It has been noted on these pages that the settlement of the Partner Engineering lawsuit was paid out of the beach utility despite the fact that less than half of the total we owed was for work on the beachfront. The rest was for work done for the municipality.
Several of the charges were for Planning Board Reviews (PBR) that required engineering services. Except for some for the marina, these were all done for private developers and property owners. Not including the marina’s bills*, the total we owed for them comes to $29,037.50.
The borough’s website doesn’t have the Planning Board agendas for 2011, but I was able to find many of the 2012 and 2013 Planning Board applications that were associated with the unpaid engineering bills.
I assume the borough collected the engineering fees from these and the other applicants at the time their applications were being heard. Where did the money…$29,037 in total…go?
The folks that paid those engineering charges would expect that the money would have been promptly sent to Birdsall. But years later those same charges appear on a statement of unpaid bills. When the borough finally did pay them off, it paid only seventy cents on the dollar and paid that out of the beach utility.
Unless I’m missing something here, it looks like the borough collected $29 grand from these people, sat on the money for years and then stuck the beach goers with the approximately $21 grand of it that we ended up having to actually pay for.
* The statement includes $20,200 in engineering bills for marina business that was before the Planning Board. These were for the 9th Ave Pier and for the miniature golf. I don’t know if Chefs International was supposed to pay for them or if they did pay for them. But if Chefs did pay us for that engineering work, add that amount to what we got paid for by Planning Board applicants and then again by the beach goers.
Unless I’m missing something.
13 Comments
If you can’t figure it out and I can’t figure it out then these folks need to take accounting lessons, or the State needs to take over like they did for other corrupt towns like Camden, Newark. I not saying anyone took money, you can be corrupt in ethical ways or ignorance. It high time the council starts to act in a professional manner and not run things like it’s their private country club!
Let me understand this, could this be a breach of a trust account Belmar controls. Holding on to money (floating or using the funds for other than the intended purpose)already paid by a client (private resident or business) to the Borough for services rendered by Birdsall (now Partner Engineering ) for specific fees incurred on a private project.
Presumably, the client paid the fees to the Borough. Then the Borough holds the money without paying Birdsall for years. The Borough takes a stand that to save taxpayers money they will not pay anything they owe to Birdsall because they (Birdsall) are in bankruptcy and waits to be sued. Their reasoning is the Borough should not have to pay full price on fees they owe because Partner bought the assets at a discount.
Belmar spends two years in litigation and when the settlement is reached, the Borough does not pass the alleged discount they received in this self-proclaimed negotiation to the client that has already paid them years earlier. They charge the entire amount to the beach utility fund for money already paid to the Borough.
Belmar beach goers get charged through using the Beach Utility Fund for private client fees paid years earlier. What?
Those Planning Board applicants should not share in the windfall because they understood that a favorable engineer review would cost more …. no different with Maser.
Who needs accounting?
#3 Eugene or as Hillary says “What does it matter”!
Actually she said “What difference does it make?”
Why after being paid by the applicant were some of Birdsall’s invoices paid and others not. There must be a reason for this selective accounting.
Is it too late to “buy a board”?
We should not make fun, she will be our next leader I mean President.
A penny saved is a penny earned?
Money flow seems murky. That is never a good thing.
Is it inability to follow proper accounting procedures or something darker?
If walks like a duck and quacks like a duck ? I see more legal fees in the future , he just needs a little more rope.
#11 eventually they will all see the light, aiding and abetting!
I am sure there is a similar law for governments. Its amazing these people are putting themselves in a bad way.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarbanes%E2%80%93Oxley_Act
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