Star-Ledger reports: No discipline for freeholder in Farber traffic case

Update as of 3/23/07:

According to the State Ethics Commission the MVC did take action in this matter. The State Ethics Commission affirmed the basis for the action that the agency took. The administrative code regulations stipulate that disciplinary matters are not public record.

Angel Estrada doesn't have to worry about his patronage job and can be as happy as he was pictured here...

Click Here f0r a complete history on the Farber/Estrada flap

Freeholder Estrada gets to cha-cha away and a fed-up with corruption public deserves to know exactly why not!

On September 20, 2006 the Countywathers blogged:

Will freeholder Estrada be indicted and charged with the same crime a former MVC Employee was in 2005?

It was a rhetorical question of course and today the Star-Ledger confirmed that back in December the State Ethics Commission declined to discipline Estrada. Unlike MVC employee Grace Hoogliviet who was fired and indicted for helping her friend with paperwork. This story bears repeating:

Countywatchers 9/20/06:

It has been over a month since it was widely reported that New Jersey's motor vehicle agency has launched a probe into how Union County Freeholder Angel Estrada, who is the manager of the Elizabeth office, helped former Attorney General Zulima Farber's boyfriend update his delinquent driving status.

The Union County Watchdog Association has learned that a MVC employee who committed a very similar act as Freeholder Estrada’s was forced to resign and was indicted for helping a fellow employee renew a driver’s license in 2005. Sharon A. Harrington, the head of the Motor Vehicle Commission, said regarding Estrada’s investigation that the agency would take action against employees if the investigation finds any wrongdoing. The agency "is working expeditiously to complete this investigation," Harrington said in a prepared statement. "At the end of this process, MVC will take action, if warranted."

According to an inside source at the MVC, who is surprised that Estrada is still reporting for work and is concerned that this is a sign that his political ties are going to put him above the law, a recent incident involving an MVC employee committing a similar offense involved Grace Hoogliviet and Tracey Scott.

Allegedly Hoogliviet was an investigator with the Security and Investigation Unit, Scott was a secretary in the same unit. Scott was unable to renew her driver’s license as she did not have a certified copy of her birth certificate. Hoogliviet escorted her to the Trenton Agency and approved the transaction. The matter was reported, and resulted in both employees being terminated. Documents obtained through the Open Public Records Act show that both employees resigned this past May. (You can view these documents by clicking here.)

Hoogliviet was also indicted and charged with conspiracy, tampering with public records and false records entry in 2005. Ultimately a deal was agreed to, and both employees were allowed to resign, with the agreement that they could never accept state employment. A check of court records backed up the sources claim that Hoogliviet had been indicted. View indictment document by clicking here.

According to a clerk at the Mercer County court criminal records division there was no conviction. He said there had been a pre-trial intervention, and that if Ms. Hoogvliet completes the program, the charges will be dismissed.

A probe into Farber’s actions that day showed that after being allowed to Angel Estrada personally took charge of the matter and renewed Goore's expired car registration before he even arrived at the MVC office to sign official forms and pay a $137 registration fee. Motor vehicle agencies require that proper Identification such as a driver’s license be submitted to renew a registration. If the owner of the vehicle is not present for the transaction, they must submit a power of attorney; this documentation is kept on file with the transaction. "Mr. Estrada's handling of this matter before Hamlet Goore arrived at the MVC agency raises questions about the propriety of his practices and whether they were in compliance with MVC procedures," prosecutor Williams wrote in his report.

Farber was forced to resign because of her actions that day. Her boyfriend Goore also resigned as director of the Department of Community Development in Irvington. "He's on vacation and won't be returning," Irvington Mayor Wayne Smith said, declining to state the reason why Goore was leaving the $81,000-a-year post.

There are other allegations of Estrada being on a MVC tape helping Gore take a test for a motor cycle license. Freeholder Daniel Sullivan is also Estrada’s boss at the MVC, there is no word on what his involvement was in all of this, if any. I doubt we’ll ever hear the entire story of what transpired between the three friends that fateful day. But if Angel Estrada doesn’t join his friends on the unemployment line and face criminal charges as Grace Hoogliviet did, the public deserves to know exactly why not.


