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46 Comments
WOW !!!
So much waste, not enough time in the day to explain it all. Just the first 98 pages alone: Free medical benefits for retired employees, a lot of costly unnecessary training and hotels, so many free meals for employees, so much remodeling and furniture for the new Admin, all the free uniforms and free equipment for employees, a lease car for “BA” and so much more to go…
Belmar is the best place ever to work for, you get everything you’ll ever need on the residents dime. Priceless.
Eliminating staff and outsourcing should be our number 1 priority. A review of the budget can be an eye opener. These cuts would not just have a salary attached to them but benefits and retirement payments, reduced vehicles and repairs,less overhead to manage the staff, etc..Look no further than outsourcing our garbage, DPW had 3 trucks and 6 men. Private has 1 truck, 2 men.Same results.
just maybe we could of held off on the Blackhearts crossfit treadmill for $2700 until the borough had a little money?
Page 77
and why did we have to re-do the Taylor pavilion hallway for $2611?
Page 42
repaired Taylor bathroom stall $1,296
page 41
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I want to die and come back as a Belmar police officer. What a life
20 pages in and I am incensed. Couches? desks? Cell Phone Booster? What the hell is going on in Borough Hall?? You are raising our taxes while spending like drunken sailors?? Mayor and Council, you are a big disappointment.
I remind everybody this is 2018 expenditures. Mark was on the Council but it was still the Doherty/Magovern administration.
Thank you Dave for pointing that out. Unfortunately goes to show some people see what they want and point fingers when it was clear it was the former administration that spent like drunken sailors
I think when Jim Bean gets in that will be the icing on the cake. The mayor and other council members will have to listen and learn. Wish I was young enough to run. Just to damn old.
Is anyone ever held responsible for their votes? Both Mayor McGovern and then councilman Walsifer were on the council in 2017 & 2018, both voted the same on the spending and budget. If McGovern had won and imposed a 21% tax increase because he didn’t realize how bad it was, the republician base would have went crazy.
McGovern and Walsifer both had the exact same responsibilities voting on spending taxpayer money. Why does one get a pass and is praised for the tax increase and the other would have been crucified?
Why different standards? Please help me understand.
5 & 6 – Mark Walsifer and Tom Brennan were on the council when this “drunken sailor” spending was going on. Were they asleep at the wheel?
#5 Admin- Did Mark or Tom ever question any of these expenditures or question Doherty’s budgets ?
Well the budget was passed in May, 2018, before most of this spending took place. You can check the tape but I don’t remember many objections.
#9-If I’m not mistaken Walsifer did say in a former council meeting that alot of things were hidden or told by the former BA they were being handled. Alot of things were uncovered after and they are probably still uncovering shady dealings. Hopefully he hires a forensic auditor and holds all of them responsible.
OK Admin #11 – Let’s rephrase this … Did Walsifer or Brennan read the Payment of Bills Resolutions and the details of these expenditures in 2018?
I don’t know if they ever read any of them, but as my readers know I read every single one of them and shared with all of you some of the more interesting things I found.
So #12, Walsifer never questioned anything at the time he was okaying it ?
#8 Clueless Magovern (the guy who said that Matt’s wife is not a power broker) as both councilman and mayor, was, I presume, kept in the dark about how bad things were, as well as the other council members, deliberately kept ignorant. No one is praising the current mayor for the 21% increase in the municipal part of the overall tax increase, which is estimated to be between 6 and 9%. Do you really believe that Colleen and Matt were honest about the financial situation? Remember that the former administration sent to school and paid for Colleen’s education to become a certified financial officer who would possibly continue to work in Belmar in that capacity had Matt continued as mayor. The current administration inherited a huge mess. There is nothing confusing here.
#16-Exactly! Colleen was a big fat liar! Why do you think she always sat with her back to the residents in council meetings. Could Mark have questioned more, possibly yes but again Colleen was protected by Matt and Brian.
17 – OK Mark, settle down now.
Colleen is a liar. Period. I know this for a fact from personal experience. The council members were told what Colleen wanted them know. In my lengthy career with Belmar, there were never any “free” lunches, except for Employee Appreciation day, which I feel the employees deserve. The people commenting on here are so quick to bash everyone, but do us all a favor….go to Borough Hall, take a walk around the building. Go to a bar on a Friday or Saturday night in the summer and see what the police really do. Watch them get assaulted by drunk men and women. Go sit in on a summer court session, or stand outside the court window and see the abuse the court employees have to put up with. Go to the tax and water department, and see the abuse the employees have to put up with. The new administration is doing their best to clean up a mess that most of you do not have the whole story on. Get at least a few facts before you judge.
#18 actually not Mark but clearly i hit a nerve or made actual sense
Guess what – Hilary lost, get over it.
#19 wasn’t Mayor Walsifer in favor of extending the operating dates of D’Jais liquor license which passed this year?
If you want to complain about the bars and their patrons, please start with the person who supported the bring more of them into our town.
Lotta disgruntled Dems have come out of the woodwork to blame their past mistrust, buffoonery and blind loyalty to the previous Administration (McDirty, Queen of Mean & McGoo) on this new Administration. Clearly a political move. Cant blame the members of the current council if they were kept in the dark by the corrupt and nefarious actions of the loser Dems.
#22 I believe #19 is referring to the summer crowd which has nothing to do with the operating dates you are referring to.
