In regards to pop Warner using school buses for cheer competitions, on the brick memorial side they do not use brick buses. They charter school buses from Murphy or another bus company and pay for the trip to competition. Brick buses have not been used in at least the past five or six years.

Clamdigger you are correct, talk about needing to trim some fat, how many principles do we really need??? All making 100k plus, the pigs continue to feed from the trough while our children get shafted, now I know why they can't afford to put after school activities in the budget, they are to busy making up positions and giving themselves obnoxious raises, disgusting. Now I understand why Governor Christie endorses charter schools, because of the greedy people like the ones running our public schools.

Chris,

The kids who receive free/reduced lunch do not have to pay anything, but they can still participate. The district estimated the number of children who are on free/reduced lunch in each school and factored the cost of those students participating into the rate that everyone else will pay. The cost for the students on free/reduced is covered.

Hi Dan, could you clear something up please. Who is considered "The District"?

thanks for all the time and effort you put in to writing and answering questions as well as clearing up things.

clamdigger - By "the district" I really just meant district personnel. A number of people had a hand in developing the program.

Dan, 3 other questions;

1) Would this include Brick Twp. BOE members as well as Brick Twp. school officials?

2) Would anyone else from outside of Brick Twp. be involved?

3) Would you be willing to tell us who was involved in the process and decision making?

Hello Thomas, the NJEA union is the cause of this problem. Years and years of salaries, pensions and low cost health care plans that have cut so deeply into our school budgets. This is not the fault of one governor, this problem has been building for decades and now the chickens have come home to roost.

The NJEA knows the budget for every single town down to the penny,every single year and they are out to get as much money from that budget for their union workers so the NJEA can get their cut, they could care less for the kids and it shows. It's time to bust that union and give the kids our money's worth.

John,
Please present your thoughts at tonights meeting we need someone who really understands the system to resolve this issue.
I don't want to pay for school sports, it was free for me when I played but understanding the current financial crisis I would be willing to pay $50-$100 with the stipulation that the teams carry no more than 15 players for baseball and softball.

We already pay. It is called taxes. The BOE had, I believe, $142 million budget in 2010. That is approximately 60% of our property taxes. They have proven to be incompetent and greedy. They just don't like being exposed for what they are. Shame on you citizens for asking them to answer for their actions. You should be thankful that they let you speak at their meetings. That is their attitude towards the public and the citizens of Brick. They get enough of a budget, they just don't know what the hell they are doing.

Is everyone aware that out of the Brick BOE and its millions of our dollars that 84% of that is allocated toward payroll.

Let me say that again for those that r e a d s l o w l y;
84% of the BRICK BOE budget goes toward payroll.

That means only 16% of our money goes toward the upkeep of the schools and busses and keeping them functioning.

We have 13 schools and a little over 10k students. I believe that's part of the problem, too many schools. I believe we should find a way to consolidate schools and sell off the property of schools that close. If we need to build, we build. There's tons of land at Vet's, why not add a 2nd or even 3rd level to those schools. Something needs to be done about reducing our payroll and putting the money back to work for the kids.

84% of our tax money to payroll is obscene. Imagine running a business and having 84% of your income go to just payroll, it wouldn't work.

Paul,
I will be glad to volunteer, you can find me on facebook and I will also be at the meeting tonight.

Look me up on facebook or lets find a location to meet up at VMMS tonight.

Why would you begrudge lower income bracket children, the opportunity to participate?

HEY NAGGINGMON...you are right. no child should be able to play for free. it is a pay to play. i am a parent with a child in middle school who gets free lunch. let's get one thing straight. i dont think there is any parent who is proud to say they get free lunch because they are not raking in the dough!!! sooooo, "NAGGINGMOM" maybe, just maybe it is the most of embarrassing situations to come up every school year to have to apply for free lunch. maybe there is a child on the team who only has one parent with other siblings... SO I PERSONALLY FIND YOUR COMMENT THAT YOU WILL APPLY FOR REDUCED/FREE LUNCH AS RUDE, DISRESPECTFUL AND ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING!!!!!! i dont think it is right that my son will play for free but it is the law. i would feel obligated to do something,even if simple gatorade for the whole team every game or something. nobody should be free but maybe think before you speak your mind. i was totally 100% offended by your comments.i am not applying you have the $ to throw around. but remember there maybe someone worse off than you or even i. in the long run we all as parents just want one thing. we all want the right thing done for all of our children. i understand the frustration....my son waited his entire life for this opportunity and happy to get the chance. any parent who gets free lunch for their child/children should be grateful for that. that should not be applied to after school activities. we gotta stick together as a whole family!!!