State finishes probe of incident that led attorney general to resign
Thursday, March 22, 2007
BY JOE RYAN
Star-Ledger Staff
State officials have declined to discipline a Union County freeholder for helping Zulima Farber's boyfriend reinstate his license following the 2006 traffic stop that led to the former attorney general's resignation, according to a state Motor Vehicle Commission official. An internal investigation into the actions of Freeholder Angel Estrada, who manages the state Motor Vehicle Commission's Elizabeth office and is a longtime friend of Farber, concluded in December, according to Michael P. Horan, the commission spokesman. Horan declined to discuss the investigation's findings and refused to say whether Estrada had been punished, saying the issue was an internal personnel matter. But a Motor Vehicle Commission official who spoke on the condition of anonymity confirmed the agency has not taken disciplinary action against Estrada. Estrada, who has denied all wrongdoing in the episode, declined comment. Farber resigned last summer over the May 26 traffic stop in Bergen County, where her boyfriend, Hamlet Goore, was driving an unregistered van with a suspended license. The attorney general arrived at the scene in her State Police SUV with lights flashing, a move that a special prosecutor's report concluded violated state ethics rules. Estrada came under scrutiny in July, after Farber acknowledged telephoning him shortly after Goore was pulled over. The freeholder agreed to meet Goore at the Elizabeth MVC office. Before Goore arrived, Estrada ordered a subordinate to renew his registration and record that a payment had been submitted, even though Goore had not signed necessary documents or submitted his check. In August, the Motor Vehicle Commission launched an internal investigation into whether Estrada overstepped his authority. In September, the commission forwarded its findings to the state Ethics Commission, which completed its own review in December. An ethics commission spokeswoman failed to return calls yesterday. Joe Ryan may be reached at jryan@starledger.com or (908) 302-1508. © 2007 The Star Ledger

Bergen Record Reports: State investigating Union County's voting machines

NOTE: During the 2007 Budget Hearings Dennis Kobitz, deputy administrator of the Union County Board of Elections, and "Allegedly" former Hillside Democratic operative for powerbroker Charlotte DeFalippo, reported that all Union County voting machines would be retrofitted with paper ballots by next election. Tina Renna


SCI requests county voting machine files Saturday, March 17, 2007 By OSHRAT CARMIELSTAFF WRITER

The State Commission of Investigation has asked Bergen County to produce volumes of paperwork about voting machine and absentee-vote-counting scanner purchases.
The March 13 request also was sent to at least two other counties, Union and Essex, election officials say.

"Nobody can understand what it's all about; we have no idea," said Dennis Kobitz, deputy administrator of the Union County Board of Elections, who spoke with his counterparts in other counties.

In Bergen County, Elections Superintendent Patricia DiCostanzo said Friday that she sent the request to the county's legal counsel for review. Officials at the SCI declined to discuss the letter Friday and declined to say how expansive their document request is.

"We can't comment," said spokesman Lee Seglem.

The letter sent to Bergen County is "in lieu of a subpoena," it reads, and casts a wide net for any and all records about the purchase of voting machines, equipment and software from Sequoia Voting Systems Inc. and its subsidiaries.

Sequoia is cited in an ongoing lawsuit in state Superior Court which challenges the reliability of electronic voting machines used in the state. Bergen and Union both use Sequoia machines.
Last month, Judge Linda R. Feinberg gave state officials a May deadline by which to prove that existing machines can withstand voter fraud -- and if not, to have them replaced.

Election officials could not confirm whether the SCI probe was related to the lawsuit.
In its letter to Bergen County, SCI requests all bids, contracts, licenses, canceled checks and warranties relating to the purchase of voting machines from Sequoia. But it also asks for paperwork relating to any other voting machine manufacturer that does business with the county.

It also asks for a list of all people authorized to enter into a contract with Sequoia and for any letters or e-mail correspondence between those officials and Sequoia. It asks for correspondence between members of the Board of Freeholders and Sequoia, as well as correspondence between the freeholders and the state Division of Elections.

Also requested: a complete inventory of all of the county's voting machines and a list of all political contributions received from Sequoia and other voting machine manufacturers.
The commission gave the county a March 28 deadline to produce the documents.

Staff Writer Josh Gohlke contributed to this article. E-mail: carmiel@northjersey.com
Copyright © 2007 North Jersey Media Group Inc.Copyright Infringement Notice User Agreement & Privacy Policy

County's slanted spin speaks for itself

Submitted by: George DeCarlo
Board Secretary of the Union County Watchdog Association & State Chair of the Green Party of New Jersey

The Union County Watchdog Association puts considerable time, energy and funds into shining a light on Union County government.

Our newest endeavor is making freeholder meetings available on our website www.unioncountywatchdog.org. According to a study conducted by the UCWA, the county of Union is spending more on public information than any other county in the state, outside of Ocean County, who maintains a booth in the Ocean County Mall.

Taxpayers need to demand to know why it takes a volunteer citizen group to offer state-of-the-art public information. For much less than the cost of one taxpayer-funded glossy mailing featuring freeholders at election time, the County of Union could be providing citizens with web-access video meeting minutes as the Union County Watchdog Association is doing.

In a Worrall Newspaper editorial this week the county complainted that we present the meetings with a partisan slant, I’ll let their examples speak for themselves. One example was “The $110,000 new video equipment malfunctions”. This was tagged because the video equipment cost $110,000, and it did malfunction during their February 15, 2007 meeting (see for yourself by clicking HERE).

