Monday, January 24, 2011

Property Taxes on the Mayor's Street

Due to the township's 2009 property revaluations, Mayor Tagliarini's 2011 property taxes are lower than his 2008 property taxes. Among everyone on his street, Mayor Tagliarini (the then presumed Democratic nominee for mayor) benefited the most from the property revaluations. By $23, he misses having the lowest property taxes on his street to two homes that have 15% less square footage than he does.

Despite all the above, I do not believe Mayor Tagliarini or Holly Reycraft, Aberdeen's interim town manager and tax assessor, engaged in any impropriety regarding the mayor's property taxes. Knowing the two individuals, I find the suggestion completely out of character.

However, to be fair, I present the data in the table below and in an excel file. Considering all the elements that go into assessing the market value of a house, it's impossible to know the truth from reviewing just the tax data but I did include the homes' square footage in case anyone should argue the assessments do or don't consider any house additions. I also checked for property tax appeals of which there were none since 2008.

Address
Sq. Ft.
2008
ASMT
2011
ASMT
% Incr
2008
Tax
2011
Tax
% Incr
19 FAITH LA
1809
128700
291700
227%
6958.81
6881.20
-1.12%
35 FAITH LA
2011
153800
349500
227%
8315.97
8244.72
-0.86%
31 FAITH LA
1569
128000
291100
227%
6920.96
6867.05
-0.78%
26 FAITH LA
1751
136600
313000
229%
7135.96
7133.67
-0.03%
20 FAITH LA
1751
137700
322100
234%
7445.44
7598.34
2.05%
41 FAITH LA
1951
151800
360200
237%
8207.83
8497.12
3.52%
40 FAITH LA
2426
164100
395100
241%
8872.89
9320.41
5.04%
7 FAITH LN
2244
161600
389800
241%
8737.71
9195.38
5.24%
24 FAITH LA
2168
150100
364600
243%
8115.91
8600.91
5.98%
34 FAITH LA
1725
126200
309600
245%
6823.63
7303.46
7.03%
14 FAITH LN
1769
127200
312900
246%
6877.70
7381.31
7.32%
16 FAITH LA
1569
117600
288600
245%
6108.63
6558.07
7.36%
37 FAITH LN
1887
145200
364100
251%
7600.96
8339.12
9.71%
30 FAITH LA
2076
142200
374700
264%
7688.75
8839.17
14.96%
25 FAITH LA
2108
141400
383600
271%
7645.50
9049.12
18.36%
10 FAITH LA
1788
132300
363600
275%
7153.46
8577.32
19.90%
>>> Read more!

God Bless Chris Dhume and His Family

Services for Chris Michael Dhume

Bedle Funeral Home
61 Broad Street
Keyport, NJ 07735
732-739-0323
Visitation
Monday, January 24th
2:00pm – 4:00pm
&
7:00pm – 9:00pm

Funeral Mass
Tuesday, January 25th
10:00am
Jesus the Lord Roman Catholic Church
123 Broad Street
Keyport, NJ 07735
732-739-0323

Condolences may be sent to:
Mr. and Mrs. C. Dhume
818 Prospect Ave.
Cliffwood Beach, NJ 07735

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in Chris’ memory to “DOOM” Trust Fund
C/O Val Dhume
818 Prospect Avenue
Cliffwood Beach, NJ 07735
>>> Read more!

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Wanted: Town Manager. To Apply, See Mayor

For over a year, Joe Criscuolo, the recently departed town manager, had been rumored to be leaving Aberdeen Township, whether willingly or not. And, he looks to be moving up, garnering a job in his hometown of Old Bridge, earning an additional $10,000. Excluding the previous town manager, Aberdeen has earned a reputation of rewarding its cherished employees (see Coren, Kelly, Lauro, etc.) and this seems to be part of that tradition. But, what makes this story remarkable is the advertisement seeking a new town manager.