We need to be kind to one another and point our disgust and anger in the right direction. All of us as citizens suffer the consequences of poor management of our tax dollars. Let's be thoughtful, respectful and sensitive to others that may have it even worse than our own individual situations. "WE" did not create this situation, "THEY" did. We just have to deal with it and/or do something about it. April is coming. Three seats are on the block. Let's get them out and replace them with new faces with new ideas and hopefully, meaningful solutions to our immediate needs for our children.
Does anyone know who is running in April for the available seats? Is there a website that we can go and see the candidates?

I searched for this on Facebook and didn't find it.

DOUG and CLAMDIGGER, I totally agree with everything you say , and truly I am a kind and caring person, but i'm just disgusted with this town and don't think it is right that WE pay high taxes and now are told we must pay to play , so now my children CANNOT play because I CANNOT afford it? ....Just saying it's not fair what is done for one family should be done for all families....

LAST NAME NOT TRUMP - I do a lot of thinking before I speak...if you are offended by what I say ,oh well the truth hurts.....You or Vera didn't comment on my question about "What do I do now ,Because I CANNOT afford pay to play , is the township going to help me out , serioiusly? or I just have to tell my children who LOVE soccer that they can't play? Look at the whole picture, what is done for your child should be done for mine!!!!!! Where is law protecting me? I don't begrudge you for the position your in , I give you credit for being a single mom with four children, I know how hard it is these days, we are all in the same boat,but do you see my point , Why should your child play and not mine...I'm not Trump neither.

BrickMiddleSchoolActivities@groups.facebook.com

Please join and together we can ask important questions and we can be heard by the school administration.

John I went to my facebook page and did a search and it says no page found. Please post the url for the page. Thank you

Mr Persi deserves not one cent. He failed the children. To not proceed , would be a concession. Now what?

It is a contract Vera. Honoring contracts is just a basic principle. His contract stated 30 days notice for dismissal. They did not do that. Whether he was bad at his job or not. Pay him and move on. I can't believe that you could justify spending $57k to not pay this guy $21k. That makes no sense at all. I also have my doubts about the accuracy of the $57k number. I believe that it is higher than that.
We cannot blame the Governor for over inflated salaries and benefits. We cannot blame the Governor for telling people that there is no money for after-school programs (sports, music, arts etc...) and then go and higher another administrator. They are crooks and that is the bottom line.

Thank you Doug for handling Vera today! Do I need to breakdown the costs of filing an appeal? Tack on another $50k my friends. The lawyer, Pifko, who sits on the BOE should know how much it costs to file an appeal. He should also know about contracts. Sad to say, and as much as boob Persi was, the BOE owes him $21k. Bad faith on the BOE part. Persi initially sued for over $103k. A judge decided $21k was all we owed him. If you ask me, the judge did us a favor and now the BOE is appealing it! April can't come soon enough!

*correction sp. Fov= Gov

Thanks Cheriee. I just don't understand half of the crap that goes on with the BOE and their line of thinking. These kids are getting ripped off of most of the basic things that we all enjoyed as students when we went to school. There will be no "do over". My daughter is in her last year of middle school. It certainly would have been nicer to her tell me about all of the opportunities of things to do instead of telling me all the things she no longer has. It is outrageous and evident that there are members of the BOE that will always put themselves before what is best for the kids and that is so disheartening and sad.

Vera, I am sure you are laughing at your poor grammar! I have an idea, now that President Obama has quit his terrible smoking habit, perhaps you could write him a letter requesting that he donate his cigarette money to the Brick Democratic Club. I am sure you and Mr. Lamb could put it to good use!

Using my daughter as an example because it is first hand knowledge and not hearsay. This is about the disservice to ALL of the children. They don't have a say in what happens, do they? I am disgruntled and the abomination that is happening with a group of people that have no clue apparently. They were elected to a position to provide for our children's education at the highest possible level and have failed. I am not sure where you get the "organized group" thing, but I don't know any of these folks that have been posting and I don't know you either. I just happen to be a fairly well educated citizen of Brick that can recognize failure when it display's itself. Mr. Pifko should know that they were obligated to abide to the contract and should have counciled them properly. Mr. Pifko should have also informed the BOE that the cost to challenge would be greater than the cost to abide to the binding contract. Now, they are planning to appeal at an even greater cost to the taxpayers and a profit to Mr. Pifko. He is a lawyer and he will be more than happy to continue this as long as they want because it means more money to him.
How can you not see this insanity? If your point is only defend your elected friends, then say what you will. I for one will be ignoring it.