Another example was “chairwoman says you can comment but we will not answer questions.” This was tagged because Chairwoman Kowalski actually stated this during the meeting. This statement by freeholders has been made countless times through the years. In fact, during the February 15 meeting a Linden resident asked a question and was told this; and what was tagged were the Freeholder Chairwoman’s exact words, “There is a misunderstanding this is for public comments if you want to raise questions we have a procedure for that which you can discuss with the clerk afterwards. But if you have something you’d like to comment on we’d be happy to listen”. The citizen then just sat down without commenting. (See for yourself by clicking HERE.)

Mrs. Renna then approached the microphone and explained the procedure to the Linden resident, “The procedure is that you place an Open Public Records Act request with the Clerk and if the answer to your question isn't in a document than you don't get an answer.” (See for yourself by clicking HERE.)

Worrall's editorial was correct stating that videotaping public meetings is only one tiny step toward truly open government because most county decisions seem to be made behind the scenes. The UCWA is striving to expose the lack of public information at the county level of government which spends well over 1-million of our tax dollars a day and is in charge of our public safety. What better way than making freeholder meeting videos conveniently accessible and allowing the freeholders to speak for themselves without the expensive taxpayer-funded ad campaigns and press releases they call public information?

These meetings show residents more of what isn’t happening at public meetings than what is happening.

Another one quietly bites the dust

Note: I would have liked to have put a photo of Freeholder Adrian Mapp in this spot, but the county no longer alows you to download photos of freeholders from their taxpayer funded website.

Although it hasn’t been officially announced or reported outside of blogs, rumors have been circulating for weeks that Freeholder Adrian Mapp of Plainfield will not be getting the Democrat line this Primary Election Day.

The Plainfield Plaintalker reported this week that Mapp will be replaced by Plainfield Councilman Rayland Van Blake. The only questions to be answered are will Mapp put up a fight and how soon will Van Blake replace Mapp on the Board?

Mapp is up for election this year and the Union County Democrat machine runs their freeholder candidates as incumbents taking full advantage of the tax-payer funded county Public Information Department press releases; upwards of $250,000 of county publicity from a commercial that runs right before election season kicks off, and mailers that arrive in the weeks before Election Day; and the supposed ‘free’ concerts in the park which showcase the incumbent freeholders.

During the 2004 campaign I remember Mapp stating during a freeholder debate, “with my financial skills I can’t wait to get my hands on the budget and go over it with a fine tooth comb.” There is no doubt in my watchdog mind that the clock started ticking at that moment and Mapp’s freeholder days were numbered before he was even officially elected. Mapp never appeared to be accepted by the freeholder board. He rarely appeared in photo ops.

When Mapp packs up his belongings from his county office he will have to wipe off the dust that has collected on his ‘fine tooth comb’. If Mapp ever got to examine a financial record he didn’t reveal his findings to the public. I doubt the county let him near a financial document during his tenure as freeholder. Although Mapp has accounting skills he has never served on the Budget Committee.

Mapp joins a long line of freeholders who were recently replaced after falling out of favor with the Union County Democrat machine. Freeholder Mapp replaced Freeholder Louis Mingo in 2004. Mingo fell out of favor when he backed Plainfield Mayor Al McWilliams for Mayor that year. McWilliams had begun a new political party in which Mapp became a member of called ‘The New Democrats’. Mingo didn’t put up a fight. He left office quietly, so quietly that it wasn’t found out until months later that the county created a job for him and he was allowed to keep his county car and cell phone.

2004 was a big year for replacement freeholders. Freeholder Nicholas Scutari was nominated for the Senate after Senator Joseph Suliga announced that he would not seek re-election after a drunken casino incident in Atlantic City.

When Freeholder Scaturi was promoted to Senator he was then replaced briefly by Freeholder John Wohlrab of Linden who served until he was arrested and charged in an alleged domestic violence incident two months before the 2004 election. Wohlrab was then replaced by Freeholder Nancy Ward of Linden. It was so close to the election that Wohlrab’s name remained on the ballot even though Ward was the candidate. Despite his recent arrest over 70,000 people voted for Wohlrab but it was Ward who was sworn into office. This election proved that anyone on the County Democrat line will be elected.

It was widely rumored that the real reason Wohlrab was forced out was because he wasn’t getting along with Union County Democrat Chairwoman Charlotte DeFalippo. But, like Mingo, Wohlrab chose to go away quietly. He is still involved with the Democrat machine in Linden and was Mayor John T. Greggorio’s campaign treasure in 2006.

Freeholder Bette Jane Kowalski of Cranford came to the board in September 2004, she replaced Freeholder Mary Ruotolo on the ballot. Ruotolo was aligned with the former county manager, Michael LaPolla, who had been recently unwillingly replaced by Senator Raymond Lesniak’s nephew. Rutolo had been appointed to the freeholder board shortly after her husband; the late Union County Prosecutor Andrew Rutolo’s passing. Rutolo also chose not to go public with her political career demise. She stated the old "I want to spend more time with my family" and accepted a position at the Turnpike Authority.

