good evening ladies and gentlemen Welcome to our Township of lacy Caucus meeting today's date February 27th 6 p.m adequate notice this meeting has been given in accordance with the open public meetings act pursuant to public laws 1975 said notice was advertising Asbury
Park Press and the beacon was posted on the bulletin board showing the time and place of the meeting love a salute to the flag I pledge allegiance to the of the United States of America the repu for it
stands Nation God indivisible liy andice for all item number one special use permit Lacy United Methodist Church blessing of the cars event on April 6th 2025 um the Lacy United Methodist Church
is seeking permission to host a blessing of the cars event on Sunday April 6th from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. in their Park want move it second all in favor I State on that yes item number two special use permit Lacy United Methodist
Church car show May 10th 2025 move it second all in favor I I'll obain on that one too for the record I just like to say the good people at the uh United Methodist Church hosted an event the
other night uh where there was an author there and uh donated the proceeds of his book uh to the tunnels to towers and just nine people over there uh at that United Methodist Church very nice thank you I nothing
else motion to close this meeting move it second all in favor I C poliy February 27th 2025 adequate notice of this meeting has been given in accordance with the open public meeting act pursuant the public laws in 1975 said notice was advertised in Asbury
Park Press in the beacon was posted on the bulletin board showing the time and place of the meeting will have a salute to the flag and a moment of silence to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation un God indivisible
with libery and justice for all item number one first reading of ordinance 2025-the providing for various Capital Improvements and the Acquisitions of various Capital Equipment coordinance of the township of Ley County of ocean state of New Jersey providing for
various Capital Improvements and the acquisition of various Capital Equipment appropriating 3,538 500 therefore and authorizing the issuance of $3,121 th000 bonds and notes to finance a portion of the cost thereof authorized
in and by the township of lacy in the county of ocean state of New Jersey this is for various building improvements um the purchase and remounting of emergency emergency service Vehicles Road improvements Dam inspections and drudging projects move it second Mr McDonald yes Mr Kenne yes Mr julo yes Mr
lay yes mayor car yes item number two second reading of ordinance 2025-the establishing new chap 241 entitled municipal buildings restricted areas so as to safeguard public records second reading open the floor to public
comment go ahead Regina descends a Sunset Drive Sunrise Beach I would just like an explanation um what the restricted areas are how many and um you know public records is it just a storage area I just
wanted a little more of a description on that sure so the ordinance includes the clerk's office except for the lobby area construction zoning land use office except for the lobby area mail and Supply rooms server room employee break room and kitchen CFO finance office tax assessor's office except for the lobby
area Tax Collector Office conference rooms court office storage areas recreation office except for lobby area DPW except for the main entrance Police Department except for lobby area and Recreation huts and the wibbit Hut so basically that means means none of the work areas correct just the entry areas
for visitors okay yeah that's what I want any other comments see n make a motion to close the floor move it second second yes I number three resolution
20259 providing for a temporary capital budget resolution of the township of lacy County of ocean stadi in New Jersey providing for temporary capital budget in accordance with njac 5 call -4.4 this is to um this is establishing
the 2025 capital budget move it second Mr Kennis yes Mr M Donald yes Mrs Juliano yes Mr lay yes mayor C yes item number four resolution 20259 to support publishing legal
notices on official government websites resolution of the township of lacy County of ocean state of New Jersey to support publishing legal notices on official government government websites this is um came from the New Jersey League of municipalities uh many municipalities are adopting a similar
resolution due to newspapers no longer printing daily um and to make advertising more efficient move it second Mr canis yes Mrs Juliana yes Mr McDonald yes Mr Laray yes mayor C yes item number five
resolution 2025-the the appointment of a part-time electrical subcode official resolution of the township of lacy County of ocean state of New Jersey authorizing the appointment of James McCormack as part-time electrical subcode official for the township of lacy move it second
Mr lay yes Mr Kenneth yes Mr McDonald yes Mrs Juliana yes mayor K yes M number six resolution 2025-the of the Community Development block grant to provide a housing rehabilitation program move it second Mr kenis yes Mr
McDonald yes Mrs Juliano yes Mr L yes mayor C yes it number seven resolution 20251 authorizing an agreement with Shore District advertising resolution of the township of lacy County of ocean state of New Jersey accepting and authorizing the execution of an