Thank you John

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Page title BrickMiddleSchoolActitities

I think you are right - Join and discuss - Friends are added in the upper right corner of group page

hey naggingmom......i am a full blown u.s citizen. i live in brick. i pay taxes. i am a single parent with four children. yes, single and yes four children. there are families out there that do need a little help. some of us struggle to put food on the table. some of us have our homes in forcloseure, there are families losing homes. ......any other rude comments????????? we need to stick together!!!!! it is US against THEM!!!!!!!! it is all their poor planning and we all feel taken advantage of. as i said i would be entitled to play for free but would feel obligated to help out where and when i can. reguarless of how big or how small i would feel my duty as a citizen to contribute. nothing should be free for anyone!!!!!!

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Page title BrickMiddleSchoolActitities

I think you are right - Join and discuss - Friends are added in the upper right corner of group page

OOOOOOOOOOOOOh, Vera what's the matter you have NO answer for me?

i soooooooo agree with "me".... i know at little league all kids get there fair chance. thats why i also have all my children registered to play at little league/cal ripken. why would i pay and my children not even see the field????? whats going to happen if they do not get enough kids because of the rediculous fee and no guarantee a child may get any playing time at all?????? this is just so sad all of our children are facing these tough times because of some brainless fools!!!!! IT IS ALL ABOUT THE CHILDREN RIGHT??????????????

While I agree I do believe politics has no place in education. This is why our schools are screwed up because people put politics before the education of our children.

With that said we pay Edwards and Hyenrko 400k a year between the 2, give or take a couple thousand. Why dont we have them give the 100k needed for these sports back to the district. Think of it as a screw up tax.

As I stated before, politics has no place in education. BOE members are SUPPOSED to be party neutral. If they can not be, then they must resign. Plain and simple. I am so sick of hearing "we are doing this for the kids" and then get a note from the teachers begging for donations of basic supplies.
April can not come soon enough. I will NOT vote for anyone who is currently on the BOE nor will I vote for anyone I know is politically involved in any way shape or form.

Doug...Vera's whole life revolves around the support she dis[plays toward anything pertaining to the Democrat party and she knows it. She'll try to rip through anyone who displays Republican or Libertarian view points and demonize anyone who is against cutting back on taaxes, gov't spending, salaries or unionized/socialistic points of view. She'll demand answers from one party and look away at her own party. The BOE members up for election will find out soon enough how the public feels about them and the decisions they've made pertaining the children of this town,because that's what they're suppose to be about, the kids. This has been the worst BOE in this Twp's history and I hope they're happy with the damage they've produced. They've been gutless & spinless except toward the public and completely self centered regarding the "work" they've done.

Thanks Clamdigger. It is very apparent after an entire day of pointing to the Press. This coming from the same person that bashed the Press during the snow storm debacle. I am proud to be independent and a free thinker. Wrong is wrong and not affiliated to any party. I don't care if we elect space aliens as long as they do the right thing for the kids and put the kids before their own political games and agenda. April will have so many wonderful things. Spring, warm weather, flowers and trees blooming and three people driving away from their former positions. Maybe they should have thought twice before they treated the public like idiots and morons.

How many times are you going to post the same crap. Stop pointing fingers. The state is in trouble and it all starts with the local governments and their greed and poor management. I can go on for quite a while at all of the things that this current BOE has done to this system and our schools. Even doing shady things like holding "sudden" meetings at time that are not conducive for the public to attend, denying OPRA requests to disclose money trails and the list goes on and on. Don't keep pointing fingers! On the other hand, please do. It gives people a chance to see just what "party loyal" people, like yourself, do to distract from the real issues. You are providing plenty of information as to why we, the voters and citizens, should vote these people out the door. Come April, I am fairly confident that is exactly what you will see. This town is fed up and it is time to make some changes. Bye Bye

Vera dear, you previously stated that towns all over the state have cut middle school sports, yet you fall back on just one,Red Bank. Are there others??? Also, if you can, answer this question, where should the State Aid come from...and please don't answer the from the state.

How about we scrub all contracts w/ the NJEA and start from scratch, get back to basics, start holding teachers, principles and superintenednts accountable. Get rid of tenure, cap out salaries so no one inthe school system makes over $100k p/year,mandate all those in the education system pay for their healthcare on a fair basis and finally revamp the retirement issue.