Mapp recently accepted a position with the town of Roselle where two fractions of Democrats are currently fighting a hand to hand combat of sorts. It would be a breath of fresh air in county politics if Mapp would honestly tell the public what his experiences were as a freeholder and why he never got to review the budget and report what he had found as was promised during his campaign.

I truly would like to believe that there are organized ‘New Democrats’ in Union County that are willing to do something about the machine politics running their party and destroying residents quality of life. They can't reform their party by quietly accepting banishment. This allows them to keep their public employment and protects the machine and affords them a chance to remain somewhat a part of it with hopes of being an insider again one day. If the new democrats don’t expose the system, they won’t be able to fix it.

Freeholder Mapp is the fourth freeholder in three years to be tossed to the political graveyard heap by the Union County Democrat machine. What more proof is needed that Union County Freeholders have to answer to the powerbrokers who appoint them to office and not the people who elected them?

A clueless public, dominated by registered Democrats, elects freeholders to serve “They the powerbrokers” and not “We the people”.

"Blame it on the Boomers"

While most Union County residents were at the grocery store, bank or perhaps just sleeping-in on a recent Saturday morning they were unaware that another round of the County Budget Blame Game was well underway. The winners deemed deserving to wear the mantle of blame on this particular morning were “The Baby Boomers” as well as “Assisted Living Facilities”.

We're No Where Near Ready

Both were cited among factors responsible for creating a $3.5 million shortfall for the county run Runnells Hospital in 2006. Undeniably we Boomers are heading into our senior years as the healthiest Americans in history. Most of us are not ready to check into a nursing home any time soon and likewise our aging parents have preferred to remain living on their own for as long as possible. According to those running the hospital we have created a shortage of likely county residents willing to sit back and wait for God.

COST: $ MILLION A MONTH IN '86

A 1986 NY Times article http://unioncountywatchdog.org/docs/NYTimesRunnellsArticle1985.pdf said it was costing Union County $1 million a month just to run the 300-bed hospital which specialized in geriatric care. The cost of repairing and maintaining some of the old buildings had driven up the operating deficit substantially. County officials came to the conclusion that the only way to increase efficiency and to cut long-term costs would be to build a new hospital, an option that was first .reviewed in detail but discarded way back in the mid 1970’s.

As the result of a 5 to 4 vote the then board of freeholders sold a chunk of the hospital’s land to the Connell Realty and Development Company then knocked down the existing buildings and built new. Opposed to the project at the time, UC Prosecutor, Theodore Romankow, then mayor of Berkeley Heights had questioned whether the county should continue to be in the business of running what was basically a nursing home when there were private operators willing to do so. From that time till 2004 when it briefly operated at a profit and barely breaking even in ‘05 and ’06 Runnells Hospital continued to run in the red for another full 17 years since building the new facility.

RETIRED HOSPITAL ADMINISTRATOR - of course he wants the hospital to succeed, he collects a taxpayer funded consulting fee.

At the Saturday budget hearing Runnells Hospital Administrator Joseph Sharp, a retired county employee kept on as a paid contractor, cited a change in billing procedures which would bring in some sizeable additional revenues. And, his exploring some new ways to get the word out about Runnells is commendable and shows Mr. Sharp is serious about making the hospital a success.

Apples to Oranges

However he compared apples to oranges when he spoke of the impact of Assisted Living facilities on the hospital’s bottom line. Mr. Sharpe stated that the hospital possessed an “Acute Care License”, though on the state of NJ website it is classified as a “Special Hospital” but from the services offered it appears that both these classifications do apply. Further, the state describes Assisted Living facilities (ALR’s) as ‘appropriate for someone who is unable to live at home but may not need the type of care provided by a nursing home’. ALR’s are also state licensed and regulated, often referred to as communities and certainly not offering the types of acute care services, for the types of patient situations which Runnells handles because after all they are not hospitals.

"WINNING THE BLAME GAME"

Blaming Assisted Living facilities for contributing to the deficit when they obviously are not in direct competition with Runnells Hospital is nonsensical and blaming the “Baby Boomers” for being too healthy could make one laugh out loud.
An intelligent man, Mr. Sharp cannot possibly for a minute believe these scenarios to be plausible. However, he can be perceived as an admirable paid player of the Blame Game in the eyes of the freeholders. He has managed to deflect the blame for Runnells 20 plus years of repeated and continuing failures away from the board putting it back on the taxpaying Baby Boomers and he has managed to do it with a most creative flair.


