Pine Beach Council To Put Open Space Questions On The Ballot; But The All-Republican Dover Township Council Won't Consult Taxpayers On $30 Million In Flaky Open Space Buys - Or Consult The Voters On Anything Else Either

The bi-partisan Pine Beach mayor and council will offer a referendum on important open space commitments by the borough, but the all-Republican council in Dover Township won't.

Pine Beach Mayor Russell Corby said voters will decide whether to set aside up to 8¢ per $100 of assessed valuation for maintenance of open space areas such as Vista Park.

Important To Get The Input Of The Voters;
Public Hearing At 7:30 pm In Pine Beach

Corby told the Ocean County Observer "it is important to identify for the residents and taxpayers exactly what those present and future costs will be, and get their input in a referendum."

The ordinance putting the question on the ballot will be discussed at a public hearing on August 10th at 7:30 pm at the municipal building.

Dover Meetings Are Held At 6pm So Nobody Shows Up

In Dover Township, meetings of the council start at 6pm, a time that was chosen for the convenience of incumbent Republican council members like county parks employee Michael Fiure Esq., who made it clear they want as few residents as possible at the meetings.

August will be the month where the Republican council will decide not to have a referendum on anything, so $30 million in "open space purchases" from Republican campaign contributors can go forward when it is too late to put the "open space" buys before the voters.

Deadline for referendum questions is August 26th, but ordinances must be put on two readings and advertised before the deadline, so Pine Beach will have an open space referendum, but Councilman Gregory McGuckin, a lawyer who knows about things like this, will say it's too late for one in Dover, and the $30 million will be down the tubes and on its way to wealthy and powerful Republican landowners before you know it.

Public Calls For A Vote, But McGuckin Ignores Their Plea

The newspapers and several commentators have called on McGuckin and the council to put the big "open space" buys before the voters, but their requests have fallen on deaf ears.

The only referendum likely for Dover will be the pay-to-play ordinance that will only be on the ballot through the efforts of citizens responding to the duplicity of the council.

Will The Council Double-Cross Voters Again?

The citizens pay-to-play control ordinance was adopted last year after signatures were collected to put it on the ballot.

Then it was repealed after McGuckin and Fiure and, both greedy pay-to-play lawyers, joined with other council members, and double-crossed the Common Cause effort after the 2004 election.

The article was prepared for publication August 7, 2005

VIDEOS

SPECIAL

Click Here for
 Mayor Russo's
Advisory Committee on 
Behalf of the Developmentally
Handicapped
Lecture Series