Chief,

How dare you call our freeholders "awful people"! They are the best damn elected officials that money can buy. If you don't believe me, ask AshBritt. They will set you straight.

@Lincoln Osiris

Enjoyed your post :)

Wow Chief, you said a mouthful there. In light of the shenanigans of the banks witholding insurance payouts as addressed in New York, by Gov. Cuomo, it isn't hard to believe what you are saying.

Agree!

The flock of republicon sheep of which you are one

The flock of all affected by these FEMA maps.

@ I have spoken, then that flock would include all Americans.

And the coffers are about to get emptier. What kind of a civilization doesn't want to deliver mail or pick up garbage? And one system produces the other. I would have half of my recycled materials if they stopped the damn junk mail. I have signed every list and requested on every level to stop the damn trash in my mailbox. My point is these locals can't even accomplish the mundane how are we to believe this was anything more than histrionics.
Tax revolt time. Strategic default time. Revolutiion time. Enough is enough.

Mr Henry

This is Ocean County home of Republicon Nepotism
Also known as the friends and family plan
How else do you explain 13 Commissioners at the OCUA all of which receive 5 k Free Medical Benefits and pension credits
How else do you explain the former Sheriff

I really want to know is if Kellys Daughter went to a rehab on tax payors money and why wasnt she charged...who in this Country can steal Tax dollar in the amount that she took and walk away free and clear..Not charged, Im guessing is so He can give her a civil service job down the road and she can get Her Pension.. I was also surprised to hear the former Sheriff had die,,I figured they would have someone else do that for him to like they did for his position the past 15 year..

@Forked River Piney

I'll take the GOP over the democRATS anyday of the week. Our taxes are close to being the cheapest in the state. Matter-of-fact look at all county and local governements run by the GOP and see the same bargins. Now look at all the democRAT run areas and you 'll see a tremendous difference.

http://www.state.nj.us/treasury/taxation/lpt/taxrate.shtml

That, Mr. Henry, is just too on the money for these guys. The mere thought of eliminating even one civil service job somehow just never makes it to their to do list in part because those involved are their friends and relatives. They will only understand it when we who pay very high taxes are forced out and will move past NJ's borders.

Freeloader Vicari is no saint. Don't you remember how he condemned the unemployed claiming "They don't want to work"? The spew that comes out of his mouth is of no interest.

It would go a whole lot faster and much more efficiently if FEMA just went home and took their out of date and out of touch plans with them.

Bingo!

In the case of Ortley Beach, Toms River would never let Ortley go. They get 30% of their tax revenue from Ortley in return for minimal services , schools, parks, fire protection, first aid squad and police presence. For Toms River, Ortley is one of those deals thats to good to be true, but is unfortunately true.

@John, You are right that these barrier island areas should be their own towns. Unfortunately, that will never happen as these areas are large moneymakers for the mainland towns that hold them hostage with bloated and unsubstatiated real estate values deigned to extract as much tax dollar as posssible. I say let them go and be on their own.

The reason that won't work is that much of the western side of Barnegat Bay was actually hit by Ocean water that came over and through the barrier islands. The building standards over there have been shaped by builders and developers and it shows. And the towns don't know what serious berms mean because in order to build up dunes, the businesses over there would have to forsake their views of the water which are what attract tourists. The western side of the Bay is hardly viewed as anything those on high care about so we catch their trash all of the time.

.

Maybe Christy is going to be doing Belly Flops during NorEasters accros the Lagoon from you house....

Karen, the webpage will not display.

@ KC, Here is the new link. I know you were having trouble with the one above.
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2013/02/democratic_senators_question_a.html

@Michael Capo, under the dreaded Biggert-Waters Act, Congress demanded that NFIP pay back the 18 billion dollars it owes the treasury, as well as set up a reserve fund to pay claims for the inevitable future disasters that will occur. The NFIP (an arm of FEMA) previously attempted to have this debt forgiven or compromised, but was informed that this was not going to happen. The debt owed the treasury (as you have mentioned) was mostly a by product of the bungling of Hurricane Katrina by then FEMA director Michael Brown. Are the FIRM revisions (and associated increases in flood insurance) that are currently in progress in New Jersey and New York designed to pay off the existing NFIP debt? My response to that wouk be an emphatic,"YES!".

