Says Captain Renault Of "Casablanca" Fame

It Didn’t Take Russo Jr. Long To Abandon 50,000 DMUA Ratepayers And Suck Up To The Freeholders Who Have Huge Overdevelopment Windfall, Now That He Has Betrayed 7800 Registered Democrats To Become A Card Carrying Republican And A Possible GOP Candidate For Real Mayor In The Government Change Election

Freeholders Offset Big Spending Increase In $276 Million County Government Budget With Huge Windfall From Dover Township Overdevelopment, But They Won’t Do Their Share With VoTech DMUA Land Acquisition

Dover Township: Appointed lame duck “mayor” John Russo Jr. recently offered to “give” the Dover Municipal Utilities Authority a $550,000 “credit” against a future DMUA contribution to the township’s bogus non-existent open space acquisition program if the DMUA would give the township a real deed to real estate on the Toms River so Russo could play Santa Claus with a county vocational school program to construct a marine science academy there.

The county freeholders have refused to fund the land acquisition despite a huge windfall the county has received from burgeoning tax collections generated by rampant overdevelopment in Dover Township, some of which they caused.

But instead of asking the freeholders for the funding they could easily provide ($50,000 a year), Russo wants the DMUA to fork over its last remaining capital asset for a shell game offer of what amounts to “monopoly money”.

Some Recent History Is In Order On Environmental
Learning Center And The Votech Project

The “leadership” of the local chamber of commerce came to the DMUA in 1996 looking for property to build what they called an Environmental Learning Center, a learning and educational project that would emphasize the marine environment. After receiving written assurances that the funding for the project was available on a timely basis, the DMUA commissioners gave the ELC-Chamber leadership a commitment to provide the needed real estate on the Toms River near the sewer authority administration building at no cost.

Chamber Leaders Promised, But Never
Delivered ELC Funding

The DMUA management was given a list of “guaranteed” funding commitments for the project.

But despite a booming economy, the “funding” represented by numerous chamber-connected “leaders”, never showed up, despite repeated assurances that it was imminent.

Prominent in the vacuous funding commitments were chamber officers Gary Lotano, Chamber President Lucy Greene, Republican Chairman Joseph Coronato and Architect Massimo Yezzi.

Funding Was Always “Imminent”

The funding was “imminent” and more “imminent” over the tedious course of five long years and finally, early last year, the ELC folks were advised the DMUA had lost patience and the commitment would be rescinded.

One of the developing problems was that the DMUA, financially one of the strongest public agencies in New Jersey, began running a big annual operating deficit in 2002, and the ELC “commitment” was based on a DMUA financial situation that existed in 1996 and a program that was supposed to be up and running with construction completed by 1998.

DMUA Reserves Were Carefully Built Up Over Time, But A New Commission Majority Blew $6 Million Trying To Buy Votes

The only reason the DMUA has been able to continue operating at its $225 basic rate, stable for 19 years, is because authority reserves, carefully built up over time, normally produced enough income to balance the agency’s annual operating budget.

But excessive expenditures made by the current commission majority, some of them blatant political payoffs designed to buy support for Republican candidates in the 2001 and 2002 elections, had diminished authority reserves by nearly $6 million, and a significant drop in interest rates reduced the reserve component by another $1.5 million.

Another problem was a sewer rupture near Pelican Island which produced a potential bill for reconstruction of close to $1.5 million more.

Caldwell Leveled With The DMUA

Last August, the ELC-Chamber folks arranged a meeting with the Ocean County Vocational School, but never showed up to the meeting which was supposed to start discussions looking towards possible participation by the VoTech in a revised marine learning center.

James Caldwell was now in charge of the faltering ELC project, but he had the common sense and simple kindness to tell the DMUA there was no funding for the ELC project, and the only way the project could go forward in any form was if it was revised to VoTech needs and funded by the Ocean County Freeholders.

VoTech Didn’t Show Up Until January 2003 And Didn’t Tell DMUA  About Alleged “Short Time Frame” Until February

But the VoTech dragged its feet, and didn’t show up to talk seriously to the DMUA until January, of 2003 and didn’t advise DMUA commissioners until the February authority meeting of an alleged “short time frame” because of a state funding commitment that might expire if the DMUA didn’t “act immediately.”

Adding to the confusion was the appearance that the VoTech professionals did not have their facts straight with respect to important funding and project details.
Project Is A County Project

The project is a county project and 70% of the students will be from outside of Dover Township.

Finger Pointing Got Intense When Numerous Worthies
Began Playing To The Cheap Seats

It wasn’t long after that township committee members, including “mayor” Russo, vocational school executives, their professionals, and Ocean County Observer editorial writers who didn’t have the vaguest understanding of the facts, began pointing fingers at the DMUA for “reneging” on the “commitment” to give the property away in perpetuity even though they all knew perfectly well that the circumstances had drastically changed in six years.

DMUA commissioners will discuss the situation again with Russo Jr. and Committeeman Carmine Inteso on Wednesday. 50,000 DMUA ratepayers should pay attention.

Russo Jr. recently abandoned 7800 registered Dover Township Democrats to become a card carrying Republican. He may seek the GOP nomination as a candidate for mayor in the June 3rd primary election.

Click here for previous article on DMUA Commissioner Robert K. Haelig’s request for help from the freeholders.

© Copyright 2003-2007 Ocean County Politics .com. All Rights Reserved.
Questions & Comments: gvgeditor@aol.com