#22 – Walsier is also ignoring D’jais expansion of their bar into the rear year. What land use board ever approved for this expansion. Walsifer and his crew nodded their heads and yes’d us for their votes and now they just ignore all that they promised.
#22…I’m not complaining about the bars and their patrons. I’m complaining about you.
#24 and now we can have those same rowdy crowds all year. yeaa
#27…you think that the people who rent here in the summer, most of whom are college students attending college out of state, are going to come here in the winter? Seriously??
Let’s see if the Walsifer kingdom remains as is in November… This will be interesting to view from the cheap seats….
#19, I have walked around like you told me to do. I agree, there are parts of the job that are not fun. That is why they call it work instead of fun. Lets outsource as many positions as possible, cut our taxes in half, and see if anyone notices or cares after 90 days when you are gone.
#27 then why would D’Jais spend all that money to be opened more dates?
Seriously?
To be fair, just like the residents were kept in the dark, manipulated and deceived by Matt, Colleen and Robin, and then McGovern just did what he was told, I dont think that the Council knew all the facts as they were they only were given things after Colleen and Robin altered to look like they wanted it to, I bet Colleen and Robin had two separate set of books (or more); Thats why this administration had to spend so much time to even figure out what was what—- put it all out there for us and is trying to deal with digging out from a mess they inherited.
Jim used to have to OPRA stuff he wanted to see, even as a sitting Councilman
#30…I am gone. I left because I couldn’t stand working with Colleen anymore. And what exactly did you observe when you walked around the building? Also, I’m not really sure what positions you think could be outsourced. Do you have much municipal government experience? It sounds like you have it all figured out.
#30-didn’t we all just have a nice 8 year tax break? Most people move out of NJ because their taxes are constantly being raised. We all knew that the taxes would have to go up at some point. Basically, I screwed the new mayor and all the residents over by not raising your taxes for so long!
In the REAL WORLD approving a budget you dont understand is UNACCEPTABLE….. Period end of story… All these excuses are nonsense….
Aileen. Do you really want to know where to cut expenses?????????????????? Take your pick and keep blaming McDirty for your (gulp)21.7% increase. Funny, McDirty didn’t get to vote on this 21.7% tax increase. Thanks Mark and present, soon to be former, council members. Go Jim Bean!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sir/Madam, you’re correct. Cut’s have to be made across the board as a show of good faith to the citizenry. I’d say 10% (for starters)cut in payroll across the board. I’d work with the employees as much as possible, but if they proved recalcitrant, then harsh measures would have to be applied. One way or another, these cut have to be made. Very sad people don’t understand the situation.
With so many people that have the answer how is it even possible that we are in this situation. Just fire everyone, right? The funny part is they would have to start with the 10+ “temp help” guys in the DPW that work all year doing the same work (or more) as the permanent guys and only make $10/hr without benefits or anything. How much do you really think that would help? A few pieces of unneeded furniture probably cost more than all of those guys combined. Personally I don’t mind paying the tax increase if it keeps people employed. Cut spending in many other places.
#39- It worked for Lake Como and Colts Neck. Their taxes didn’t go up 21.7%. Let Spring Lake Police our streets, Monmouth County to dispatch. I guarantee county dispatch would shave 5 cents off the pain. What do you think Aileen?? Go Jim Bean and throw in a female to boot. Gonna do my research on whether Russo or McBride may be more palatable.
The reality is the town is a mess based on what has been done for the last 8 years. I commend the mayor and new council members for stepping into this mess which they are finding is far worse than they could have imagined. Good to see adults in the room trying to deal with real issues head on vs. “trying to kick the can down the road”. They had to put some serious people in place and pay them to help get through this and in the end I hope it is worth it. Agree that even window dressing cuts would have looked much better in the face of the proposed tax increases. Let’s see how they handle the summer, stand up to the bars running the town and draining our resources. Cut all events, enforce our laws with zero tolerance and fine accordingly.
#40 Colts Neck is not run by DJ’s. Spring Lake is way too smart to get involved in our mess of a bar town which is now also responsible for policing the bars in Lake Como. Lake Como was handed the deal of the century when Belmar took over the policing of their bar mess and now we are stuck in a long term contract. Belmar’s situation is the laughing stock of Monmouth County and I would highly doubt that another municipality would want anything to do with us.
Until the culture of Belmar is changed to put residents first over bars / tourists and the long term sweetheart contracts (involving our valuable town assets – marina, taylor)handed to friends for political gain expire, it is going to be a painful road ahead.
Back up dents, many with bent noses live/own Colts Neck. Review Spring Lakes history re: watering holes in town.
#41 – Sir/Madam – Agree mostly with your post. However, every day the mayor and council delay/refuse to make major cuts is a disaster. The citizenry are wounded and in require a sign of good faith from the people in charge. Not just window dressing cuts either. The time for studies has been over for some time now. The time for action is now.
41 – D’Jais runs the town, ask anyone who ran for office, including this current batch. Walsifer and his new Council are ignoring D’Jais expansion of their use with their rear yard bar and “smoking area”. It’s an expansion of their bar, period. Brennan, well, “as a professional musician and under an abundance of caution” he must ignore all that D’Jais does. That’s his pass.
#42…. Bingo, that was a great assessment… Especially the culture of Belmar, I think people have just accepted the summer chaos as normal…
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