Maybe these Democrats can plant a money tree. :-)

hello Vera, Yes you are correct an error was made regarding funds from the Fed, but it was a minor error which could have been corrected easily if the correction was ALLOWED to be made. Apparently Mr.Obama and his staff were unwilling to overlook the error and DENY the State of NJ the necessary funds. Maybe it's the presidents way of getting his message across to the new Gov of NJ, since they are not of the same party. I can't help but believe that if it was Gov Corzine still in office the "error" would have been over looked and we'd have the funds.....so I blame the President for our kids not having the federal funds they deserve.

As for being a "Union Hater", I don't hate the unions, I despise those that run them. I despise what they have done to the great companies of this country with their demands and strong arm tactics. I regret that companies, states and local townships didn't have the guts to stand up to the unions and deny the numerous contracts that have come home to roost and are crushing our country. I despise those in gov't that caved into the unions, sold their souls to the unions for a few votes and then laid the ground work for the problems our country is experiencing now. Unions have played their part in this counrty, there was a time when they were a necessity for the protection of the workers, but those times have come and gone.

That should go for High school sports then too. We pay over 600k per year for 40 kids to play hockey. Why do we need 50 football coaches in high school (yes sarcasm). If Middle school kids have to pay to play baseball then so should high school kids. What's good for one should be good for all!!!!

I do not agree with this at all. Sports in school teach things to our children such as sportsmanship, team spirit, school spirit, learning athletic skills that can be enhanced so that they are more prepared to play at a high school level, keeps them involved in school and so many more things. It is not as black and white as some statements seem to lean towards. The main issue here is the mismanagement of taxpayer money. Middle school sports programs is just the vehicle and driver of these outrages by the Brick citizens. It cannot be argued by the current BOE that there are no funds for these things when they are giving themselves 4.9% raises in the worst economic times since the 1930's, hiring additional more administration, but complain there is no money etc... We don't need more administration, we need an administration within the bounds of the available money to do a stand up job. There is so much money that is wasted (take the appeal of the Persi issue for instance) and on things that, if it was properly managed, could have saved these programs and we wouldn't be having these posts on this topic.

Yes most don't care about the cut. But the parents are being offered sour grapes - the offer was not worth the amount of time the BOE spent on making it. So why can't the BOE become productive and make things work?

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Tuna Stick, our family knows a large number of families that send their kids to a private school here in Brick and are very happy with the education that is provided there, tuition is just under $4k per student per year, is a preK thru 8th school and enrollment is less than 900 children.

Many of those people have children who play in the schools' sports program, the cost for that is $100.00 (for JV & V basketball,and soccer, not sure what the baseball, track, volleyball teams require) which includes a $50 refundable uniform deposit.

So basically for $50.00 kids are playing sports.

There is no "bussing provided" all transportation is the responsibility of the parents. Coaches volunteer.

Your arguement makes no sense. High school sports generate pride in the school but middle school sports do not? Totally unlogical. The amount of money generated by high school sports ,ticket sales, doesnt even pay 1/4 of the pay for the head coach. Again unlogical. You can not give to one and not to the other, it is unfair. By children playing middle school sports, it teaches them the rules of the game, and prepares them to compete at the high school level. With that training, the quality of high school sports go down the drain as does your pride. No one is going to pay to watch a bunch of kids lose because they dont know how to play the game. Sorry but your arguement, again, is unlogical.

That pride and teaching was my point as well. I am a coach with BMAC and teaching the kids the basics of any sport that they desire to play is essential to develop prior to getting to High School. This is what needs to be at the forefront of the decision makers. Kids first. Not just the words at meetings, but the actions of their decisions. Can spew anything that I think you want to hear, but turning around and doing things that are counterproductive to what I told you only does one thing.

I have a Middle School Scholarship and letters from Middle Schoolers that are thankful because the Middle School Sports programs put them into private high schools and gave them a jump into their careers.
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ME, you can disagree with my point, but unless you understand it, you're reply is meaningless (and the term is "illogical", not "unlogical"). High School sports cater to a young adult, not adolescents (middle-schoolers). Sure they can be taught school pride, but it certainly is lost on most 10 to 12 year olds. Team pride can be learned on the teams from the municipality (little league, biddy-ball). Your point about high school age players not knowing anyting about a sport unless learned in middle-school is absurd. Please, you are entitled to your own opinion. You are not entitled to your own facts. A good coach, on the high school level, can teach someone all they have to know about the game. No middle-schooler is going to a world class athlete because of their involvement in sports at that level.
Still the piont here is that the BOE has squandered away the money on other things, and now cannot afford to spend it on sports. That's a shame since the kids lose out because of it. The thought that the high schools will suffer because of that is ridiculous.

