By Charles Layton
On Saturday, members of the Ocean Grove Home Owners Association waded into the debate over whether Neptune Township should change its form of government. But as the arguments grew more heated — and also more substantive and interesting — the HOA president, Denis McCarthy, tried with limited success to close down the debate.
“This is not a debate here about alternative forms of government,” he told the members at one point. But it was clearly a discussion many audience members wanted to have, and they pressed on.
Warren Lapp, an invited guest speaker, was there to explain the merits of having a referendum this fall on the issue. But he too argued that the present question was not whether changing our government to a Mayor-Council system was a good or bad idea, but merely whether Neptune should put the issue to the voters in November.
Lapp is a member of NeptuneGovernment4All, which is gathering signatures on a petition calling for the referendum. The referendum would be required if the group gets 20 percent of Neptune’s 18,083 registered voters to sign its petition. If voters then approved it, Neptune would be bound to convert to a Mayor-Council system that would expand the number of elected officials from five to ten, including a full-time mayor. The township would also be bound to divide itself into six wards, with one Council member elected from each ward and three more elected at large. (At present, all five Township Committee members run at large.)
Denis McCarthy tells an audience member not to argue about alternative forms of government. Warren Lapp (L). Photo by David Layton.
The debate grew heated as Committeeman Randy Bishop of Ocean Grove, speaking from the audience, began questioning the implications of a ward system. Although proponents have argued that Ocean Grove would receive better representation by having its own ward, Bishop contends that Ocean Grove is only large enough to constitute two-thirds of a ward; it would therefore have to be merged with part of the Midtown neighborhood to form a ward.
Kennedy Buckley, an HOA trustee, said he thought some parts of the change-of-government proposal sounded good, but that a full-time mayor and five more members of the governing body would mean a more costly government. Lapp disputed that. “The cost of government is not in the number of people in government, it’s in the efficiency of government,” he said. However, the question of how a Mayor-Council structure might improve the workings of government was not addressed.
Members of the audience continued to return to the question of exactly how a ward system would work and whether it would help or hurt Ocean Grove. Ann Horan, the HOA’s treasurer, said “we’re not Ocean Grove anymore” if we have to share a ward with Midtown, which lies to the west of Ocean Grove, just across the train tracks.
State law requires that when a political entity is divided into wards, those wards must be contiguous and approximately equal in size. “Because we’re contiguous to Midtown,” said HOA member Norm Goldman, “that’s who we’d be lumped in with.”
“That’s misinformation,” Lapp said. He did not explain what other area might be joined with Ocean Grove to form a ward.
Lapp said the people gathering petition signatures had found widespread approval for the idea of having a full-time, directly-elected mayor.
“We have to have our signatures by next weekend,” he said. “It’s going to be a hell of a task” to meet that deadline.
The petition must be presented to county election officials by September 2 — 60 days before the elections. However, the deadline is actually much shorter, because time is required for the Neptune municipal clerk’s office to process and verify the signatures.
Lapp did not say now many signatures his group has gathered so far.
Before Lapp’s presentation, HOA trustee Barbara Burns gave an explanation of the different forms of local government New Jersey law allows. She recommended two Internet links which she said were especially informative: the New Jersey League of Municipalities and Rutgers University/Center for Government Services.
Lapp’s group also has a website: http://www.ng4a.net.
One thing i’ve learned living in this diverse, old quirky community of ocean grove (in a 130 yr old house) is: if it ain t broke, don t fix it. What imprpovements/solutions would changing our municipal government bring? I was at the meeting and was unable to pose this simple question, as the issue devolved in front of my eyes…
If it’s such a wonderful idea, why the rush to place it on the ballot this year? This form of government works in places like Newark, Elizabeth and Camden (or does it?). What makes you think it would work here in Neptune? Far too many questions and ‘SO much to look at’ as you say, such as … How does more and larger government help Netune? Doesn’t that buck the recent call for less government? How do our currently elected council members feel on this issue? Where does the money come from to pay a full time mayor and the resulting support staff? How will this affect the tax rate? How will the wards be established? Any one ward can be overwhelmed by the votes of the other wards, no? Too many questions, not enough discussion OR answers.
‘I can’t see that it would cost anyone one cent to get it on the ballot.’ No, the expense comes afterwards. By the way, where does the money for any resulting study come from? Will those who want this change foot the bill for the entire study themselves? And yes, I believe that one meeting should have provided all the information that one would need to process to put it on the ballot or it never should have been advanced in the first place.
IMHO
Ogrover,
No, perhaps what I am saying is that while you have the full right to ask questions now; there is a greater opportunity to become more informed about the process over the next three months.
Let me propose it this way, if this doesn’t make it on the ballot and validated information is then provided that says “hey, this was a great idea;” wouldn’t some people be kicking themselves for not helping to get it to the stage where it can be fully debated.
I guess you could also say it this way. Let’s say a convict is put to death and then information is provided that exonerates the person. People are proposing putting this idea to death without the benefit of FULL due process.
Is that fair to the system?
I hear these NG4a people want to do informational forums all across town and bring in experts once they get their signatures. That sounds like a very excellent idea and how does THAT hurt Neptune?
I can’t see that it would cost anyone once cent to get it on the ballot.
Shouldn’t we give them that chance, “there FULL day in court,” rather than just an hour meeting?
I honestly think there is SO much to look at on this issue that I for one want to give them the benefit of the doubt. I couldn’t even imagine one meeting being able to provide all of the information that one would need to process.
IMHO
You can only ask questions, debate, understand the implications and get clear answers after it’s on the ballot, not before. Oh, OK.
Ogrover,
Come now, you are “misquoting the situation,” if I may dare say so?
No one is asking you to voter for it today. All they are doing were asking to put it on the ballot so that we can have a full discussion over the next three months.
If it’s not on the ballot, how in tarnation can we have that debate?
Seems to me that to consider this proposal without specific details of the final ward alignment, how much it will cost the taxpayers and what the benefits (or negative impact, for that matter) to Ocean Grove would be like jumping off a diving board without checking to see if there is even water in the pool.
“This is not a debate here about alternative forms of government,” (McCarthy) told the members at one point. But it was clearly a discussion many audience members wanted to have, and they pressed on.
So, the President of the Association set the rules, I guess with some sort of agreement ahead of time by the Board Of Trustees, and yet the people don’t want to follow the rules.
Amazing.
Many questions, many different answers. The referendum, if approved, calls for Neptune to consider a change from its current form of government to a specific one of the dozen forms available for NJ voters. Which of the dozen would be the best for Ocean Grove residents? Keep the current one or change to one of the many others available? More info needed before making such an important decision.
Couldn’t win a seat through the regular process, so now you and the one that got voted out want to change the rules of the game? Puhleeze. Will there be a Homeowners Agenda posted so I can time my arrival or departure to miss this farce?
I am glad that I will have the opportunity to address the membership of the OGHOA. However, I would like to make one thing clear. I am currently a proponent of getting the possible change on to the fall ballot as a question for all Neptune residents to vote on. At this point that is a subtle, though distinctly different stance than “being a proponent of the government change” itself. I support and, as always, encourage taxpayers to have a say in their governmental process.
Paul and Charles… I want to tell you two that this is a very fair representation of the meeting this morning. I have no problem with the questions that were asked and, we have already won, as you have begun to look closer at the government structure. That can never be a bad thing.