advertising and sponsorship sales representative agreement with Shore District advertising LLC this is to potentially get um event sponsorships move it second Mrs Juliano yes Mr McDonald yes Mr Kenne yes Mr yes mayor K
yes I'm Number Eight resolution 2025-the the cancellation of a tax lean resolution of the township of lacy County of ocean state of New Jersey authorizing the cancellation of tax title lean number 25-54 due to error with mua balances
move it second Mr lay yes Mr Kennis yes Mr McDonald yes Mrs Juliana yes mayor kello yes I'm Number Nine resolution 2025-the the refund of deposit monies resolution of the township of lacy County of ocean state of New Jersey authorizing the refund of deposits held
for the use of Municipal facilities move it second Mrs julan yes Mr lay yes Mr kenis yes Mr McDonald yes yes item number 10 resolution 2025-the the payment of Township bills
resolution of the township of ly County of ocean state of New Jersey authorizing the payment of Township bills this is in the amount of 1, 36898 430 move it second Mrs Juliano yes Mr Kennis yes Mr McDonald yes Mr Laray
yes mayor C yes item number 11 motion to approve Caucus meeting minutes from February 13 2025 move it second all in favor I number 12 motion to approve Township meeting minutes from February 13th 2025
second all in favor I item number 13 motion to approve executive session meeting minutes from February 13 2025 second all in favor I item number 14 motion to approve budget meeting minutes from February 20th
2025 second in favor I item number 15 motion to approve executive session meeting minutes from February 20th 20125 it second in favor I comments from the committee this evening Deputy Mayor tennis thank you mayor um recently we
received the the tax collector's report um I encourage always encourage everybody to read it I hope it's available on the website it is it's actually filled with a lot of good information um our collection rate is still above 99% um and it has a list of like the largest taxpayers which is always an
interesting read um uh and on our the tax sales I I don't know if anybody knows how tax sales work in in the township but when uh you don't pay your property taxes or your mua bills it goes up to for a tax sale and right now you're able to go on a website and Bill
uh bid across the country um and it starts at 18% and it gets bid downward and what happens is if it reaches zero then the somebody that's trying to buyer tax certificate pays a premium and uh this year our taxes owed were
approximately $300,000 or passo and the premiums bid were 1.1 million which is an awful lot of money and what happens to that money in the event that the properties get foreclosed on the township gets the money but that's very rare so those are my comments thank you
sir committee man McDonald thank you mayor um last meeting I read something from a friend of mine who sent sent this I guess this person liked what I said they sent me another one and I thought it was appropriate and I will read it
um I'm not sure where this person gets this stuff from but this is is pretty good cities are paralyzed by an impossible expectation that progress must come with unanimity for years local government has has treated unanimity as
a gold standard of decision- making we delay projects restructure policies and soften Solutions in the endless attempt to make sure everyone is on board no city has ever moved forward because everyone agreed cities move forward because leaders have the courage to act
knowing full well that opposition will always exist governance was never designed but to be a group therapy session it is not about waiting until every voice is satisfied it is about making decisions that Pro that protect the long-term interest of the entire
Community not just the loudest or most persistent factions the belief that unanimous approval should should drive decision-making is why infrastructure projects take decade to materialize it's why zoning reforms get stuck in limbo it's why elected official officials
hesitate to take necessary action fearing backlash from those who will never sat never be satisfied regardless of the outcome peel it back and you realize that leadership demands action in the absence of unanimity waiting for total agreement is the same as choosing in action and inaction in in itself a
decision a decision to let problems festers cost rise and opportunities slip away cities fail because leaders convince themselves that no choice is sa safer than the hard Choice the best leaders do not govern by committee they do not confuse engagement with permission they do not delay for the
sake of comfort they recognize that progress is built on momentum not Universal approval if local government continues to chase unanimity it will continue to chase its own tail moving but never moving forward leadership is about making the right decision for the people who will Who will live with the
consequences long after the outrage has faded ma that's all I have thank you committee M McDonald committee woman Juliana thank you mayor um I want to say that tomorrow is our uh Municipal Alliance senior luncheon down
at um Community Hall it's um there'll be speakers there um so it's an interesting if anybody has the time and can make it to the luncheon that would be great it starts at 12:00 this month alone we have put out
58 fire calls of sorts thank God we have the volunteer firen that we men and women that we have always appreciate them also I want to say we had a wonderful meeting the other night in reference to our Beach Boulevard Park um and I think that it went over