Tuna, The disagreement about what is learned at what level is subjective, however it seems that most of us agree that the BOE has failed in putting the children first and squandered money away. To your comment about the high schools suffering being ridiculous, I would have to say that it really many not be ridiculous. If we allow this trend to continue and it becomes an accepted practice, don't be surprised if the high school sports isn't next. The BOE has become very comfortable with doing whatever they want and getting the public to accept through the "it is just the way it is" attitude. There was enough money there in the budget to not lose anything, but when you choose yourself over the welfare and benefit of the children, then it is time to remove those people and get new ones in there. Ones that truly care about the kids. We need to remember that they are responsible for all levels of education and don't think for one minute that the high schools are exempt from their tyranny.

Who paid for YOUR children's education when they were in school? Did they play sports? Have art and music classes? Go on class trips? Have other after school activities? Who paid for all of that? Paying taxes is a part of life. However paying outragous taxes is not. Sports is NOT the reason your taxes are high. The reason they are high is due to the greed of district employees, favortism in granting contracts, and the ineptness of the BOE to realize what is going on. They are puppets, being controlled by those behind the scenes.

That budget was bloated and anyone who read it, including the Town Council, knew it. Programs for the children get cut, but the can give themselves 4.9% raises and hire another administrator. EXPLAIN THAT!

"stop complaining because you are part of the reason why we have to pa!"

I completely disagree! The reason why you have to pay is because you should have been paying all along. It should never be the taxpayers' responsibility to pay for these extras for your children any more than we should be responsible to pay for their bicycles and video games. If you want these things for your children, it's very simple - YOU pay for them.

Stop drinking the Kool-Aid that our Socialist President is dispensing! We didn’t sign up for a Nanny-state. People need to assume personal responsibility for the choices that they make and stop wanting everybody else to pay for the things they want. Enough with entitlements!

Chris and Tired of Nothing...hold your horses there a minute. When the cost of putting out a simple baseball team exceeds $5k for a coach who may put in by my estimate less than 75 hours, there's a huge problem. 75 hours outside of "school world" is less than 2 weeks work but that $5k paycheck prorates out to $10k a month which =$120k a year job. It's great that the schools can ask for volunteers in "some areas" but to have a volunteer in a position that is considered a position of authority is a no-no. THAT position has to go to someone who can get a nice fat check (and who probably doesn't even know which end of the bat to hold) but I guess the assistant coach can be a volunteer and carry the bucket of balls and the the bases.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/home.php?sk=group_162752693774629&ap=1
friends are added by using upper right add a friend click.

You are wrong. I have the break own right in front of me. $5497 for head coach. $500 for workers. $650 for officials. $625 for busses. Good for your nephew, too bad those of us with children in school wont get that opportunity if the BOE has their way.

Hello Tired of Nothing....if you read paragraph 7 of the article above, it clearly states;

"According to the same document, stipends account for the lion’s share of team expenses. Coaches for each sport on the middle school level are paid $5,457 for their efforts. Busing is the next highest expense, coming in at $625 for baseball and softball and $5,600 for track and field. Busing is more expensive for track and field because all events take place off school grounds, a notation on the document explains."

This is how I break down what the schedule may look like;

Coaches are being paid $5,400 to coach 10 games (confirmed by a parent who received a letter outlining the # of games for the season) and run a few practices.

So if there's three 1.5hour practices per week (4.5 hours of practice per week) and 1 game per week (2hrs), that's 65 total hours over the course of the season.

So for argument sake let's just say 75 total coaching hours. 75 coaching hrs divided by $5,400 = $72.00 per hour. 70 coaching hours =$77 p/hr. That's a nice chunk of change.

So maybe this will run for 12 weeks, which will include 2 weeks of pre season practice and still include the 3 practices a week each practice being 1.5hrs. That brings it up to 74 hours.

Last time I checked 74 hours is less than 80 hours which = two 40hr work weeks. Even if it was 80 hrs of time for the $5400 that's still over $67.00 p/hr. I just added another potential 6 hours for you now do you see it.

I didn't get a chance to speak. I decided to go home and open a public forum on facebook. Try it out, and add friends (upper right on group page click add friends)

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Is that anything like sneaking in raises and hiring of administrators? Oh wait, I forgot that after almost 10 requests, you refuse to address those topics.

