Council Discusses Ethics Law, Merger

VILLAS – Two issues claimed center stage at the Lower Township Council meeting Aug. 18. The first consisted of a discussion on conflicts of interest, or more importantly to Mayor Michael Beck, the appearance of conflicts concerning advisory board members’ actions that are not explicitly governed by the state ethics laws that control governmental boards, like town councils.
The second issue concerned the allegation that ratepayer funds were being used in an inappropriate manner by the Lower Township Municipal Utilities Authority (LTMUA) to fight the planned merger with the township’s Department of Public Works.
At the Aug. 4 meeting, Beck had asked Solicitor Ronald Gelzunas to research and report back to council on the state ethic laws that apply to non-governmental advisory boards, such as the Recreation Advisory Board. Some concerns had been raised at that meeting about the possibility that board members may recommend actions to council that would or could be interpreted as financially beneficial to those board members.
Since these advisory boards do not directly govern anyone, no ethics statutes apply according to Gelzunas. He added that only boards which answer to the Local Finance Boards must abide by state ethics laws. These include town councils and boards which are appointed by councils to regulate or govern.
Gelzunas remarked that “we need some consistency” of policy for both governing bodies and advisory boards. Beck and other council members wanted to be sure that these board members recognize the potential for a conflict and take appropriate action to avoid the conflict or appearance of conflict by abstaining.
After a short discussion, all council members voted yes to develop a non-binding memo that contains guidelines that mirror to some extent the current ethics standards found in the state law.
Beck stressed that these are to be guidelines only and should be designed to ensure that board members know council prefers they abstain from certain votes when the appearance of a conflict is possible.
Update on LTMUA
Deputy Mayor Norris Clark spoke about his experience while attending the latest LTMUA board meeting. He began by relating his thoughts on “where we are” with the merger process by ticking off his list of past events in the process.
Clark continued that the LTMUA had been in an “organizational tailspin” for some time, which caused some LTMUA employees to come to council asking for help. Council then voted to hire an independent auditor who revealed the potential for $1 million in savings if the LTMUA merged with the township Department of Public Works.
After that, both the township and the opposing LTMUA board members argued their positions before the Local Finance Board as is required. The finance board unanimously agreed that the merger was appropriate.
Clark then reported that at the recent meeting, workers expressed concern that the five-year plan to attend to infrastructure needs was not being followed.
Chairman Brian O’Connor basically said he was going to wait until after the coming election before acting. He then related that the attorney for the board spent $15,000 of ratepayer funds to hire a PR firm to fight the merger and stir up support for that fight. Norris continued that Lower Township Republican Leader Jeffrey R. Lindsay has made statements on facebook that the township was “delusional” concerning its support for this plan.
Clark also noted that the engineering company under contract to the LTMUA (Remington & Vernick) is poised to receive another $1 million in fees from the LTMUA and that this firm is one of the largest contributors to the Republican Party.
He concluded by remarking that both the governor and the finance board say that these mergers are the “right thing to do,” and he suggested that if we went door to door, the ratepayers would also agree.
Beck and all council members thanked those responsible for managing the Lenape treaty signing Aug. 17, especially the Department of Recreation.
To contact Jim McCarty, email jmccarty@cmcherald.com.