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THE NEXT REPUBLICAN CLUB MEETING –

Club Board Member Corey Folta announced that the December meeting would be suspended for the upcoming holidays and that telephone calls, email and text messages, along with posts on the Freehold Township Republican Club Website and Facebook will announce the speaker and details of the January 25^th, 2016 meeting.

Szechuan Star Restaurant, Route 9 South near its intersection with Elton-Adelphia Road.

Dinner will be served at 6:30 P.M.  A nominal fee will be charged for dinner.

November 16^th, 2015 – Freehold Township Deputy Mayor Anthony Ammiano stepped in for the scheduled speaker, John Curly, Monmouth County Freeholder, who was unable to attend because of illness.

Mr. Ammiano, being newly reelected to the Freehold Township Committee, spoke about the dynamics of the recent election campaign. While he and Mayor Thomas Cook were reelected to the Township Committee, and John Curley and Christine Giordano Hanlon, were also successful for their county positions, the candidates for the New Jersey Assembly, Caroline Casagrande and Mary Pat Angelini were not.

Both he and Mr. Cook felt that the anticipated low voter turnout, and State issues related to the Governor strongly contended by PACs, while not the only factor, was major factor in their defeat. Mr. Ammiano felt that perhaps more visibility of these candidates in certain municipalities may have overcome the close margins in their outcomes.

Messrs. Ammiano and Cook thanked everyone for their support, and were looking forward to the upcoming year, along with the rest of the Township Committee, Messrs. Lester Preston,and David Salkin, and Ms. Barbara McMurrow, in continuing to make Freehold Township a model place for its residents.

Club Board Member Corey Folta announced that the December meeting would be suspended for the upcoming holidays and that telephone calls, email and text messages, along with posts on the Freehold Township Republican Club Website and Facebook will announce the speaker and details of the January 18^th, 2016 meeting.

October 26^th, 2015 – Christine Giordano Hanlon, Monmouth County Clerk, returned to the Freehold Township Republican Club as the key guest speaker to bring attendees up to date with the four major services of the Clerk’s office as well as other programs offered.

The first and perhaps the most important is the recording office. With about 30 employees, it is responsible for accepting, recording and filing any document related to property within the county and make them available to the public.

The function generates $55 million in revenues each year in fees that are shared between the State and the County for their respective operating expenses.

Second function described is archiving of present and historic records for preservation. These are stored in the basement of the County Library in Manalapan and currently consist of about 27 boxes of county, court, town, etc., records. Some include deeds going back to the 1600’s. Of interest is recently surfaced 250,000 negatives from the Red Bank Register Newspaper. These are being reviewed and indexed by staff and volunteers with the expectation of making them available online.

Additionally, the County Clerk is responsible for Passport service provided as a convenience, for a charge, through its two offices in Freehold and Neptune.

And finally, along with the Superintendent of Elections and the Board of Elections, the County Clerk is responsible for about a third of the election process. Tabulating, handling the “Vote by Mail” program, providing ballots and handling Candidate Petitions are provided through the office all year long which includes more than general elections, such as Boards of Education, Special Elections, Fire Districts, to name a few.

Ms. Hanlon presented three initiates she has been working on since taking office as the County Clerk from the former retired County Clerk, Claire French. One is an elections website called http://www.monmouthcountyvotes.com. This represents the first county internet source for almost everything one may need from registering to vote, becoming a poll worker, requesting a ballot, finding where to vote, and getting up-to-date detailed election results, and quite a bit more.

Another recent initiative is a Monmouth County Veteran Discount Guide. Along with the Freeholders, and especially John Curley, its liaison to the Monmouth County Veteran’s Service Office, Ms. Hanlon recently announced the ‘Honoring our Heroes” program for more than 30,000 veterans of the county. The new military appreciation program, provides a way for local businesses to honor the Veterans and help them save money. They may qualify by simply showing their Monmouth County Veteran’s ID cards. Obtaining one is also a program of the Clerk’s office, and can be effortlessly obtained by bringing in a NJ Driver’s License and an original DD-214 “Report of Separation” to the County Clerk’s Freehold office or the Neptune Monmouth County Connection. You can read more in the following recently published article, http://www.nj.com/monmouth/index.ssf/2015/10/monmouth_county_businesses_to_offer_veteran_discou.html.