NEW YORK TIMES - March 30, 1986
IN NEW JERSEY; A SHOT IN THE ARM FOR A GERIATRIC CENTER
By ANTHONY DEPALMA
THE newest buildings at the John E. Runnells Hospital complex in Berkeley Heights are at least 25 years old, and some of its structures date to the turn of the century when the facility opened as the Bonnie Burn Tuberculosis Sanatorium.
It costs Union County $1 million a month just to run the 300-bed hospital, which specializes in geriatric care. The cost of repairing and maintaining some of the old buildings has driven up the operating deficit substantially and led county officials to the conclusion that the only way to increase efficiency and cut long-term costs would be to build a new hospital.
Last December, the county's Board of Freeholders approved an unusual and controversial approach to that goal. It accepted a bid of $13.5 million for 63 acres of the hospital's land. The money will be used to offset about two-thirds of the cost of building a new hospital on the remaining 40 acres, just north of the current buildings.
''This turned out to be a very cost-effective way for the taxpayers to meet the need for a hospital,'' said Robert C. Doherty, the County Manager. ''No one's ever going to be 100 percent satisfied, but from my perspective and the freeholders', we believe this is a good proposal.''
The only legitimate bid for the land came from the Connell Realty and Development Company of Westfield, which already owns more than 100 acres just east of the hospital site. Connell Realty is a division of the Connell Rice and Sugar Company, a rice-trading and sugar-brokerage concern that has been developing commercial properties since it constructed its own headquarters building in Westfield in 1969.
The 63-acre parcel is only a few thousand feet from Interstate 78, which runs from the Delaware River to the Holland Tunnel. It is one of the last remaining large development sites in the county, which has undergone a development surge since the announcement three years ago that the highway's missing link through the Watchung Mountains in Berkeley Heights would finally be completed this summer after nearly 20 years of delays.
Albert E. Booth 2d, vice president of Connell Realty, said feasibility studies are under way to determine the best use of the site. Proximity to the highway makes it attractive for any type of commercial development.
Connell has already undertaken the construction of two major buildings nearby. Connell Corporate Center I, a 430,000-square-foot building on 45 acres just east of the hospital, was completed in 1984 and is entirely leased to A. T. & T. Technologies.
Connell Corporate Center II, a five-story, 350,000-square-foot building with an atrium now under construction on an adjacent parcel of land, is expected to be completed by the fall. Mr. Booth said that A. T. & T. Technologies had originally signed an option to take the new building as well as the first, but terminated it last year. Rents are expected to be about $25 a square foot.
Under the agreement with the county, Connell has already paid $12.2 million for the hospital parcel, even though it will not take control of the land until the new hospital is built, sometime before 1990. Mr. Doherty said the county has put the money into an account and will apply the interest to the building fund.
''By the time we're ready to use the money, we'll have close to $18 million to play with,'' he said. The county will sell $9 million in bonds to cover the rest of the new facility's estimated $27 million cost.
Mr. Booth said the contract allows the existing buildings to be razed once the new hospital is operating. But he said that the land is now zoned as open space by the municipality, and that the company's plans for the property will be determined by the response of Berkeley Heights to any rezoning. THE new hospital will contain about as many beds as the current facility, but they will be in one structure instead of several buildings. The building site is on a bluff just north of the existing complex, overlooking I-78 and abutting a residential area of Berkeley Heights.
The county first studied the possibility of replacing the existing hospital in the mid-1970's. But it did not act until last year when it updated the study and devised the novel way of paying for the replacement.
The final vote on the proposal was 5 to 4 in favor of selling the land. Opponents felt the county should not give up the property and should find another alternative.
Concerns were also raised about the increased traffic that more commercial development would bring, as well as the difficulties that would arise at the steeply sloped new building site.
Berkeley Heights officials do not favor the county's plan. ''We're not at all excited about getting the hospital on that upper tract,'' said Theodore J. Romankow, the Mayor of Berkeley Heights. ''Our main concern is that the site abuts a residential zone, which already has a serious problem with drainage.''
Mr. Romankow said he also was upset with the county for keeping local residents ''in the dark'' about the land swap. The Mayor said he did not hear a word from county officials until six weeks ago.
''We're trying to cooperate as best we can,'' he said, ''but it's difficult when we don't know what's going on.''
According to Mayor Romankow, the county ought to have considered options other than moving the hospital to a residential area. For one, he said, a portion of the lower 63 acres sold to Connell could have been retained as a site for the new hospital. He also questioned whether the county should continue to be in the business of running what is basically a nursing home when there are private operators willing to do so.
''You know, the extra tax ratables sound real nice on paper,'' Mr. Romankow said. ''But there are a lot of important issues that affect all the people in this town.''
Mr. Doherty said that plans for the new facility are under review by the State Department of Health, which must issue a certificate of need before construction can begin. Then, he said, the plans will be submitted to various boards in Berkeley Heights for approval.

They said W-H-A-T????

Recently the Westfield Leader editorialized about a 2005 change in county government policy which currently bans county department directors from speaking directly with the press and dictates whether or not elected county officials should personally return phone calls or direct them to public information employees.