TOWNSHIP MANAGER – ABERDEEN TOWNSHIP,MONMOUTH COUNTY. 18,000 population, $18M municipal budget, 85 FT Employees. Council/Manager form of Government. Seeking experienced professional to serve as CEO, oversee all daily operations and report to 7 Council members, including the Mayor. Must be highly motivated, goal/results oriented and have excellent communication skills to deal with all levels of government and community. Must have a strong financial background. Responsibilities include overseeing municipal services, capital planning and labor relations. Must have 5+ years experience in municipal government management. Bachelor’s degree required. MPA preferred. Salary range DOQ/DOE. Send 8 copies of resume and cover letter, including salary requirements to: Fred Tagliarini, 19 Faith Lane, Aberdeen, NJ 07747 Ad Posted January 14, 2011 Ad Removed February 28, 2011. [Bold added for emphasis]

How bizarre. I can’t imagine the school board president requesting all job applications for the superintendent’s position be sent to his home. Nor has any other town’s job posting at the League of Municipalities made a similar request. The question is why.

One possibility is convenience except that receiving the applications at home is inconvenient since the other council members will now need to wait until Mayor Tagliarini distributes the applications. Furthermore, he will be responsible for storing and distributing the applications rather than a town employee.

Perhaps the issue is confidentiality, that the council doesn’t want any town employee to be privy to whom has applied. If so, why has the township requested “8 copies”? Who will receive the 8th copy?

The process is troubling because the mayor, first among peers on the town council, has now been appointed gatekeeper of all the applications. By default, he has the ability to exclude any application from consideration.

Another problem is, given Aberdeen’s troubling history of political patronage, the town council has given the residents one more reason to believe the fix is in.

Finally, we’re still left with the original question. Why instruct applicants to mail their resumes to the mayor’s home?
>>> Read more!

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Letter to the Fire Commissioners

December 20, 2010

Deputy Chief James Polanco
Aberdeen Township Hose and Chemical Company #1
490 Lloyd Road
Aberdeen, NJ 07747
Board of Fire Commissioners
Fire District #1
490 Lloyd Road
Aberdeen, NJ 07747

Gentlemen,

At the Fire Company meeting held on March 9, 2010 charges were brought against the District Chief Louis Auriemma by the undersigned. At that Fire Company meeting the Board of Fire Commissioner’s lawyer, Allen Falk, explained that at the time of the incident(s) the District Chief has a supervisory role over the Fire Company Officers. That statement placed this issue officially within the purview of this Board as his employer. Any complaints, grievances, and charges against the District Chief must be dealt with by this Board of Fire Commissioners.

In meetings held with the Fire Company Officers an agreement was made with the Board of Fire Commissioners, that this matter should be handled internally. In return for this agreement the original letter detailing the charges to be brought against the Fire District Chief was withdrawn so it would not be read, and made a part of the public record. In return the Board of Fire Commissioners agreed to a number of stipulations that they would deliver as part of that agreement. First, the Board would provide a copy of the contract that is maintained with the Aberdeen Hose and Chemical Company #1 detailing the terms under which the Fire Company operates for the Fire District. Second, a clear detailing of the “Chain of Command” would be outlined for both on and off fire scene detailing the roles and responsibilities with particular emphasis on the District Chief position. Third, a clearly defined job description for the District Chief would be spelled out in writing so it will be known by all what his actual job function is, and the scope of his employment would be defined. Fourth, the Board of Fire Commissioners would assign one of its members as the Manager to oversee the District Chief directly, and act as an escalation point for any complaint or grievance. Lastly, a clearly detailed schedule and policy statement be made to state exactly when the District Chief was “on duty”, and when he is just a Fire Company member so the rest of the membership of the Fire Company would know when he is acting in his official capacity, and when not. To this date only one of these stipulations has been received. I’ve been told that there is a “Manager” for the District Chief, but there has not been any official communication on this subject to the Fire Company Officers, to my knowledge. Therefore, due to the lack of action on the part of this Board, I feel it is time to officially reinstate the following charges:
1. Failure to adhere to the Fire District SOP’s.
2. Assaulting a Fire Company Officer.
3. Threatening a Fire Company Officer.
4. Harassment of Firefighters Name withheld, and Name withheld.

In that, on February 20, 2010, at the vehicle fire at VEI Limousine the District Chief fought the fire, without any protective gear, and was present in the “hot zone” actively fighting the fire well after fully equipped firefighters arrived at the scene. He ignored warnings by the Deputy Chief to leave the danger area. During his action on the scene he sustained an injury to his right hand. After having a meeting with the Fire Company Chief about this matter, Louis Auriemma repeated this disregard for the Fire District SOP’s at the basement fire on Atlantic Avenue. He admitted to the membership that he went inside the house before the first attack line entered the building. He was in street clothes, and unprotected the entire time.

