Middle of the Pack is Not Good Enough

CAPE MAY – On three different occasions in the last few months, Cape May City Council has heard from the public about the desire for more and better information available through the city’s website. At the July 1 meeting, it was the turn of representatives of the Taxpayers Association to press the issue.
While beginning by lauding recent efforts, like the live stream videos of council meetings, the prepared statement by the association centered on the need for more comprehensive information regarding the items on the agenda for council meetings. As was the case in previous meetings, the comments focused on the very brief descriptions available related to proposed resolutions and ordinances, but comments also ranged to timeliness of information like minutes of previous meetings.
The varied responses by council members displayed some significant differences of opinion. Councilmember Terri Swain asked “why now” somewhat defensively wanting to know why “this administration is being held to a different standard than previous administrations?”
Councilmember William Murray seemed the most sympathetic to the requests and attempted to explore ways to meet it with minimal effort.
Mayor Edward Mahaney saw it has an “opportunity” but noted the need to reallocate personnel and budgetary resources if the city is going to succeed in this area.
Throughout the discussion, City Clerk Louise Cummiskey returned to the resource issues in her office and the need for an additional position if posting all supporting documentation to the website becomes a goal.
City Manager Bruce MacLeod was looking not only at the request but the road to which it may lead. He pointed out that once documents are made available in bulk, people will want ways to search them and further change is needed.
Two things seemed clear:
This issue of greater access to supporting documentation on the website will not just fade away. Second, council needs to develop a strategy and a consensus that will allow it to move forward in a manner that addresses citizen concerns and do so in ways that are economically and administratively reasonable.
Monmouth University’s Polling Institute and its Graduate Program in Public Policy have developed a set of best practices for municipal websites. Based on those practices, they have also ranked 540 such websites in the state. Cape May City is ranked 277, or as MacLeod put it, “in the middle of the pack.” At least for the taxpayers association, the middle of the pack is not good enough.
Enforcement of liquor license conditions
Following the last council meeting in which a number of liquor licenses were renewed, City Attorney Anthony Monzo conducted a comprehensive review and categorization of the existing licenses and their varied conditions. Based on the type of establishment, relationships to state law, and locations, conditions can vary. The result of Monzo’s work is a new document that has been provided to the police to aid in enforcement, especially during the busy summer season. Macleod pointed to the many steps the police have taken to ensure that business owners understand the requirements of their license and to minimize the likelihood of needed enforcement actions.
FEMA maps
Mahaney announced that city officials had a conference call with FEMA June 30 and now are reviewing preliminary maps from the agency. He cautioned that the maps are different from those provided in August of last year, noting that they are more comprehensive and more sensitive to the needs of the city. Mahaney said that this is the start of a long process that probably will not result in approved maps before July 2015. Within the next few weeks, the plan calls for a meeting of local and state officials to go over the maps and provide input to FEMA.
A public session will probably be held sometime after Labor Day in September at Convention Hall. That session will give property owners an opportunity to get specific information on the implications of the maps for their properties. An appeal process will follow and all appeals will be addressed prior to adoption of the maps next year. Once adopted the maps will be the basis for future construction permits and for flood insurance premiums. They will probably be in force for at least five years.
Beach Patrol Superathlon
Murray announced that the Beach Patrol Superathlon will be held July 15 beginning at 6 p.m. It is an event in which beach patrols from throughout South Jersey send their best athlete to compete in a row, swim, and run competition. Mahaney called it a “unique event” in that it is a “one man event” rather than a competition among patrol teams. The public is invited to come down to the beach for an event with “high entertainment value.”