well were I think our conversation about it went over well and I do believe the only thing that I was disappointed in is there was only 20 people and sometimes that's the problem people want things done but then they don't come out to
either support or not support and that's really I'm sure everybody finds that in whatever they try to do they you've got to come out and voice your opinion it's it's important but I think we come to some conclusions and I think things are going to be um taken care of so that's
all I have mayor thank you thank you so much committee woman Juliano committee man lay well the one thing about going last is your list gets shorter and shorter everybody else speaks before you but uh one thing I want to bring to the Public's attention is I don't know
if they're aware of it but the uh Board of Social Services for the county uh this within this past year has uh put together a mobile outreach program uh they got a vehicle and they go from town to town to reach uh parts of our
community that are not able either to get to uh either the northern southern or the main office in Tom's River so they put a calendar out every month where they're going to be what programs can be discussed uh because a lot of the public does doesn't even know what's out
there to uh be used could help them what is out there be available but you can either go on the uh Ocean County Board of Social Services website to Fe be where they are but I wanted to let the public in uh Lacy know that on March
13th from 99 to 12 9:00 a.m. to 12 they will be at the uh Ocean Medical Center here in town but uh just throughout the month they'll probably be in 20 different locations around Ocean County that's great uh
Peggy Sue uh already stole the Thunder the second thing I was going to talk about uh that b uh for Bay Bayfront uh Beach meeting we had Monday night with some professionals the community and uh ourselves I know one thing I found it
very informational I learned things about even though I've been around these plants all my life what I can step on and can't step on and what's healthy and not healthy but it was I I really enjoyed it because it's been an issue I know that's been
bouncing around even way before I got up here and it was nice to see how professional it was how cordial it was how informational it was and I think we all walked away with something so to me I found that very very
positive the one big thing that I mention every meeting because it's getting closer and closer pay attention March 11th is the Schoolboard referendum again I urge everybody to read learn and make what you think is
your best decision on that day and I don't know if the schools having any more meetings for this uh is the community group still having a meeting on March 6th at 700 p.m. at the library if anybody cares to attend and hear some information on that but this is
a one of the biggest nuts that's ever been put forth in front of our community so please make an educated decision and vote for what you think's right for yourself the other opportunity I had this past month last week I did get to
go over to the MUA meet the people there and uh spend some time with our new mua director which was uh very impressive but what I found super impressive this last month I met with Chief Kenny and and Captain Sullivan and I got a couple
hour tour and indepth uh discussion over at the police station I got to say for what they have over there they're really stuffing a lot
in a small package but besides being proud of the job they do the care and what they're doing over there and some of them even on their personal time was super super impressive but I'll tell you I W I walked away from there you know with the
proudness I feel in this town I mean they just bring it to a whole new level and everybody I met in there from the detectives the clerk all the way up to the administrative staff was just unbelievable and that's all I have tonight thank you so much appreciate that I want to have a couple of comments
um about the governor's uh budget and his speech um I think it's most unfortunate and I feel that this town and our ZIP codes have been maligned for a very long time and I think a lot of that is in part of uh to do with where we um stand ideologically so we're
talking about a 51 a 58.1 billion budget 67% higher than when this Governor took office in 2018 and I would be saying this about anyone that was that fiscally irresponsible regardless of the letter after their name that bugs me because
you pay for that we all pay for that no matter where we sitting in this room we all have skin in that game $1.2 billion in new fees and taxes $1.2 billion in new fees and taxes this is in a state uh
with a robust uh gaming center in Atlantic City online betting sports betting toll roads and the list goes on it's very unfortunate it's it is emblematic of Financial mismanagement and I think it's it's a
disgrace and I will I I I don't Advocate anything negative to happen to anybody but I will be pleased when this Governor exits and enjoys his retirement so I will leave it at that uh please watch your mailbox for the New Jersey tax relief the anchor
program one thing that was done and I'll give credit uh the division of taxation will uh act out here for tax relief for folks age 65 or over and it's not $250,000 income anymore it's half a
million so keep your eye opened for that one short announcement at the senior center on uh Garfield Avenue in Tom's River on March 31st the division of taxation will be there in person from 12:30 afternoon till 2:30 in the
