Most people are hurting. Any increase in taxes hurts further. To seek higher taxes in the face of politicians holding multiple jobs as a consequence of political affiliation is an affront to taxpayers. How much really went into seeking other alternatives? The mayor now, after his party suffered a dramatic loss, volunteers to cut his salary to $1.00, while supporting cutting council salaries. It is obvious that eliminating the Asst. BA would not make a significant dent in the budget reduction, but it would show good faith that all avenues were being addressed. We need some innovative thinking. When the reservoir was being built it would have cost $2 million to excavate and get rid of the soil. I protested a decision to enter into a contract and argued that we should seek someone who would pay for the soil. One commissioner didn't want to do that because we would lose two to three months in the schedule. But I did prevail and convinced the commissioners (I was an alternate and had no vote) to seek alternatives. Monmouth County needed fill for a land fill cover and eventually agreed to remove the soil at no cost to Brick. Savings: $2 million! Innovative thinking! The burden cannot continue to be put on the less wealthy taxpayers.

Scott: I've worked with you in the past so I will accept your explanation for now; but, how did we get $8.6 million in the hole in the first place? Seems like a lot of spending without considering the consequences.

Sal

Call me in the office I will be happy to explain. 732-262-1050

Also, Scott, how much more would we have been in debt had the Ice Palace purchase gone through. Decisions like that indicate that the move was not fully thought out, nor show much consideration to the taxpayers. Thank God for Initiative and Referendum and the StopOverSpending campaign!

Best,

Sal

John C: First, I am not attacking Scott. I would hope that he is doing the best he can within the guidelines set by his employers. But don't tell me that an $8.6 million "hole" just didn't occur. Granted, it may have developed over a period of time, but that just further points out the mismanagement by our elected officials on both sides of the aisle. I guess you supported the Ice Palace purchase. That was a smart proposal in your judgement? How many other decisions occurred that went by unnoticed that contributed to our financial dilemma? All too often we have people governing who are merely "rubber stamps". They sit in the seat, take the salary and benefits (where applicable), including cushy jobs, and simply do not question. One of the negatives of one party rule. Based on your outlook the situation will only get worse. So, how do you propose to solve the problem... or do we just let it get worse until more and more people have to move out to get out from under. Not a bright future for Brick's people. By the way, don't I know you?

Sal, sorry I did not mean to infer that you were one of those attacking Scott. I do support recurring revenues and projects that create that revenue as long as the revenues cover the costs of running the project and paying off the financing. As far as the Ice Palace purchase, if the revenues received were enough to run and pay it off yes I would have supported it. I do see quite a large amount of money going from our Board of Ed (therefore our school taxes) going to pay for transportation out of town and to pay fees to other facilities for sports events so it wouldn't be such a tragedy for these revenues to be coming into Brick instead of other towns or private facilities. And please don't quote any of Joe Lambs numbers from the Ice Palace days, he in in no way reliable in any of the numbers he creates from the budgets and reports he quotes. I also don't want to see condos, another building like the Chambers Bridge Residence or another strip mall on the Ice Palace Property if the owner does eventually sell it when the market finally improves.

Taxes and fees are the recurring revenues which finance government.

Governments should not be involved in risky projects which are hoped to create recurring revenue. That is what businesses do, not governments. Businesses take risks and may succeed or fail. But governments cannot be allowed to fail. Governments provide for public safety and stability for society.

Governments must be conservative and must not imagine services it "must" provide and must not cater to special interest groups in order to buy votes with tax dollars.

Most people do not believe that governments, especially local governments, should be in the entertainment, energy, or real estate businesses. These are risky businesses, even for private business people, let alone politicians who never ran a private business successfully.

Politicians should not gamble with other people's money, especially with tax dollars, which are not a voluntary investment.

Goverment should not be run like a business, because it is not a business, just like business is not a government.
Government is sometimes more like a household where you must just say NO when the kids whine for more toys.

Sean

If there is no outside of the box thinking then all we have on the revenue side of the budget is taxes. State Aid is declining, grants are becoming scarce, one time revenue shots are no more.

The only thing left is the referendum law or a cut in service levels.

Scott, Next year when the budget is presented, the 2 percent cap applies, correct? Thank you.

Lori

The 2% CAP applies every year as does the 2.5% spending CAP. Remember, there are exceptions to both of these CAPs. Each of the exceptions are slightly different when they are related to each CAP.

Both include exceptions for debt service, increases to pension costs, and increases to health care costs. Healthcare is a little complicated as far as the CAP goes. Basically you can't exceed the increase in the States Health Benefit Plan and if you do, the amount that it is over the State has to be absobed in your 2% Tax Levy Cap.

Everyone just remember this, back in 2008 when the fight for OIP was on, Juan Bellu gave a statememnt to the press stating, "it is ok to spend our surplus on the OIP because there are no emergencies in the fore seeable future" With thinking like that no wonder Brick is in such dire financial straights!