Could this be why there has been a dearth of direct quotes from the freeholders regarding the county budget and other matters of public interest? And could this change in policy be linked to some “Quotable Quotes” by Freeholders and County Managers past and present? Digging back just a few years in local newspaper archives produced some genuine gems that beg to be shared.

In January of ‘02, then County Manager Michael Lapolla told the Westfield Leader: “There will be drastic improvements to the UC Police building”. Lapolla certainly wasn’t kidding as the county increased the burden of debt on the taxpayers by bonding for and erecting a brand new building on North Ave, which could be called the Darth Vader’s Fortress and wins the prize for the ugliest building in the county.

Recently reelected to a third term, Freeholder Deborah Scanlon was quoted on Oct. 28, ‘03 in the Cranford Eagle: “We achieved an unmatched record of providing tax relief to our residents”. One has to wonder what county this freeholder was in then, since U C taxes had already increased during her tenure 48% and have continued to climb. But we shouldn’t have been surprised because she gave us a warning in 2001 in the same paper when she said: “Paying taxes is part of living in America.”


Will Save a cool Million, no make that $3Million, or could it be $4Million???

Early retirement programs are often touted as being money savers at budget time and in ‘02 a county press release quoted in the Cranford Eagle in January predicted that “early retirement will save $1 million per year,” County Manager Devanney followed up in April ‘02 stating to the same paper: “The County hopes to save $1million annually with early retirement. Initially we hoped for $3 million.” appears that there was a $2million miscommunication someplace.

The next year, 2003, the Eagle quoted county press releases on the same topic with the following results: 1/4/03 – “Early retirement will save $1million per yr”. 4/24/03 – “Early retirement will save $500,000 per year” and finally 5 weeks later on 6/5/03 – “Early retirement will save $1million per year”. T

The following year Freeholder Mirabella told that Eagle when referring to the benefit of early retirement on the 2003 budget, “We saved $4 million per year on early retirement”.

Well what was it?

Hopefully it didn’t shake out like last year’s early retirement package which when reviewed by the state accountants was predicted to actually cost the county money.

The Open Space Trust Fund approved by the voters in 2000 became the topic of conversation in July of 2003.

When discussing a recent land purchase by the trust fund Freeholder Scanlon told the Westfield Leader “this is open space. We are proud to be protecting it from development”. Well it seems someone forgot to tell the other freeholders who one week later were also discussing the fund as well as a children’s museum. On 8/3/03 in the same issue of the Cranford Eagle Former Freeholder Mary Ruotolo is quoted: “It’s not our intention to pay for the construction of a museum”, followed up by Al Mirabella: “As for where such a museum could be built, the 5 acre property we bought in Union is an option.” Coincidently the 5 acre property was Freeholder Scanlon’s open space and the board gave $1million seed money to an unproven charity who wanted to build a museum, where did that money go?

And last but not least, Al Mirabella, quoted in the Oct. 28th 2003 Cranford Eagle just before Election Day “We reconnected county government with the people it serves.” Too bad that less than a year later at a Freeholder meeting in June of 2004 Chairman Angel Estrada’s remark: “We don’t have to answer the public’s questions.” shows just how unconnected they prefer to be. It’s no wonder that these public officials and the high ranking employees are no longer allowed to speak with the press or the taxpayers personally, because who knows what they might say.

I’ve got some nerve

In her closing comments during the last Freeholder meeting, Freeholer Chairwoman Bette Jean Kowalski remarked that she took notes of a comment I made during a meeting in the past and accused me of having stated “I’m going to bring you down”. She then went on to accuse me of practicing partisan politics.

Freeholder’s often use their closing comments to bully residents. It takes some nerve for a resident, who oftentimes is at a meeting alone with no friends in the room, to stand at the podium in front of the dais and express how they feel about the incompetent, corrupt, mismanaged county government to the nine freeholders and Senator Raymond Lesniak’s nephew. Over the years I’ve seen freeholders react to speakers by making stupid faces, laughing, reading a newspaper, or even getting up and walking out of the room.

There are also dozens of county employee’s in the room, some of which also laugh and make rude comments or noises during a residents allotted 5 minutes to address the board, as well as during the meeting. I know I’ve hit a nerve when I have nasty comments thrown at me by employees at the elevator when leaving a meeting. The immature and insecure always need to have the last word. This is my chance to laugh at them, they are so pathetic.

There are also county police in the room ready to drag you out on a moments notice from the hierarchy of county government. Believe me I know.


YOUR TIME IS UP! Freeholders called the cops to take County Watcher Tina Renna away when she went a minute over time discussing the boy the county government allowed to die.

Bullies are cowards. If the freeholders had an ounce of the guts that a resident needs to address them, they would make their comments to a speaker while they are still at the podium therefore, able to defend themselves. They would also straighten out their employees and have them behave in a professional manner during public meetings and in public buildings, at the very least. Alas, why else would they need these employees if not to harass residents who dare to question the Union County Democrat machine, which is what the Board of Chosen Freeholders represent in reality.