Christine concluded by describing the Monmouth Mobile County Connection program where teaming up with the Sheriff and the Surrogate, go through different parts of the Monmouth County offering services to people within their own municipalities who can’t easily get around the county. With eight past events, the plan is to do more in the future. More recent information link to the following:  http://co.monmouth.nj.us/PressDetail.aspx?ID=2185.

More complete services information can be found on the following webpage: http://co.monmouth.nj.us/page.aspx?ID=125

As always, Ms. Hanlon cordially stayed on to answer question.

September 28^th, 2015 – Monmouth County Surrogate Rosemary D. Peters, Esq., spoke to a very well attended meeting of Freehold Township Republican Club.

She discussed the complexity of the issues addressed within the Surrogate’s office, how it serves County residents and beyond, and plans for its future.

Giving an extremely informative presentation of many matters we need to be aware when it comes to passing along assets, and what we should know were we to be involved in handling an estate of our loved ones. She provided many valuable tips and pointers about wills and probate and as surrogate, Rosemary and her office has authored several publications to assist citizens.

  Personal Record        A Citizen’s Guide to Wills, Trusts, and Estates

Both are available, free of charge, online at: http://www.visitmonmouth.com/page.aspx?ID=3891

As well as many other forms at: http://www.visitmonmouth.com/page.aspx?ID=1761

Ms. Peters, is a graduate of Brookdale Community College, Thomas A. Edison State College and Rutgers School of Law-Newark.

She is serving in her second term as Monmouth County Surrogate and was appointed by the New Jersey Supreme Court to serve on its Judiciary-Surrogate Liaison Committee. Ms. Peters also serves as Vice President of the Constitutional Officers Association of New Jersey and chief of its Surrogates Section.

Before being elected Surrogate, Rosemary was a member of the Middletown Township Committee for 18 years, four of them as Mayor and three as Deputy Mayor. She is also a former member of the Middletown Township Planning Board and the Zoning Board of Adjustment. She initiated and chaired the township’s Open Space Preservation Committee and is the founder, past president, and a current trustee of the Middletown Township Cultural and Arts Council.

In addition to her public service, she worked as Director of Public Relations for the McCall Publishing Co., New York City, as well as a cable TV and video producer, an advertising and public relations copywriter, and a freelance writer and editor.

 THE NEXT REPUBLICAN CLUB MEETING – Monday. November 16th. Guest presenter will be our newly re-elected Monmouth County Freeholder John Curley. If you haven’t heard John before, you can’t miss him presenting his plans now that he’s been re-elected to his 2^nd term

John is a fourth generation Monmouth County resident growing up in Shrewsbury. He’s an alumni of Christian Brothers Academy and has his Bachelor of Arts degree in Government from Thomas Edison State College. He is Vice President of Jim Curley GMC Buick and Kia auto dealership in Lakewood and serves as a trustee of the Christian Brothers Academy Alumni, and has been a trustee of the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, Central Jersey Chapter.

Mr. Curley became immersed in a political life with his election in 2002 as a Democrat on the Red Bank Borough Council. During his 5-year tenure serving in many capacities which included: a member of the Red Bank Zoning Board of Adjustment; council liaison to the local Planning Board; the Historic Preservation Commission; and Special Improvement District and the Public Works Committee. Seeing the light, he also transitioned as a Republican becaming Red Bank mayor in 2006.

John resides now in Middletown, and has been a staunch proponent of fiscal responsivity leading improvements always mindful of taxpayers. Most noted during his first term as a Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders is limiting costs and in many cases eliminating unnecessary spending in running the county’s government. By promoting and implementing a philosophy of “Zero Base Budgeting”, which counters the familiar practice of what did we spend in the prior year, and do at least add the same in the future year adjusting upward for inflation, spending has held firm. Instead John asks, “do we still need it, if so, to what degree, and then, can we spend less for the same thing”. Bottom-line, we get better government.

Freeholder Curley was a major factor in rooting out corruption, mismanagement and overspending of Brookdale Community College’s leadership ultimately removed the College’s President.

Lets hear what he has in store for his second term.

Szechuan Star Restaurant, Route 9 South near its intersection with Elton-Adelphia Road.

