Mayor Joann Gattinelli addressed residents on first quarter progress, while petition committee members delivered petition signatures to council at meeting
Mayor Joann Gattinelli addressed residents at last week’s council meeting with optimism as the administration’s first quarter comes to an end, hopeful there will be no increase in property taxes for residents in this year’s municipal budget. Petition committee members were also in attendance to present the signatures obtained against a recent salary ordinance council adopted in February.
Gattinelli said a preliminary form of the 2017 municipal budget has been completed, and she does not anticipate a property tax increase this year.
“I am pleased to announce that the preliminary findings show it is not anticipated that there will be an increase in municipal property taxes in the 2017 year. In fact, there is a chance at a small reduction in 2017 municipal property taxes,” Gattinelli said.
In recent weeks, the township administration had announced small budget workshop sessions for residents to attend, five at a time, to discuss and share ideas in regard to the budget. Community members are able to meet with township Business Administrator Jason Gonter and Chief Financial Officer James D’Auria on a first-come, first-served basis in the Municipal Building at 11 a.m. on March 30, as well as April 6, 13 and 20. Gattinelli announced they have also added additional evening dates for residents who are unable to attend during the day on April 4 and 10 at 6 p.m. Registration for these events can be found on the township website, www.twp.washington.nj.us.
“Resident involvement and transparency with my administration is very important,” Gattinelli said. “The purpose of these meetings is to have constructive dialogue to positively move the town forward as it relates to the budget so we can consider these ideas before and after proposing the budget.”
Gattinelli said there would be open public hearings for the budget on Tuesday, April 4 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., and Thursday, April 6 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the council room of the Municipal Building. Introduction to the budget will take place at the scheduled council meeting on April 12, and adoption of the budget is tentatively scheduled for the council meeting on May 10.
Along with economic development, Gattinelli said the administration has been working diligently on communication channels for residents to efficiently give and receive information to the township. According to Gattinelli, the township has been working with Gloucester County to familiarize itself with the Everbridge program, a service designed to provide residents an opportunity to sign up for email or text alerts concerning important news such as emergencies and announcements.
The township has also felt the need to add a human resource officer position, a role that has not existed previously.
“Unfortunately, the township had not had a human resource officer, and we felt a need for this. In terms of increasing the level of service we provide to the township, we are looking to ensure the work environment is strictly professional. To reinforce this type of working environment, and to minimize potential lawsuits between and for employees, we have created an official human resources officer,” Gattinelli said.
Quarterly reviews to evaluate performance and goals are being scheduled with all department heads, along with drug screening and criminal background checks for all potential new hires to ensure individuals are fit to serve the township, Gattinelli stated.
“I ask for patience given by all. We are working hard, working diligently. There’s so much to offer in this town, and we just want to make it better,” Gattinelli said. “We have a lot going on behind the scenes, you’ll see.”
Residents and committee members of a petition that has circulated in the township in recent weeks attended the council meeting to present the head of the governing body with signatures opposing a salary range ordinance council adopted in February. As Council President Nick Fazzio was absent at the meeting, Vice President Joe Perry was the head of the governing body that night.
According to Brian McBride, petition coordinator, there have been questions raised by township administration and officials in regard to the validity of the signatures, especially those that were submitted electronically through DocuSign, Inc.
The use of electronic signatures has yet to be determined as acceptable by the township, however, McBride said the number of wet ink signatures surpasses the minimum required, which is 5 percent of the township’s registered voters.
On the agenda for the March 22 council meeting, threat of litigation in regard to the salary ordinance was listed as a topic for executive session. According to McBride, he had sent Solicitor Stuart Platt a “strongly worded email” on the excuse of the electronic signatures.
“I stated there is no question that electronic signatures are valid, and that if they were denied impermissibly under the law, we would have to retain counsel to pursue legal action,” McBride said. “The township is doing nothing more than over reacting to an issue that they created themselves. If they followed the law and case law supporting it, there would never need to be a decision on electronic signatures and no specter of legal action.”
At the meeting, Platt recused himself from the topic to provide a “fair and impartial process.”
“Despite the fact the salary ordinance has a range that increases the head of the department law to $110,000, I have long ago told the mayor that I will only be accepting the salary that was paid to the prior solicitors in my seat, going back several years to $100,000,” Platt said. “I do not have a conflict of interest because I will not be getting an increase so I will not benefit one way or the other. However, in an abundance of caution, and because this is of interest and an important public issue, I am going to recuse myself. I believe this process is important to the voters, at least some voters in this community. It is most important that the residents, the other 95 percent that were not involved with the process, believe that the process will be fair and impartial.”
The conflict solicitor who will review the matter and “ultimately make a determination on the validity and legitimacy on the petition and its application under the statute,” according to Platt, is Capehart Scatchard.
“The easiest lawsuit to win is the one that doesn’t get filed. We don’t need to go to litigation over this,” McBride said. “Any legal costs the township bears from challenging electronic signatures to the petition is nothing more than the establishment desperately trying to hold on to power that rightfully belongs to the citizens. If the petition is put to a public vote, there is no legal cost. If we lose in November, we lose.”