www.Facebook.com/StopFemaNow

@ proud, it is a rsounding yes, and we are the ones who are getting screwed. What do they think, that the people of NJ are all idiots and that we're just going to lay down and allow them to trample all over us? Why should we have to pay for their screw ups? If they had hired people who knew what the hell they were doing then maybe they wouldn't have paid out over 385 million in claims to people that they never actually visited in person to check to see if their homes were damaged. They handed out money sight unseen and then expected to get it back 6 years later and now the rest of us have to pay for their ineptitude. It irks me that an agency like FEMA would be so negligent and that the government would allow such stupidty to take place. They want to complain about wasted money, well there you go, over 385 million out the door." At least some of the overpayments were due to FEMA employees’ own mistakes, ranging from clerical errors to failing to interview applicants, according to congressional testimony." But, lets raise the rates in NJ so they can bail us out.

Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/dec/28/fema-asks-katrina-victims-for-money-it-wrongly-sen/#ixzz2KypOaCdC
Follow us: @washtimes on Twitter

Honestly, it's the Governor's call. He could fess up to his bad decision making and undo the dumb things he signed us up for and return the decison making to people who actually live in the affected areas. He started out with that notion but swiftly changed course and unless he turns around quickly dark isn't the word for this area's future.

No need for county government.......actually no need for Government

Anarcho-Capitalism

Chief Wahoo for non-president !!!

I am an anti-Christ, I am an anarchist,
Don't know what I want But I know how to get it.
I wanna destroy the passer by. 'Cos I wanna be anarchy

Anarchy for the OC, It's coming sometime and maybe
I give a wrong time stop a traffic line. Your future dream is a shopping scheme
Cause I wanna be anarchy

Our Mayor mentioned increased taxes to come during one of his first interviews and to say that it hurt people very badly is to be nice about it. And he's a triple dipper to boot who obviously hasn't got a clue as to what you are talking about. That is a chronic problem in NJ and it's part of what making it hard to stay here is all about. The only route is to vote all incumbents out until politicians get the message that they are their to work FOR us and that we are not their personal ATM machines.

The answer may be to run a slate of Independents when those Freeholder seats come up again. I have attended just one meeting and it was enough to turn me off forever. They sit up on high and are rude and abusive to people who dare to ask questions or point to some bit of mismanagement. And the speakers are given at best three minutes and rudely told to sit down. Arrogant isn't the word for their behavior and actions and maybe a not politically associated bunch could get in there and they sure couldn't do those jobs in a lesser way than they are being done today.

@Proud, only because I've become entertained by your belated and some what innaccurate response.
1. Exactly where did you find a 5 ft ABFE in the new map, Which town? Which Panel?

2. 7.25 ft of flood water did run through this entire region. But you're right, elevated areas that are not listed in the flood zones did not flood. As ground levels increase in elevation, water levels are less. Do you know how to calculate the depth of flood water or a storm surge in a flood plain? It has nothing to do with the ground beneath your feet.

3. Ortley Beach is currently labeled and designated into two zones, A and V. I assure you that in the near future the entire area known as Ortley Beach will be entirely and solidly in a V Zone when the FIRM is released. That is courtesy of the Toms River Township Engineering Department and the fact that they have already adopted this measure on their own. That being said, The fact that all areas of Ortley that are not V, but will be designated as V, will make this MORE restrictive and that area will INCREASE in size, not shrink as you have innaccurately stated in your prior post about what I said.

The bottom line is this. When this rebuilding begins it has to happen in a careful and quality way. Meaning that you can't let ignorant homeowners remodel or build slipshod houses using knucklehead contractors and do what they want like has been done in the past, just because they think they can because it's their property.