afternoon to answer your questions I don't want anybody to miss out there's going to be a lot more eligibility especially for our seniors and fixed income 65 and over so if you if you check those boxes in a in a tax year 2024 you can get this and that's a big
deal um I want to thank my colleagues for attending that uh Waterfront Park um and then I guess just a word moving moving forward we have one official way to communicate with our residents Lacy township.org where you
can call 693 11100 or most of the town has our cell phone numbers and when I hear from different people and they call me Pete is this real Is that real is that happening well there's no name or somebody used a different name if you if you want the real real call 693 11100 go
to our website because I work at the Board of Health Veron as a board member at the Board of Health uh there has been and I want to thank publicly committeewoman Juliano uh for bringing this to my attention it's been a hot button issue for the last couple of weeks uh about the so-called Aven fluir
flu there have been no human infections in New Jersey uh we have posted now to several uh locations the official uh Ocean County Health Department and there's no shortage of academic Capital that works there uh press release please
call 732 341 9700 if you have questions we have a great communicable disease unit there I worked there for several years inside that unit around 2009 10 11 so come to the source learn it we're here to to support you um we're the
officials will'll always give you the real real um so with that said as committee woman Juliano has said if you can make the alliance lunch in tomorrow Heather and that Alliance do wonderful work try to get there and with that I
will open up the floor Regina I had to pick somebody I'm sorry Mr we go next you go next yes because adjust yeah I think I need an adjustment thank you Barry
appreciate that I don't know what we would Barry I don't know what we' do without you you close doors you adjust this you're you're the man Barry all right I think he's do update okay thank you I want
okay thank you um Regina desend of sensor Drive Sunrise Beach um I'd like to ask the committee if you have any questions about what's happening at the board of education and last meeting Mr Kennis did say I'd like to know how they do the budget over there I didn't say it
like that well not back but here it is okay I brought a copy with you that's 10 years old um it should be destroyed but I I considered it pretty precious to me because it was the first one I ever saw
um so I offered to speak with you but basically the administration specifically the principal submit their annual budget wishes to the assistant business administrator and the business administrator then they create this internal document with all the itemized course generally the document runs about
68 pages or so at least it was every year that I was on the board with many line items on each page so I brought the old one to show you what it looks like the board members would receive reive a copy of this report we could pick out the line items ask for justification ask
for it to be eliminated or adjusted but rarely did we ever get asked our opinions on the budget line by line first of all the contracts dictated all salaries and benefits everything came out of the back of this book is the salary guides
okay so there was very little wiggle room left for the remainder of the budget if anyone had looked at exhibit j19 on the current annual comprehensive financial report for the Lacy Boe most people could see in black and white how little money was spent on maintenance
and upkeep over the past 10 years on their six school buildings and the district office buildings so for the past 10 years long-term maintenance was deferred unless something was about to blow up while I was on the board we were told the boilers at the high school must be replaced or they could blow up so of
course everyone agreed it had become a safety matter to replace 40-year-old boilers why because long-term maintenance was never properly attended to with a board member in place currently for 33 years it is their obligation to see that the
schools are well-run I was a Gass when I heard the news that one the high school boilers had not been replaced for 40 years and two that no one on the board noticed that long-term maintenance was not being performed in a timely manner would you leave your home furnace on for
40 years no probably not because that's far beyond beyond the useful lifespan would you let your hot water heater go double past its useful lifespan probably not the Lac booe seems to have an awful habit of letting things break down to the point of no return or in the case of
the high school boilers sheer danger I will never forget the day that Mr George told us well they're in danger of blowing up and he's like a missile like a missile through the roof and I'm like great sadly the Lacy Township Board of Education has not been acting upon their
state mandated fiduciary responsibilities case in point is the budget the ba presents the budget to the school board with very little input from the board and the board has not exercised its full fiduciary responsibilities year after year since serving on the board for six years I can