After the VEI fire was out, the District Chief was complaining loudly that the other firefighters were improperly trained because they had hit him with a straight stream from the opposite side of the vehicle. He yelled, while pointing his finger at me, and said, “You are not training these men properly”. He was very loud. I asked him to stop, and we would discuss it back at the Fire House. I was ignored. He then began shouting the question, “Who was on the other hose line?” Name withheld said he was in that team. At that point, the District Chief began to shout at Name withheld without regard to whether Name withheld had been manning the nozzle or not. When I told Name withheld that we would discuss this back at the Fire House, he turned away and went to Truck 498. The District Chief had to be reminded three more times that the scene was the wrong place for this discussion. As I repeated this request he continued yelling while Name withheld walked toward Truck 498. During this rant by District Chief Louis Auriemma directed at Name withheld his language was abusive, derogatory, insulting, and unnecessary.

Further, on February 23, 2010 during a fire call that was hit out while the Fire Company was performing Truck Cleaning, I directed the group of firefighters that stayed behind to clean the bay for Truck 497. As the group was finishing up Name withheld was using a squeegee. The District Chief began to verbally harass Name withheld, making derogatory comments about his technique. At one point Name withheld stopped his work, and walked from the bay handing his squeegee to Mike Romano. As Name withheld reached the Radio Room area he said that no one should be treated like that. Upon hearing Name withheld’s remark the District Chief started shouting at Name withheld, and as he began to advance toward Name withheld said, “If you don’t like the way things are done around here there’s the door”. As Deputy Chief it is my duty as an Officer to intercede in any altercation between Fire Company members to calm the situation, and then allow for a controlled and orderly discussion of the disagreement. I stepped in front of the District Chief, and asked him to stop. Instead he raised his hands, and hit me in the chest, at the same time violently shoving me back in an attempt to force his way past me. I regained my balance, and again stood in his path repeating the request for him to stop and let it go. The District Chief again hit me in the chest shoving me back harder. As I again recovered, and stood in his path I repeated the request to stop and let it go. I was once again violently shoved by Louis Auriemma, and he made his way past me. This entire sequence of events was witnessed by members of this Board, and if Paul Percussi hadn’t held my arm I would have fallen down. The District Chief continued advancing toward Name withheld. He continued his rant using abusive language directed at Name withheld. Later, while I was in the Radio Room, the District Chief approached me, and attempted to start an argument with me over the incident with Name withheld. I told him that he shouldn’t talk to me right then, and he shouted at me that he wasn’t afraid of me. I answered that I wasn’t trying to scare him just stop him. At that time he said, “You better not get in my way again or you’ll see what happens”. Obviously the District Chief exhibits no respect for my position, and is predicting that he will act in a worse manner in the future. In light of his actions I am charging the District Chief Louis Auriemma with Assaulting an Officer, Threatening an Officer, and Harassment of Fire Company members Name withheld, and Name withheld.

It is unfortunate that these charges need to be filed, but I can no longer allow this type of harassing behavior to be handled “behind the scenes” as has always happened in the past. These incidents are just the most recent examples of a pattern of behavior by District Chief Louis Auriemma. He has continually shown utter disregard for the Chain of Command. This is not the first time that it has been brought to this Board’s attention. The Fire Company Officers sent a letter to this Board pointing out this situation, and it appears to have had little or no effect. The Board of Fire Commissioners failed to act then to prevent the current situation from happening. Additionally, this is not the first time a member, or members, of the Fire Company have quit due to the harassment they received from the District Chief or witnessed him impose on others. As a reminder, this incident caused the resignation of three Officers, including the Fire Company Chief. This behavior by the District Chief has prevented good men from considering advancement to become Fire Company Officers, and caused others to discontinue their involvement with the Fire Company. No one wants to be subjected to the District Chief’s wrath because Officers get it the worst. Becoming an Officer in this Fire Company is perceived by the members as painting a “Bulls-eye” on your back. A fact that was pointed out in the aforementioned letter sent to this Board on November 2, 2007 (attached). The Officers who signed that letter had every hope that this Board would act for the betterment of the Fire Service, and it did nothing. I will remind this Board that in the recent election only two Officers are in place for the coming year. The current Chief and Captain are all that are in place. The positions of Deputy Chief and all three Lieutenant positions remain unfilled.