A few questions for Scott Pezarras. Please enlighten us on the following: 1) Who was the first person to propose the OIP deal? 2) Who was the first person to propose the demolition of the Food Town? 3) who was the first person to propose the Trader's Cove deal? 4) Who was the first person to propose putting the trailer on the Food Town site? 5) Who was the first person to propose cutting the salaries of the Council? 6) Who was the first person to propose the garbage deal with Point? No tap dancing please. These are very direct simple questions that the BA should have an immediate answer for. Thank-you

The one issue which bothers me the most as a resident , is why are Brick’s taxes so high with all the retail/businesses and big box stores in town. -- Staples just doesn’t move from Lakewood to Brick unless they were offered a nice incentive. What about PC Richard’s, The Christmas Tree Store, Home Depot and many others. What deals were cut to attract these businesses? Taxes should have decreased instead of increased. Now with these new businesses, we are also being penalized with congested roadways, etc. Talk about occupy Wall St. While retailers may bring jobs, they are mostly paying low wage jobs. You need to be in management to make any money in those stores. I would bet most of the managers are from out of town. I would like to see a survey done to see how many of the higher paid employees actually live in Brick and if they do, were they transferred. Most large retailers promote from within, thus employees move from town to town.

What is the true finical benefit of have “Big Box Stores” in Brick? How much do we as tax payers actually save (on average per household)? Maybe you can answer this question Scott.

One more Scott. Whose idea was Bellu's 50K increase?

Don't forget the "austerity" program Don't replace retiring people,but replace them with volunteers to save the town money while Mayor and gang were getting fat with raises and jobs created for them. This crew was the biggest fraud ever in the history of the town.

I guess you have had a busy day Mr. Pezarras. I'll wait for your response to some rather simple questions. Whose idea and proposal were the solar panels? What company was paid to remove all the trees? Who wrote out the check? Who was t5he check made out to? While you're at it, who demolished the Food Town building and who received payment for that? Whose name was on the bottom of the check?

Well hit did put the ball in the dems court. Let's se if they want to reduce "spending" in Brick? How funny :)

Denny

Solar panels were the Twp's energy consultant's idea and it was embraced by the Administration, Council, and EPA as well. The landfill capping contractor is Carson and Roberts, they removed the trees in accordance with EPA's required capping plan that was approved. The check is eletronically produced through the accounting software, it is signed by the appropriate signatory in finance. The check would be made out to the contractor Carson Roberts. The Foodtown was demolished the redeveloper M&M Construction, no one was paid as the redeveloper has his own people to do this type of work. No check was written from the Twp. for the demolition of Foodtown.

So the shared services idea languished while garbage pickup was being threathened to be made private and then just happened to be resurrected after you scared the sheep into passing the referendum......isnt funny how that all just seem to time itself so perfect and the public WHO YOU WORK FOR, was not informed of any of this !!!!!!!

Scott P., thanks for your response. I do understand what you’re are saying about the tax benefit as well as these businesses being less taxing on our services, but there is a tradeoff. These businesses depend heavily on our local police especially this time of year. I remember years ago Brick residents were told that the addition of business coming into Brick would help stabilize our taxes. In the past few years we have seen a huge growth in businesses as well as a huge growth in taxes. It seems at this time adding more large businesses in Brick will not have any positive benefit on our taxes as well as community. I think Brick has over built and hit the point of diminishing returns. Those new businesses along 70 and in other locations have only increase traffic, cleared our local forests and destroyed the natural buffering between residences and business. I would rather look at trees versus a large man made wall/sound barrier. Trees help you to keep cool in the summer as well as allow some movement of air versus a wall. Over development becomes a quality of life issue for many in Brick and could decrease the values of their properties as well have a negative impact on the growth of our community. A drive through Brick is not a pretty thing. There are no longer the beautiful “shore” community aesthetics. Only open waterfront owners benifit.

Does anyone know what happened to the "Ethics Committee"? Who is/was that comprised of?

After doing some research I now I really see a problem... It pays to be a large business in Brick. Check out the Tax history on PC Richard and Sons. 550 Route 70, Brick, NJ property. They are paying less in taxes versus the former owner. The Mega Corporate businesses on average don’t appear to have been subject to the same increases as the average homeowner or pay their fair amount in taxes. I think Brick township is giving away the store at the expense of the local citizens to bring in large retail chains. What have they really done to boost our local economy? I’ve yet to see any benefit. Sure there are low wage jobs to be had, but nothing sustainable. These mega corporations should be paying twice in taxes what they are at this time. How are these businesses truely benifiting Brick?

I read the article in the Brick Times regarding the mayors giving a tour to the council people elect. He said something about living up to campaign promises or they will be one term servers. Imagine taking advice from someone who was basically the cause of his people losing and does not have speck of a chance to be re-elected if he has the nerve to run, or if his party will even back him. Still in denial,
blaming the cap for the results, as if he was an innocent bystander. Face it. You are through.

I cannot believe a few things in these comments....all 225 of them.

I can't believe that Art has now turned his guns onto Dan Toth, and then as a follow up, that next to no one understands why he obtains, AND that there is no mention of other council persons obtaining all the time over the years.

I can't believe that anyone who isn't certified by the state to do what Scott Pezarras is going to continually bash him on here, AND that he would waste his time even entering into a debate with anyone on here.

I also can't believe that anyone reading this thinks that there could be an election that could involve independents, truly unbiased and unsupported candidate. I think Ed (God rest his soul) may have been the only and the last unsupported candidate to run. Brick's budget is too large for a party not to be backing it. It will always be a D or an R, and there will always be attacks of ones person and or family when they attempt to step up and do WHAT'S RIGHT FOR BRICK, regardless of party affiliation.

And furthermore, I can't believe that The Patch allows half of this stuff to remain on their site, cause 90% of the stuff posted here is just hogwash posted by political cronies who don't really have a clue as to what they are talking about.

Lastly, it's a shame no one, well close to no one, on here ever thinks of what's right for Brick....only what's right for themselves and or their political party.