Vera, please note that the township council, should they choose to put something up for referendum, MUST place it on the BOE ballot under the new cap law that is in effect. It is not a matter of "sneaking" anything onto the BOE ballot, it's a matter of the law requiring local questions to go to voters at that time. Please see the following article which appeared in the Burlington County Times for more information: http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/local/burlington_county_times/bct_news_details/article/2465/2011/january/21/state-tax-cap-referendums-will-appear-on-school-election-ballots.html

Thank you Dan - Your information is good. Keep up the good work.

It must be Christie, the Mayor and the Town Council's fault. :-)

William, the most recent meeting was a "make-up" meeting for a previous one which was postponed due to snow. The board's regularly-scheduled February meeting will take place Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. at VMMS. As for notification, the state's Open Public Meetings Act requires 48 hours notice, which the district did comply with in the case of this meeting.

Thanks Dan. I might be mistaken, but I thought the rescheduled meeting was originally set for Thursday night, not Wednesday.

So what is your point? Saving the taxpayers $67k is a bad thing? The BOE should learn something from that. Saving the taxpayer money is something we actually like and consider intelligent.

Vera, nobody attacked anything you said. I simply stated that the law (as per a DCA directive) requires referendums on items that exceed the cap to be placed on the BOE election ballot. Furthermore, I wrote a story on the potential for specific items to be placed on the ballot within a few weeks of this site's debut. It's on here, somewhere. I expect many, if not most, municipalities in New Jersey will have things on the BOE election ballots this year, given the new cap law. This isn't something that is unique to Brick.

Additionally, we've also had multiple stories on here about Traders Cove and French's Landfill. Haven't looked into the Foodtown site yet, but it's on the radar and it's one of the issues many people have asked me to inquire about. Expect an update soon, and thanks for the suggestion/reminder.

Talking about hidden agendas? Now that is funny. That learning experience must have come from the BOE.

The challenge centers on preparing a budget that stays within the 2 percent cap on expenditures that goes into effect for the upcoming, 2011 budget cycle. As it stands right now, the mayor said, it would be virtually impossible to stay within the mandated spending limit.

"The budget as it is right now, without layoffs … it's impossible to run next year's budget under the 2 percent cap," Acropolis said. "Obviously, if we get concessions or cooperation from the unions, and if we get the solar panels [at French's Landfill], that probably will get us close to where everyone will keep their job."

But if the public employee unions cannot come to an agreement on givebacks of some sort with the township, the voters may get to decide whether to exceed the cap to pay to keep certain municipal services. On the ballot could be public trash pickup and recycling services.

"We would ask the voters, 'what services do you want to pay for, and what services do you want to cut?'" said Acropolis. "If they say 'we want recreation or public works,' they'll vote to increase the cap and go over 2 percent."

Voters already had their say on trash pickup. Last month they voted overwhelmingly – about 93 to 7 percent – in favor of retaining public trash pickup in a nonbinding ballot question. If the question comes up again, most likely in April or May, voters will be asked to approve an exemption which would allow the township to exceed the 2 percent tax cap in order to keep public

sanittaion service. An exemption would pass only if 60 percent of voters come out in favor of exceeding the cap.

"If taxes go up, it's because people voted for them," said Acropolis. "If things get cut - not as many police officers or recreation programs - it's because people voted not to have those things. It's going to be like the wild West for a couple of years as people realize that their votes really count."

Ballot referendums only come into play, however, if employee raises, healthcare plans and other benefits packages aren't renegotiated down to stay under the cap. If a ballot referendum fails to gain voter support, jobs would have to be eliminated. With so much at stake, some township council members indicated they were not comfortable with putting so much responsibility on the voters.

Councilman Dan Toth said under no circumstances would he support a switch to private trash collection.

"Personally, that is not even an option for me ," said Toth. "The township can collect garbage and recycling cheaper that any service can."

Councilman Brian DeLuca placed the responsibility on the unions, whose members may face layoffs if negotiations fail and the voters do not support exceeding the cap.

"We're doing everything to reach out to you [the unions], and if you don't want to help yourself, it makes my job a little easier," said DeLuca.

Scott Pezarras, the township business administrator, said Brick officials are currently looking at a $2 million to $2.5 million shortfall next year. The municipal budget is separate from the school budget, which will also be covered under the cap law.

Vera sweetheart, you seem to be in a tizzy. Have you taken it upon yourself to become our own local Ms."Keith Olbermann"? I can't wait to see your "Worst Person" portion of the program. Oops, it seems Doug already fired you, it seems you are following in Keith's footsteps.

Happy SaintValentines Day,
C/D