@notasellout, pardon my tardiness in getting back to you. Let me preface by saying that that I provided misleading information in a previous post directed to you, as did you. I did check the panel for my area (Forked River NE) on the advisory maps. This panel includes sections of Berkeley Twsp. and adjoins the Toms River SE panel. There are no 5 foot ABFE's shown and I stand corrected. Ther are, however many 7 foot ABFE's, thus your statement "The new minimum base flood elevation is set at 8 foot" is false. I acknowledge that there is a LOT of information for all of us to digest, so I would not say that your statement is an out and out lie, as I do not believe that was your intention. While I do not know how to measure a storm surge, I do know how to read, and the observed storm surge on the aforementioned panel is five to six feet, and that I believe is important given the magnitude of Sandy relative to the increased elevations. Now, for your last point, and I would prefer that this not be an Ortleycentric discussion, but I must challenge your ASSURANCE that in the near future the entire area known as Ortley Beach will be entirely and solidly in a V Zone when the FIRM is released. The following is courtesy of the Toms River Township Engineering :
[" the Township does not wish to pursue the specific request to FEMA for further analysis and study of the ABFE maps for the possible expansion of the “Velocity” zone in the Ortley Beach section any longer.]" ( cont )

(cont) ....I'm afraid @notasellout that the means that TR Twsp has adopted nothing as you have surmised. Further, the township states on it's website that:
["FEMA representatives have advised the Township that the ABFE maps are “conservative” and that the current designation in Ortley Beach as shown on the ABFE maps is not likely to change."]
That in and of itself would support my position that elevations may decrease and zones shrink, but not the adverse, which would be more restrictive.
The bottom line is this: accusing people of being liars, knuckleheads or stupid is not only inflammatory, but puerile and boorish. You see, I'm an old fashioned fellow that believes that a lady should be treated as just that, unless she gives reason to no be. Didn't your Mother teach you that?@ Eleanor gave you no reason for you to attack, even if she were not 100% correct. Anyone and everyone can make mistakes. Even you @notasellout. Perhaps you should give that some consideration.

That "area" approach is unfair. Houses on pilings tended to make it through while older homes built right on the shore line were frequently demolished. Each house has to be evaluated and not by some contractor Fema hired who in our case spent three minutes here and filled out their form with actual lies. He didn't ask the questions on the form and when we got to see it two months later, it just did not reflect the truth about this house.

Developments may be able to take that "area" approach but the worst hit places contained mixed housing and one size does not fit all. But so far Fema has just done shoddy if not dishonest work so their end products can't be trusted.

@ Robert Yates, I actually believe there should be no municipal governments. I concur that there should be no FEMA, as the federal government should not be in the insurance business. The amount of tax dollars that have been squandered on the bureaucratic nightmare known as the NFIP could have been used to but an awful lot of four hundred dollar hammers.

www.Facebook.com/StopFemaNow

pssssssssssssst Mitt lost
feel free to move to a third world country oh like tx
Didya vote for Gov Chrisco? lol

@proud: I could go with that. No municipal governments, but rather just a small county government to deal with judicial matters primarily. @FRP: I could be wrong, but proud's views don't seem to line up too well with Mitt's, nor the tea party's, but then again, you don't seem to pay much attention to details. FYI, the US is on a fast track to becoming a 3rd world country herself, so perhaps your sarcastic advice would be worth looking into after all. At least - what you would call - third world countries are openly corrupt. The US's corruption is enshrined in illegitimate laws.

Go to Zazzle and type in: llewellynh and you will find your shirts. And every single penny of the $1.40 I make will go directly into the palms of people who are in truly desperate need as a result of Sandy and the lack of care they have received.

Well we on the western side of Barnegat Bay who often used to visit the barrier islands will not likely be there this summer. We don't have the money to waste on $5 hamburgers and $5 ice cream cones because we are having serious trouble getting by never mind planning for any sort of future.

The boardwalk is all private business and I hope not a single dime of outside money has gone into the Governor's summer wonderland because if it has, it is money that should have been spent on those who are close to destitute. People were displaced and still are but have to keep paying their existing mortgages and slightly reduced property taxes while also having to set up temporary homes elsewhere. Try having a job but having to buy a second hand wardrobe because your own clothes got wet. Ditto your shoes and so many other basics.

PJ Ortley --- what specific web page at the Toms River web site shows the retraction by the engineer? Please provide the specific web page link. Do we know the name of this engineer who said this and then retracted it?