attest that the budget was mostly rubber stamped by the board with little to no input from board members I did not vote for five out of six budgets because I felt they were ridiculous and the only one I voted for was because it was a level budget from when year to the next
and quite frankly someone begged me no one no thought was given to the impacts of the employment contracts with raises over 2% negotiated by board members with not a care in the world about the long-term effect which we see today there have been no serious give backs by
the union that I'm aware of the school budget is crushed by the employment costs that were negotiated without a thought for the Future How could a board continually approve contracts that they knew they could not afford the state aid has drastically decreased over the last
10 years in most terms this would be characterized as an unfair Labor practice no one seems to care it's obvious to anyone with a functioning brain that what the school board and administration is doing isn't working why would anyone vote to support a $92
million referendum plus 46,000 for 46 million in interest what am I saying I heard the finance lady tell Mr bidnick the number since I was standing right next to her when she said it and give the district that has failed the taxpayers over and over again this
outrageous sum of referendum money I can't imagine supporting more fiscal incompetence of this magnitude and neither should the taxpayers of lacy if you guys have any questions this is the document this is the
contract it's all here thank you other comments this evening please he's in charge of that stuff somehow he got that job I don't know you should sit in the front row from now
on my head shows up on the camera I know what that's like oh Barry this is a little too high Pat Dale Beach Boulevard by the beautiful barnegate Bay I'm just here to give a word of thanks
and uh thank you for the very good vegetation meeting on Monday night regarding the forkid river Bayfront Park sorry for my voice um thanks to Veronica we don't always give you than
that's okay but you arranged the meetings and I know what a pain in the neck that can be committee woman Giuliano I totally agree with you I can tell you that Barry bender and my neighbor Denise walked around the neighborhood for two weekends giving out flyers and the rain and the
cold weather trying to stir up participation and support and it is there were actually more people there than I thought would be there but it could have used a little more support we are also a very seasonal community so that has a lot to do um
they're not here but thank you to barnegate Bay partnership Dr Stan Hales and Bailey Sanders uh a very diligent plan I know I saw ba out at the Bayfront Park several times doing all her photography and
cataloging of the plants and I know they gave a lot of time yes they did and it was all pro bono Y which was a boost to the township and I do believe Dr Hales who has been coming out here for a very long time feels somewhat of an affinity
with our Township and would like to help us in any way he can Dr hails mentioned that there were a few citizens that came out and worked on the plan with him Bailey Mrs Juliano and Senator and uh I would like
to thank those people also I was one of them uh we were a diverse group from the community we weren't uh we were from the Walking path we were from the private beach Daytona binnacle we definitely we're not all
seeing things the same way the first meeting was a little rockus MH but there's one excuse me really good thing we did we kept talking right and we came
back to the second meeting and we sat down and we realized it was time to start listening to each other that's right and we did and we raised our questions and we raised our concerns and I think out of that the
plan that was presented is a beautiful plan now I know there was more than that with the flower beds and all which I'm for but when I say the plan that we talked about it was the Mowing and the clipping that's been so controversial
yeah we were all from different points of view yes we were you know that and some of the people I knew beforehand some I didn't they're fine people I would work with any of them all over again they're good people that really all we wanted to do was resolve the
contention and the controversy that had been going on that was our total goal I think the plan was a good balance the plan is not about any one person it is not about me myself and I
my house what I want it's about all of us our community and words that I don't think we hear it too often the common good Y and I feel that it was a great plan and I hope it is adopted because it really
did um address all the concerns and again we are continuing to work together as a group we'd like to join with the township we would like to work with you and I think we have a lot to offer we have people that are motivated we have
people that have learned a lot already and we're still learning all the time now our focus is the Hesco baskets report do out tomorrow and um the committee was very motivated and energized when we met we believe
there were different ideas that could help the Bayfront Park one thing if you do the clipping in July I think as was suggested we offered to come out and take the training and help with the clipping and take some of the burden off Public
Works and we talked about doing whatever we need to do um to make that a comfort zone for all of you meaning one day event Insurance a hold harmless whatever you feel is necessary and we thought we