District Chief Louis Auriemma has repeatedly demonstrated that he is a danger to himself, and other firefighters. He does not adhere to the safety standards both the Board of Fire Commissioner’s and the Fire Company have set. He has also undermined the confidence and respect that the firefighters should have in their Officers because he is out of control. The Officers can do nothing about it, and this Board has been unwilling to support them in this regard. The District Chief can, and will, erupt at a moment’s notice on anyone, and is incapable of restraining himself. It’s as if the rules do not apply to him. He has also blatantly lied about these incidents to the Fire Company, of which you are members. More than one of you knows that for a fact because you witnessed the entire incident, are aware of the lies he told, and are unwilling to call him on it.

This pattern of behavior, exhibited by Louis Auriemma, is such that after being cautioned he will abide by the recommendations for a period of time. After which, he will gradually revert to his previous pattern. This cycle cannot be tolerated any longer because there seems to be no limit to the extent of his transgressions. Louis Auriemma, by his actions, has demonstrated over a long period of time that he should not be in a position of authority, or have a supervisory role, of any kind, in Fire Company Operations.

I request that an official investigation be conducted immediately, because an offense such as this carried out against a public official in the performance of his duties, and such offense was committed to prevent said official from performing his duty, is a Felony. I believe such an offense was committed against me by District Chief Louis Auriemma. Since the District Chief has not taken responsibility for his actions, and has lied about the incident, an official investigation has become mandatory. I also recommend, to avoid the appearance of impropriety, that while the investigation is underway that Louis Auriemma be suspended without pay, and all District Equipment be confiscated pending the outcome, and official publication of same. A failure to act now, by this Board, will seriously compromise the ability of the Fire District to provide Fire Protection Services to this community, and expose the Fire District, and the Board of Fire Commissioners to Civil Liabilities.
Sincerely,

James Polanco
Deputy Chief
Aberdeen Township Hose & Chemical Company #1

Cc:
Chris Christie, Governor
Paula T. Dow, State Attorney General
Fred Tagliarini, Mayor
Aberdeen Township Council
Joseph Criscuolo, Town Manager
John T. Powers, Chief of Police
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Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Aberdeen's Top Earners

Across the nation, there’s been a lot of talk about the public sector’s salaries, work benefits, health plans, and pensions. And there’s no reason to exempt Aberdeen Township from the discussion.

Among the top earners, 1st prize goes to our former police chief, Joseph Kelly, who’s receiving an annual pension of $104,000. 2nd prize goes to our councilman, James Lauro. After serving our community for over 40 years, with a final average salary of $145,563.67, Councilman Lauro is earning an annual pension of $98,569.68, plus another $13,000 a year for his service as councilman and fire commissioner. (Need we mention again that he voted last year to raise his commissioner’s salary?) The booby prize goes to our disgraced former town manager, Mark Coren, who’s receiving an annual pension of $82,000 plus health coverage.

Last year, John Quinn earned $104,000 from the township and another $36,000 from Matawan. Police Chief John Powers earned $138,000 and his number two, Richard Derechailo earned $132,000. Town Manager, Joe Criscuolo only earned $122,000.

Of the township’s 35 police officers, 29 earned above $92,000, another two officers earned $88,000, and only the remaining four officers were below the highest brackets.

I bear no grudge against anyone for earning the above salaries. To my knowledge, none of the above ever threatened to endanger the township during contract negotiations and every person is entitled to honorably pursue the highest salary and benefits he can muster. Furthermore, excluding the pay-to-play payoffs, the vast majority of the township employees have performed exemplary.

However, the question for the taxpayers is whether the community can afford such generous compensation or if we can get the same outstanding service at a lower cost.

A simple resolution at the state level would be to cap the benefits of future retirees and, once the public employee has reached his cap, all further retirement contributions would be diverted to a 401K plan. Till then, the only alternative is to reduce headcount and outsource services.

On a side note, an anonymous commenter took issue with me including the salary history of the teachers union officers as one of the factors prompting tax increases, arguing their salaries are a tiny part of the overall budget. Well, I hope the commenter isn’t one of our math teachers.

The current crop of union officers saw their salaries increase a combined $162,091.60 from 2006 to 2009. During that same period, the school tax levy increased $1,407,437. Not including pension liabilities, those 12 union officers accounted for 11.5% of the school property tax increases. And, unlike the above mentioned township workers, the union officers have frequently undermined our children’s education and threatened the operation of our school district.
>>> Read more!