Freeholder Kowalski misquoted me. Given the county’s recent public relations push to discredit the work of the Union County Watchdog Association by labeling our work as being political and carried out by just myself, and since the public isn’t allowed to defend themselves from closing comments made by a freeholder, I was compelled to write the local newspapers to clarify what I said.

It just so happens that the Westfield Leader had reported almost exactly what I said in their November 15, 2006 issue.

….During the public part of the meeting, Cranford resident Tina Renna, president of the Union County Watchdog Association, commented on the recent Union County freeholder campaign, which was won by incumbents Mr. Mirabella, Deborah Scanlon and Chester Holmes.

“For the past four years I have been paying attention, you [have been] elected by the same margins. This isn’t because the majority of Union County residents are voting for you, it is because the majority of Union County residents aren’t voting,” Mrs. Renna said in a prepared statement.

She referenced the Democratic freeholders “longstanding practice of spending upwards of $250,000 [from taxes] on supporting incumbent freeholders right before the election. This comes in the form of mailers and commercials.”

She said that money could have been better spent helping an organization like the Elizabeth Coalition to House the Homeless.

“I have made it my mission to make sure that your regime goes down in history with the likes of (former 30-year Jersey City mayor) Frank Hague,” Mrs. Renna said, drawing laughter from a number of freeholders…..

I hope Freeholder Kowalski took better notes of all my comments that evening. Particularly the part about the Freeholders using tax dollars to promote their campaigns.

Kowalski is up for re-election this year and she can put a stop this abuse of the public trust. She can “Bring it down” so to speak. But that would take some guts and I don’t think any one of them have an ounce of it. If they did they wouldn’t be sitting up their doing a powerbroker's bidding.

The Westfield Leader left out a part of my Frank Hague comment. I believe I closed by stating that the freeholders actions and inactions have made my mission very easy. I don't recall them laughing at that.

County will not allow budget hearings to be recorded

The Union County Watchdog Association recently requested permission of the County of Union to video tape their budget hearings. It was our intent to then upload the hearings to our website for free public access.

The county will not allow the UCWA to record the hearings. The County will not be recoding the hearings either despite recently spending $110,000 tax-dollars upgrading their audio and visual equipment.
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Re: Your notice of intention to video record the Budget Hearings of the Fiscal Affairs Committee

Mrs. Renna:

Receipt of your February 11, 2007 notice of your intention, pursuant to the “Guidelines For The Utilization of Recording Devices During Open Public Meetings of The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders” to video the meetings of the Fiscal Affairs Committee scheduled for February 21, 2007, February 24, 2007, February 28, 2007 and March 8, 2007 is hereby acknowledged. Please be advised that, for the reasons set forth below, you will not be permitted to video the aforementioned meetings of the Freeholders’ Fiscal Affairs Committee.

Please be advised that the referenced “Guidelines” do not apply to working-Freeholder Committee Meetings, which are routinely held in conference rooms; but rather they apply to Open Public Meetings of the Board as a whole, held in the Freeholder Meeting Room. As you well know, the committee meetings in question relate to the County’s 2007 Budget and historically such budget meetings are attended by Freeholders that are not committee members. With the probability that 5 or more Freeholders will attend some or all of these meetings, the County, pursuant to the “Sunshine Law,” publicly notices same. These Committee meetings do not constitute traditional “Open Public Meetings” and there is no public participation permitted at these working meetings of the Committee. Additionally, the conference room, where this Committee convenes, is not conducive to videotaping activities while Committee hearings are being conducted. Of course, the public is given every opportunity to participate and comment at the public, budget hearings conducted by the full--Board of Chosen Freeholders.

Thank you in advance for your attention to this matter and anticipated cooperation.

Nicole L. DiRado
Nicole L. DiRado, RMC, MPA, Clerk of the Board
Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders

Worrall Community Newspapers
Officials embark on budget process

By Lauren DeFilippo, Staff Writer
Wednesday, February 14, 2007 1:29 PM EST

UNION COUNTY, NJ - The county’s 2007 budget is expected to be introduced to the freeholder board this week.

County Manager George Devanney announced his $415 million executive budget last month, which included the elimination of 50 positions and, for the fifth year in a row, an increased tax levy.

After the executive budget is announced, a copy is sent to the state for approval. Following that approval, the freeholders commence budget hearings, and make amendments. The revised budget is then introduced during the month of May.

The freeholder board typically adopts the budget in June. The county’s fiscal year begins on Jan. 1

Those hearings, which are open to the public, are set to begin Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. on the sixth floor of the County Administration Building, located on Elizabethtown Plaza.

During each hearing, department heads present their budget requests to the finance committee and propose potential cost saving measures. The schedule of departments has not yet been released.

Other hearings are slated for Feb. 24 at 9 a.m., and Feb. 28. and March 8 at 5:30 p.m..