could even end it with a little celebration Under The Pavilion and try to encourage some more Community spirit and Community connectedness just one idea um we've thought of a lot of ideas but that is just one perhaps a 501c3
Friends of the Bayfront Park and a once a year fundraiser and okay you want to do that flower bed see if we can get the money up to donate it so there were lots of good ideas lots of good knowledge please use us we really do want to keep working with
you last but never the least committee woman Juliano I mean this from the heart I'm gonna start crying this would not have happened without you I appreciate that very much I don't mean just this the vegetation
plan I mean the connectiveness the beginning the first steps it hurt me to see the fighting and that's why I had to figure it out I also believe from my watching things and experience strictly
my opinion I do think it's shared by others I mean this with all respect you are the first committee person to publicly acknowledge our issues and our concerns at the Bayfront Park appreciate that we are deeply
grateful for that thank you thank you you combine a very you are nobody's fool and you disagree with no problem but you combine what I call courage of conviction with empathy and support and
that's kind of a balance you don't always find in people I thank you and I know a lot of people in the community thank you please keep working with us thank you all very much thank you Pat appreciate it thank you any other
[Applause] comments seeing none motion to close he said it twice sorry guys and I'll adjust it for myself okay Mr vender one second Mr lay wants to com I just uh before Barry
speaks Pat chat I want to I want to thank you for your comments tonight because as we all know I'm a little new to all this and like I said before with the informative and cordial meeting that was the other
night because even though I'm new to up here I'm not new to town and some of the issues around and even sitting in the audience all last year listening to everybody Badger back and forth and different ways things went
I was totally totally impressed by Monday night's meeting um I'm not going to say I miss all the years that you were going back and forth and couldn't come to a consensus but I didn't know what I was walking into Monday
night and I I'll I'll tell you what it was just so professional so well-run it seemed like so many people you know I say this all the time no matter what we're not always going to be on the same page mhm but we
have to work together right sum are right some are wrong we got to come to a medium and move on and when I seen that Monday night I said wow from all the stuff I've been I'm trying to use the right words because other things are in my head
uh going on the past few years since this all came to light um I got to say kudos to everybody body from the professionals the the township committee and all you residents uh it it really really was and I I I walked away you
know you don't always walk away from all the meetings feeling good that one I did but we're going to put all that behind us and we're going to move forward from here yep thank
you thank you we're fortunate in Township to have to have strong women yeah yeah you can't let people let's go all right bar very brief because this will
be every meeting now yes May 31st Relay for Life we need teams we need volunteers it's going to go up on the electronic board as soon as I can get a logo to them which I'll send out tonight but we need more teams the past couple
of years the number of teams has not been C Barry don't you think you should challenge this group here I'm I'll jump in I'm ready I I've attended every year it has gotten smaller unfortunately it we need uh I mean last year it was like
six teams we need at least a dozen teams we're up to eight so far uh we're meeting every month probably might cancer Zoom meetings in but yeah we're going to get it up on the board people are talking about we got to get the word out there right and every meeting I'll be spreading the word
that we need people and we need teams so thank you very much thank you very please hi Laura shlick um I just wanted to uh thank the um members of council who were at the presentation on Monday night it was great talking to some of
you before and after um I think they did a wonderful job and thank you to the um the Town Council Members who were part of the small group uh ahead of the presentation um the experts did an amazing job and uh I thought a lot of people came away with
learning a lot I know I spoke to you a little bit Bob afterwards and um and just going forward I just want to whatever plan you come up with as a group I just want to offer up my time to volunteer in any way that I can because you know my passion about it so that's
it thank you thank you Laura anyone else this evening Mr Bing let's see Richard bidnick Lacy citizens for responsible government uh good evening Lacy citizens mayor um Township committee members couple of things um I
believe in consensus governing and what we saw obviously from the group in the meeting that happened was the form of consensus governing that works when you have input from everybody of course everybody can't possibly agree on everything but at least people will feel better when at least Le they're being
heard it's very important in a democracy imagine if we were in Washington DC and one person was ruling with an Iron Fist and 485 congressmen were just sitting there and not being able to to function that way that is not a positive way of of