I finally have a copy of the contracted fema inspector's report of this house and he who asked no questions and didn't set foot in the house proper just made up all kinds of stuff to fill in the blanks. My favorite was his saying we have average carpeting when in fact we don't have any at all. But for that caliber of work, that man was paid with our taxpayer dollars, $500 a day.

I will unload it when I find the highest possible venue to show folks just what has been going on.

I spent a year and a half studying hurricane prevention building and some houses can be lifted but there is always a risk of destroying the structural integrity of the building. The absolute best time to do it is up front but architects and engineers have been working on this for several decades and have made things better. One of the problems NJ faces is that because our building codes were so sloppy for years and years, that very few builders around here understand this to them anyway newer way of building. They should be required to attend hands on classes and then be tested because it takes greater skill to insert pilings after the fact than it does in the beginning. There is a learning curve here and I wouldn't want to be one of anyone's first ten or fifteen customers.

I've been watching roofs getting repaired to the way out of whack building codes in place and do think our towns could at least upgrade the codes when it comes to roofing. The new method requires more nails and in very strict environments it has to be done by hand nailing and not with guns. And roofing is now a common repair but to just put it up the same old way does a disservice to all of us.

@Karen M, there is a commentary "Don't Chase the Middle Class Away" on page A-11 of the Asbury Park Press today written by one of your neighbors,a Len Tambone. His story is your story. Thought you would like to know.

@proud, thanks I will take a look at it.

And unfortunately there is a great deal of price gouging going on and it's reflected in that quote you received. If you wait the fellows will know how to do things much better than they do at the moment and somehow I suspect the prices will go back down to where they were pre-Sandy.

@Gage, thanks I needed a good laugh.

Chief, it's not fear of them but the processes put in place by the multiple layers of government and slack off insurance companies have been set up to drive the sanest among us nuts. Fema hadn't done it's job for 30 THIRTY years and the governor foolishly didn't investigate their previous performances around the nation so with those two things going on, it becomes a full time job to get even a single reliable straight answer.

And to just ignore them means insurance premiums (the scam of all times) will squash you along with the bank that holds your mortgage and which from now on will demand to see the paid up premium paperwork every year.

Christie didn't need another expensive commission. He did need top flight business systems folks to put in a streamlined but accurate system that would have as rapidly as possible helped people in many ways. Right now for him to say go ahead and build shows how little he understands his own government. It's fine to say we are free but somehow way too many of us have ended up in foreclosure and the western side of the Bay is headed for much more of that than the damage caused by Sandy deserves. Reasonable new standards and codes combined with a ton of common sense is just too easy but always put on the back burner.

NAR Realtors: opportunistic middle men, often lacking in education who as a profession, add nothing to GDP. The job is attractive to narcissistic, self-centered individuals who believe that photos of their heads are the main value-add to their work. That they can work collectively to manipulate the system further should surprise nobody.

But the National Association of Realtors endorsed what they should have known wasn't going to be good for them. The AARP did the same damn thing with endorsing the new medicare which is very close to No Care.

Real estate was tanking in this area way before Sandy and this is the icing on the cake. The question is who is going to replace us. Builders of McMansions or birds most of us love dearly and are advocates for. I just get the feeling that some folks think by removing us they will attract the rich and famous who will pay much higher taxes. It's a fantasy that only politicians would dream of but it's a real possibility because it's tough to believe that with the huge number of civil "servants" involved that no one saw the disaster that they themselves were creating and raised his or her voice loudly.

@its over, we are trying to help each other out, your home movies are not welcome!

Is that a fact or a pipe dream? I realize we do qualify now for that situation but I sure don't see how this bankrupt State can cope with that loss of revenue given their huge pensions and double dipping lifestyles that the Governor has yet to thin out. He balances budgets by not paying into those way too high Pension Plans and thinks that people don't realize that down the road those who still live here will really be paying taxes - or moving out swiftly. And I like him and voted for him but when his eyes moved toward the White House, the number of short cuts grew in leaps and bounds and how he can balance the budget with a close to half state 3.5% sales tax is beyond me. And to that big hole he will see that sales tax revenue in general is going to tank because people have less and less money to spend.