Following the hearings, the freeholder board will make changes and recommendations to the budget.

The county budget is typically adopted in June.
Lauren DeFilippo can be reached at 908-686-7700, ext. 119, or unioncountyb@thelocalsource.com.

Governor Jon Corzine has confidence in Power Broker Driven Union County government

The freeholder’s reorganization meeting held on January 7, 2007 is something to be seen to be believed. Thanks to Veotag you can see the meeting by clicking HERE.

All Union County Democrat political dignitaries were in attendance. Also present were the Chairwoman of the National Democrat Committee and Governor Jon Corzine who gushed on about his beloved home county……

......"One of the things I have the most confidence in is the quality of our county government, particularly as I've seen it operate here in Union County over the years. I believe that the quality of effort by the people that have served this great county is remarkable and we would all be well served to see their efforts brought to bear to try and reduce the cost of government by making sure we look for economies of scale.....It is hard to imagine a compounding rate of property taxes at 7%......It is a remarkable burden for our citizens to bear and hopefully in the next few days and weeks and hopefully not much longer than that those of us that care deeply will come and act and make decisions...I know this great freeholder board has done this time and time again… God bless you. Have a Happy New Year. It's wonderful to be with you.”
Gov. Jon Corzine, January 7, 2007

Every major New Jersey newspaper warned the voters that Corzine would continue party boss driven politics as usual.

The Asbury Park Press on 10/23/05
Forrester best hope for tax, ethics reform
Forrester has campaigned with a sense of urgency – a prerequisite to attacking the major problems that have been left unsolved by Democrats in Trenton and the political bosses pulling their strings. New Jersey needs someone who is committed to breaking the stranglehold of the unelected power brokers and to reducing the crushing burden of taxes by reducing spending. Forester can do it. We’re convinced Corzine won’t even try.

The Star-Ledger 10/30/05
Doug Forrester for governor
Jon Corzine has championed as a U.S. senator, he hasn’t convinced us he can stand up to the entrenched bosses of his party or to the powerful public employee unions.
Put simply, Corzine appears to suffer from the same disease of wanting to please everyone that contributed to the downward spiral of James E. McGreevy’s administration.

The candidates for New Jersey governor have made property taxes the chief issue in this election. But obscenely high property taxes – highest per capita in the nation – are only a symptom of the chronic illnesses that infect New Jersey: an antiquated tax structure, runaway spending and a culture of corruption that rewards the politically connected.

The Bergen Record Sunday, October 30, 2005
Recent Democratic rule has too often been a disgrace
We would have liked to write a glowing recommendation of Democrat Jon Corzine to be New Jersey's next governor. But we can't.

Although we have admired Mr. Corzine's advocacy for social and environmental issues and the many courageous stands he has taken in the U.S. Senate, the 58-year-old Hoboken resident has made huge campaign contributions to the political bosses and other insiders who give New Jersey a horrible reputation and drive up the cost of governance.

What's more, Mr. Corzine's million-dollar donations to black ministers and other financial dealings that surfaced during the campaign reinforced an appearance that he uses his money to buy people's support. Despite his strong points, the senator has a troubling blind spot when it comes to the ramifications of his generosity.

Republican Doug Forrester, 52, of West Windsor, has run a campaign that has been relentless about ending corruption and restoring the public's trust in government. For these reasons more than any other, The Record recommends Mr. Forrester for governor.

Acting Gov. Cody’s efforts notwithstanding, recent Democratic rule has too often been a disgrace. A year ago, Gov. James McGreevey resigned under an ethical cloud. The bosses strong-armed the Legislature to pass such rotten legislation as sham campaign-finance reform and an expedited building permit process for deep-pocketed developers. Pay-to-play deals - in which contributors are rewarded with government contracts - have been rampant, and they still persist at the county and local levels.

Mr. Forrester, a wealthy business owner, says in no uncertain terms what he promises to do: End pay-to-play at all levels and dispatch the Democratic bosses back to their lairs.

To Mr. Corzine's credit, he did stand up to Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joseph Ferriero in order to get Loretta Weinberg, then an assemblywoman, chosen to replace retired state Sen. Byron Baer. He needs to assert this sort of leadership a lot more.

Mr. Corzine insists that he will, but the fact is that he has bankrolled the bosses in order to gain their support over the past five years, and he'd have a far tougher time than Mr. Forrester in curbing their influence. After all, his money helped enable the recent climate of corruption.

2007 Video meeting minutes posted

The January 18, 2007 video meeting minutes of the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders are now posted on the Union County Watchdog Association's website. Although the county spent $110,000 on new video and audio equipment you will see that the footage is blurry and the audio is scratchy. It's just what we've come to expect of Union County services.

You can view the meeting by clicking HERE.

The next regular meeting will be held this Thursday, February 15, 2007. The UCWA will make every effort to broadcast this meeting on the web as soon as the county releases the tape.