Some questions you may want to ask;
1. How much was paid for the Township Employees to work at the Community Day, Sunday, June 14th including comp time?
2. How much did the township budget for the 2008 Memorial Day parade? How much did the township spend in 2008 on the Memorial Day parade?
3. How much is the township budgeting for the 2009 NJ League of Municipalities Convention for township employees and elected officials to attend (include any expenditures for education)?
4. How much did the township spend in 2008 on the NJ League of Municipalities Convention (include budget amounts listed as education)?
5. What is the total amount owed for all outstanding municipal bonds and municipal bond anticipation notes since 2003? How can we get a list of the terms of those bonds and notes?
6. How much was the 2003 Municipal Bond handled by the Burlington County Bridge Commission? What was the term and interest rate of that bond?
7. How much has the local purpose tax (municipal tax) increased since 2003? How much will it increase in 2009?
8. When can we see each line item by accounting code, including all sub items by accounting code, in the 2009 budget and how it compares to the 2006, 2007 and 2008 budgets with what was actually spent in those budget years?
9. Has the township passed a Salary Resolution and Salary Ordinance for 2009? Where are they posted and are copies available?
10. How much did the township spend to re-do the old Sewer Authority Office in 2008?
11. How much in rent did the township receive in rent from the Sewer Authority in 2006, 2007 and 2008?
12. Can the public see a total of all wages, sick time accrued (value in dollars), longevity, education and bonuses that each township employee will receive in 2009 and received in 2008?
13. Why has the 2009 budget only been discussed publicly at fewer than five public meetings?
14. If the 2009 budget was discussed in closed sessions, when will the minutes from those meetings be made available to the public?
If you intend to ask any or all of the questions that I listed or ask your own, I suggest that you write them down and submit them to the Township Committee during the public comment portion of this Budget Meeting. This way there is a record of your questions and they can't be ignored or overlooked.
If you do not receive an answer from the Committee or Township Clerk, then you can make the same request via an OPRA request form that is available at the Townships Web Site as a downloadable pdf file.
Also John Paff, paff@pobox.com would be very interested in any problems you may have in getting this information. John is a public advocate for openness in government and has successfully won many cases against municipalities that fail to adhere to the NJ Open Public Meetings law as well as the NJ Sunshine Laws.
The Edgewater Park Reporter
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