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Vol. 4 – No. 27 ♦
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FR EE
March 14, 2020 – March 20, 2020
‘MY VOTE DIDN’T COUNT’
Millions in Cuts, 9% Tax Levy Increase Proposed to Offset School Funding Cuts to Pemberton Schools NJDOE Uses Incorrect Data to Calculate Pemberton Aid, Agency Restores $2 Million After Officials Call State Out By Andy Milone
Photo By Andy Milone
Medford Lakes Borough Council.
Medford Lakes Council Decides Not to Move Borough’s Nonpartisan Municipal Elections After Voters Voiced 722-445 Last Year to Do So By Andy Milone Staff Writer
MEDFORD LAKES—The Borough of Medford Lakes’ nonpartisan municipal elections will continue to be held in May, for now, after Medford Lakes Borough Council voted 3-2 March 4 to turn down the mandate of the majority of voters to hold local elections to coincide with the November General Election. 722 voters had favored moving the elections to November, while 445 voters disapproved of doing so. The question of moving the date of municipal elections had been posed to voters through a nonbinding ballot question that appeared on last November’s ballot. Deputy Mayor Dr. Gary Miller recently contended to this newspaper that it was his position that the majority of voters did not actually support moving the election because only 1,167 voters weighed in on the referendum, reflecting only 21 percent of the total registered voters in the borough. Though most American elections are decided based on the decision of voters who actually turnout, in this case, council instituted an unusual mechanism making the vote non-binding, giving council the ultimate say through a subsequent ordinance on the matter. The ordinance, which was expected to be introduced fairly quickly after the November election, wasn’t introduced until last month, with the public body previously presenting
various reasons why it wasn’t ready to be read into the record. The delay had resulted in council admonishment. Council moved quickly in the wake of backlash, introducing the ordinance in a 3-1 vote, with some members of the public body angry that it appeared suddenly for a first reading, contending they had insufficient notice of the first vote coming to the floor. Following the March 4 second reading and public hearing, Mayor Bill Fields, Miller and Councilman Bob Hanold voted against the ordinance’s adoption (which would have moved the election to November), while Councilman Thomas Cranston and Councilwoman Kathy Merkh voted in favor of it. During the public hear ing on the ordinance, some of the approximately 80 people in attendance along with all members of council provided their views on the proposition. Fields told this newspaper after the meeting that his vote to stick with Medford Lakes’ long-held tradition ultimately came down to the chance that partisan politics could influence its nonpartisan municipal elections. Fields previously expressed concern that partisan politics could enter the local races in the event of a change because voters in November decided congressional, gubernatorial and presidential elections at that time. Fields, during the public hearing, shared some of his f indings from talking with
officials from nonpartisan towns who moved their elections to November. “Some said there were no issues and no influence,” he said. “Some said there were endorsements of local candidates by state and county elected partisan officials. These are nonpartisan towns and nonpartisan elected officials, but they were getting endorsements by Republicans and Democrats. How they did it, I don’t know. Some observed little to no influence initially, but then observed a great partisan influence during the next election cycle. Others said there was definite partisan influence, since their election was moved.” Miller and Hanold also cited the fear of Medford Lakes’ elections being influenced by partisan politics, as part of their rationale for voting in opposition to the ordinance. Although Merkh and Cranston voted in favor the ordinance, both noted that they had concerns about the ordinance, but ultimately decided they wanted to honor the opinions of those who voted on the referendum in November. “As much I think the May election suits the town fine, and does keep county and national politics out of our local issues to the extent that it is possible, we asked for the voters’ opinion and we got an answer,” Cranston said. “Whether we researched it enough ahead of time, or put enough information out there, or whatever the case See VOTE/ Page 3
Staff Writer
P E M B E R T O N —T h e N e w J e r s e y Department of Education (NJDOE) nearly cost the Pemberton Township School District some $2 million in state aid after mistakenly using Fiscal Year 2018 tax data, instead of Fiscal Year 2019 tax data, as was called for in determining school year 2020-21 aid allotment to the district. Even though the error is getting resolved, with the NJDOE acknowledging it erred and vowing to restore some $2 million, the Pemberton Township School District stands to lose nearly $2.6 million in state aid for the 2020-21 school year due to a recently revised school funding formula mandated by Senate Bill S-2 signed into law by Democratic Governor Phil Murphy. As a result, the school district still faces a significant predicament, though perhaps not as severe as the one it did just days ago, which forced the Education Law Center to write a letter to NJDOE Commissioner Lamont Repollet about the “signif icant error” the agency had made in state aid notices to school districts. The error first came to the attention of the NJDOE after Pemberton Township School District Superintendent Tony Trongone sent a letter to Democratic Governor Phil Murphy and Repollet contending that the initial state aid calculation released on Feb. 27 reflected a reduction of about $4.6 million from the previous year, and only should have reflected a reduction of nearly $2.6 million because of the district qualifying for a “municipal overburden” exemption. New Jersey school districts, in most cases, are prohibited by state law from raising school taxes by more than two percent annually. However, the Pemberton Township School District is a Schools Development Authority (SDA) District [former Abbott District] that qualif ies for an exemption, one of several remedies given to it to ensure that students receive thorough and eff icient education in light of it serving a poor community. Thus, SDA districts qualify for a municipal See CUTS/ Page 4
INDEX Are We There Yet?........ 8
Job Board.................... 18
Opinion.......................... 9
Dear Pharmacist............ 7
Leo the Lion Challenge...6
Senior Column............... 8
Games......................... 14
Local News.................... 2
St. Patrick’s Guide ...... 10
Here’s My Card............ 16
Marketplace................. 19
Worship Guide............. 15
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