Democrat Brush & GOP Understated 2005 Spending Increase By Distorting Numbers From 2003 Snow Storm

Editor's Note: The huge 2003 Presidents Day Snow Storm added about $1 million in emergency expenditures for 2003 which, by law, were appropriated up front in the 2004 budget. Since there were no big snow storms in 2004, there were no similar emergency expenditures, so the totals in the 2005 budget for emergencies were DOWN by nearly $1 million, the cost of the 2003 snow storm, because these emergency expenses were not repeated the following year.

This enabled Mayor Brush to understate the huge spending increase for the 2005 budget by the same $1 million - and piously but falsely claim the 2005 budget, which contained a record spending increase and a big tax increase, was "prudent." Furthermore, the public works department, which botched the 2003 snow storm, is even more politics-oriented now than it was then.

From 2003, we are pleased to reprint 2003 Snow Job Part IV; you can access 2003 Snow Job Parts I, II and III by clicking on access titles at the end of the story:

Snow Job Part IV

Annoyed Citizen Of Ortley Says “The First Thing To Do Is To Replace The Emergency Management Coordinator • • PRONTO!!!”

Numerous Township Intersections Have Snow In Them Three Weeks After The Snow Stopped: At 4th Avenue And Nichols Avenue In Ortley Beach, Little Snow Anywhere Else, But The Intersection Is Still Full Of Snow - And Still Dangerous

Leaderless Public Works Picked Up The Garbage Six Times, But Never Touched The Remaining Snow

To the editor:

It seems to me, the first thing to do is to replace the Emergency Management Coordinator • • • Winton.* PRONTO!!!!

Emergency Management 101 is to plan for any and all possible catastrophes. I guess he was not born in 1997 when we had the last blizzard.

Do you think Ortley is ready for the next big hurricane?

I hope our new ward councilman (to be elected in the change of government on November 6th) makes Ortley Emergency Management a priority.

Annoyed Ortley Citizen

*Editor’s note: John Winton is Dover Township’s politically connected “Emergency Management Coordinator”. He has several different jobs with the township and draws six different salaries for a total salary of $84,025.88

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Three Weeks After The Snow Stopped Falling, Clueless And Leaderless Public Works Department Still Hasn’t Cleaned Out Numerous Intersections, So Pavement Is Covered With Ice As Soon As The Sun goes Down

There were at least four days where the temperature got up to 50 degrees or more, but the public works department left so much snow in many intersections that some streets were still dangerous three weeks after the storm, especially after sunset.

At the intersection of Nichols Avenue and Fourth Avenue in Ortley Beach, garbage trucks from the Public Works Department have been in the neighborhood six times in the three week period.

And yet, there has apparently been no communication, and no effort to clear the intersection which could have been cleared in five minutes if somebody showed up to clear it.

The story is typical of many intersections throughout the township, some for a shorter period of time where the snow melted quicker.

GOP PW Department Now Under Russo Jr.’s Protection

The clueless GOP politics-infested and virtually leaderless Public Works Department is apparently now under the protection of Republican-designate but still (as of 3/09/03) a Democrat, certain mayoralty candidate, appointed Lame Duck “Mayor” John Russo Jr.

The leadership of the Public Works Department apparently couldn’t care less if the snow was never cleaned out at all - unless they could stretch the job into another dose of $60 an hour double time for the politically connected.     (3/9/03)

Click Here For Snow Job Part One

Click Here For Snow Job Part Two

Click Here For Snow Job Part Three

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