running anything as far as I'm concerned on another note um I want to mention uh for people who want to know about the referendum from a different perspective uh the video from last week's uh program
that we gave at the library was videotaped and it's on the Lacy citizens for responsible government um Facebook page it was very good because there were a lot of questions um there were people that worked for the school there it was kind of interesting um you know and
there was the main thing that I we talked about we were showing in the PowerPoint presentation was the maintenance issue we went through the last 10 years of the maintenance budget for the school and 2015 it was $1.9 Million for all six facilities and as of
2024 it was down to $700,000 now in all logic if you're running any type of a business the buildings are the infrastructure that we the taxpayers own okay people come and
go staff members come and go but the buildings we own and they have not been maintained by the current body that is running our schools um this is quite obvious because when you look at the
numbers if it was so urgent as I said with all these problems you wouldn't see it constantly declining Year bye maintenance schedule on the amount of money that is being spent so the problem we have is I don't trust and I think
most people who know what's going on do not trust the current individuals who are sitting on School Board to be making recommendations of this magnitude I mean the referendum itself is costing over
$100,000 when you look at the study that they had to do with the special election Etc and the mailings that they have done they sent out 12,600 I believe and about 100 public members came to that meeting um so
they've spent a lot of money now they have no money you hear that's what they keep telling us but when it comes to their priorities they have the money for it and I think that you know the taxpayers actually need to start sending a message that you know um there are issues with
our School academic achievement which is my big issue uh which has not been addressed and there is no plan I can tell you this because I've been going to meetings for years talking about this addressing this topic and no there's no
plan I mean I blame a lot large part the last superintendent that we had she was incompetent she she lacked courage and she put the school through a lot and she was kind of like a Yes Man and tried to cover up a lot of the bullying
harassment issues that have been going on in our schools which has actually brought the morale down for a lot of the students and you know I have a parents group that I formed during covid um that we got together during the co issue and I hear everything that's going on I mean they all have kids in all the different
schools and every day I'm getting stuff in that message group about stuff that is going on in our schools um at this point you know it's with the the budget that just came out by the state by the way I I passed this on to my group and several
other people their figures for the state aid for our school district is a little over $7 million it will be for this year now in 2018 it was $14.5 Million so it's basically half of what it was just seven
years ago now if you were running an an institution or a body and you knew okay because S2 explained pretty clearly the reductions that were going to be happening over the years you have to plan right I mean let's face it you just
don't allow a catastrophe to happen and then expect now the taxpayers to bail you out I don't think it's right and I think we need to send a message to the school board that they need to get their act together and they need to get their priorities together and I I'm sorry but
I as I said at the last meeting there are people who are in financial Jeopardy in our community and I just can't I just can't support something like this I do believe some of the issues that they have can be done via a peac meal project where they have to actually take it out of their operating budget and they're
going to have to prioritize what is really important just like any other business would have to do if you have a financial decline you have to adjust if if you're living at home and you have issues in your home and your your dollars are limited you have to budget appropriately just like our town has to
we all need to do that and this is the opportunity we have as the uh electorate to actually have a say for once it's been years since we've had any say on the Schoolboard budgets which is something I wish that they would return because I think it should be given back
to us to decide and um hope hopefully someday in the future that will happen but anyway um if you want everybody uh we're having another meeting on March the 6th at 7.m at the library please do come if you have any questions it was a you know a nice discussion not a debate
there was a lot of stuff to to be presented and we appreciate everybody coming so thank you very much thank you thank you any other comments this evening seeing none motion to close the floor second all in
favor resolution 2025 D 105 resolution of the Cy County of ocean state New Jersey authorizing the convening of an executive session in accordance with the open public meetings act to discuss Personnel matters pending anticipa litigation of matters of real estate second second Mr McDonald yes Mr Kenne
yes Mr yes Mr L yes mayor yes motion to adjourn second no further business all