But maybe he thinks Atlantic City will turn around. Only a politician could fall for that one. We are in serious financial trouble as a nation and as a State and at some point those guys are going to have to readjust some of their great plans such as raising Bayside houses 14' in the air because one of the most inept federal agencies guesses that's the thing to do.

@Karen M., if you have not seen the APP today, there is an article on the first page of the county section addressing just this issue. Stafford is going to adopt the ABFE's and fight the zone changes. On the front page of the main section are all Sandy related. There is an article about a video from a Faith Liquopri and letter she wrote that inspired a video posted on you tube called "Homeless in Seaside Park". It is an excellent portrayal of FEMA induced atrocities. I would recommend EVERYBODY watch this video:www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbF8q19wodE as we are all in this together.

www.Facebook/StopFemaNow

@proud, I actually read her letter several weeks ago and I have seen the video. thanks for the info anyways. This was an interesting weekend at the shore I spoke with a house raising company who gave me an estimate and he said that there are grants that will be available to everyone who wants to raise their home. He was talking about the hazard mitigation grant. I was told by some other people that these are impossible to get, but he advised me otherwise. He stated that they will be made available to cover the cost of raising your home so you don't incur any out of pocket expense. And this company will do the grant application for you. I am going to do a bit more research and then I will post what I find out. Because, I told him that I was told that I would have to come up with the additional cost and he said no. He said that the grant will be availble for everyone. Seeing is believing and I am going to look in to it.

I've heard that rumor several times but until someone shows me that in signed and sealed writing, I don't buy it. If they were going to back down - and they should - why not do it now? What is the purpose of putting so many human beings through month after month of endless stress. By August or September how many people will have had heart attacks or even done themselves in because of the unending torment that they are being told to be patient about.

Dear Karen M, there is no Easter Bunny. There is a dollar limit on those grants and so "everyone" who wants to raise their house will not be able to do via that route. There are other strings attached and I strongly suggest that you take his offer to a lawyer or even a fema office because you are not being told the truth.

@foggyworld, I didn't say I believed what he was selling. I research everything before I take anyone at their word. So far, like so many others, I've been told what they think people want to hear. I for one, don't think that I will be entitled to a dime because my home is a second home. Quite frankly, my husband and I are tired of the BS. I had a Fema rep call me last week and he told me that I should play the lottery; I would probably have better odds of obtaining some money than trying to secure grant money. So that tells you where thats going.

I wouldn't be too hard on the employees that came out to your area. FEMA administrators and politicians want to hear as few complaints as possible. Employees know those above them in the food chain do not want to hear complaints. So those that receive payments when they know they shouldn't are not going to complain too loudly. I bet the neighbors you mention are pretty quiet.

Keep in mind that Fema is the agency that ordered 20,000 trailer homes for folks in New Orleans but never got around to delivering them to the people who needed them. Instead they still sit I believe all bunched up and rotting together.

No one in their right mind would ever let those folks dispense funds for any purpose under the sun. Accounting is a word not spoken there.

A whole bunch of those Fema "employees" are actually contractors who were quickly hired but not to toss taxpayer money away. The sad part of this is that so many people still are in serious need of financial help and the little money that has gone out way too often went to people who in effect stole from their neighbors. Remember them when they come back.

Nt sure if I cut and pasted this correct, iPads can be funky. This is an old post, but it rings true, enjoy, or not.

http://nolaslate.blogspot.com/2012/10/unsolicited-advice-to-northeast-in.html?m=1

And I made some up for the group but put them on Zazzle so people could buy things in colors and styles that I couldn't afford to stock. Go to llewellynh at their site. My best one starts of with: FEMA is a four letter word.

I don't dare look because I asked early on if we in the neighborhoods that the money was being spent on could at least initial some forms stating that yes, that work was done in our area on that date and by X number of people who spent X number of hours doing said work. They used equipment that I would identify as _____________.

Now you know this didn't happen and yet I kept reading about the tons of money being spent in our war zone neighborhood and knew it wasn't true. Next to nothing was spent here and it still shows.