Dinner will be served at 6:30 P.M.  A nominal fee will be charged for dinner. 

Monmouth County Surrogate, Rosemarie D. Peters spoke to a very well attended meeting of the Freehold Township Republican Club.

She discussed the complexity of the issues within the Surrogates office, how it serves county residents and beyond, and plans for its future.

Szechuan Star Restaurant, Route 9 South near its intersection with Elton-Adelphia Road.

Dinner will be served at 6:30 P.M.  A nominal fee will be charged for dinner. 

Monmouth County Clerk Christine Hanlon will be the guest speaker inaugurating the first meeting after the summer break.

Ms. Hanlon will discuss changes within the County Clerk’s office and plans for its future.

Szechuan Star Restaurant, Route 9 South near its intersection with Elton-Adelphia Road.

Dinner will be served at 6:30 P.M.  A nominal fee will be charged for dinner. 

Monday, June 22nd

Paul Smith, of Privacy Patrol, and Monmouth County Clerk Christine Hanlon were guest speakers.

Mr. Smith, owner and president of an identity protection company located in Avenel, NJ shared his experience in helping clients with fraud, identity theft, wallets stolen, and credit card abuses, just to name a few issues we are all vulnerable. Paul spoke of everyday awareness when we answer an email, use a credit card, answer a solicitation call, and other common activities, that threaten our identities and privacy. While difficult to completely stop, he made suggestions to provide some degree of protective measures we can enact.

Christine Hanlon introduced herself and made a few brief comments on changes within the County Clerk’s office and plans for its future. Ms. Hanlon will return after the summer break on September 8th to expand on the Clerk’s Office.

May 6^th, 2015 – The first excerpt of Guest Speaker, Senator Jennifer Beck of the New Jersey Legislature representing District 11, comments at the April 27^th Freehold Township Republican Club meeting.

 [Author’s note – Senator Beck presented a great deal of candid and very insightful information in her remarks. Therefore, in order to do justice to all she offered, this update will be spread in a number of postings over a period of time. Please come back each time for more. Your comments are welcome and will be passed along to Senator Beck.]

The Senator presented and answered questions regarding expected poor voter turnout for the upcoming election; the impact of public employee pension and health benefits on the NJ budget; funding the Transportation Trust Fund and potential of a gas tax; education reform and more.

Senator Jennifer Beck stood for well over an hour to the largest turnout in quite some time. Unlike the turnout for this meeting, she began her comments with concern of the “oddness” of the upcoming election season. Reminding the group that during the 2011 election, when redistricting created the new district 11, she, Mary Pat Angelini, and Caroline Casagrande faced a low 28% voter turnout. This time however, with the State Assembly leading the ticket, only a lower 20% turnout is expected. Those highly educated and followers of politics expect a negative aura for Republicans considering the usual polling levels of a governor’s 6^th year at the close of his office and press reporting of the Bridge Gate indictments over the summer.

The best results in raising turnout would be a campaign strategy targeted to encourage citizen voting, those who voted in the last 3 or 4 general elections and the handful of individuals who have special interests. Senator Beck offered her readiness to assist candidates both financially and with her traditionally effective walking tours to meet their respective constituents.

In addition, of the “three things most often” making the press recently, she began her remarks regarding the growing budget.  As a member of the Senate Budget Committee, she is acutely aware of the issues. The Senator indicated that while the state government has grappled with two billion less discretionary dollars since the 2008 budget, overall it is still growing “completely due” to obligations of providing pension and health benefits to New Jersey public employees.

New Jersey’s “Platinum Plan” makes it the 3^rd richest health benefit plan in the country. In addition, the Northeast’s medical expenses are high and contribute to the extraordinary cost. The average yearly price of the public employee’s family plan is between $26,000 and $36,000, with the vast majority funded by tax payers. While understandably complaining when the reality of their contribution increases hit after the 2010 benefit reforms, they “don’t come close” to what private sector employees contribute.

Further, should a full pension payment be made to the public employees plan, and the required funding of the healthcare program, 23% of a thirty-four billion dollar budget will “just go to funding” benefits. And the “scary thing” is that’s almost a quarter of the budget. “It is not sustainable” according to Senator Beck. We are headed to a day when the pension can become bankrupt, and as such, they will say “we are going to give you 25 cents on the dollar”. The Senator is “disappointed the teacher’s union walked away from the table” in spite of “a road map we had started to discuss.” The road map kept current employees to what they had, and a reviewed potential different tracks in terms of changing retirement and health plans going forward.

We can work together to fix it for the almost 500,000 active and retired employees, or it will resolve itself. “It could come to employees relying on certain pension dollars”, that “it is not going to be there”. This year $1.3 billion will be put in the budget as a pension payment. Senator Beck doesn’t believe it fair to blame Governor Christie for the problem when he has funded the pension at the highest level since any of the last five governors. While the court did not order the payment be paid for the last year, it has directed that the problem of funding be figured out by going back to negotiate with the public employees union.

In spite of attempts, as of last week the state was sued to fully fund the pension at $3.3 billion. The Senator expressed that “it just doesn’t exist”. She stated that even should the millionaire’s tax be raised, it would only bring in only $600 to $700 million, and she wasn’t sure where the additional $2.7 billion would come from. That thinking is “folly” and she has difficulty understanding the “lunacy” of representatives of the state legislature, Senate President and the Assembly Speaker, as sponsors of the budget, joining in the law suit against the state of New Jersey. While putting the budget together, they are suing themselves, which adds to the current “chaos”. But have faith, they will be working to resolve this as in many others state’s and municipalities are grappling with similar issues.

[The next postings will continue with Senator Beck’s presentation which includes comments on funding the Transportation Trust Fund and potential of a gas tax; education reform and more]

February 23rd – Joseph M. Ettore, Monmouth County Engineer spoke to a very well attended meeting of about 50 individuals braving extremely cold weather. Mr. Ettore, a graduate of New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) and a Freehold Township resident, with the assistance of Vince Bardone, Principal Engineer of the Traffic Safety Unit, kept the group enthralled for over an hour regarding the depth, complexity and responsibility of the Department of Public Works and Engineering.

Within its Engineering & Traffic Safety units, they are responsible: for 980 bridges and culverts; 1000 lane miles of roads; 250 traffic signals; the Bayshore Ferry Terminal; and approximately 2 million square feet of public buildings.

Mr. Ettore began his visual presentation by giving a prospective of Monmouth County ranking 6th in total land area and 5th in population within New Jersey’s 21 counties, and Freehold Township being 4th in total area and 5th in population within the counties 53 municipalities. As he emphasized, “Freehold Township is one of the larger townships in Monmouth County, and Monmouth Country is one of the larger counties in New Jersey”.

He described numerous construction and maintenance projects focused within Freehold Township. Recent year’s projects included: constructing new and improving existing buildings such as: new court rooms within the Hall of Records Building to ease the case backlog made available by moving the Country Prosecutors office into its newly constructed facility on Route 33; building the Sheriff’s Department communications facility which includes a 9-1-1 operation answering calls for 46 local jurisdictions and 1 military facility within Monmouth County; and the Child Advocacy Center project supported by the Prosecutors office and a not-for-profit agency, to name a few.

Recent and near future road projects included: improving safety and traffic along the length of Route 537, from Route 33 to Jackson Township; and straightening Halls Mill Road to cross Elton-Adelphia (Route 524) into Edinburgh Drive to improve traffic flow as an alternative to Route 9. Much discussion focused on last year’s tragic fatal crossover traffic accidents on Kozloski Road. Meetings with various professionals were conducted, and although it was viewed that “a textbook case of a properly designed interchange” and statistically driver speed was within acceptable range, and although “there was no glaring deficiency in design” or “cause”, “something had to be done quickly”. Immediate remedies were put in place with rumble strips and heightened awareness to drivers to reduce speed and use caution by signs and law enforcement presence as a safety measure to reduce potential accidents. There will still be ongoing research for other potential remedies such as narrowing roadway l “Engineering, Education and Enforcement” in preventing future catastrophes.

Mr. Ettore continued his presentation with describing ongoing road maintenance and preservation, lane stripping, and road resurfacing with constant attention to traffic safety and ease of flow, always staying up-to-date and considering cost effectiveness.

His presentation was very well received and was lauded by many in the group continuing to ask questions and willing to stay longer.