Tabernacle has admitted in Superior Court that it violated the Open Public Records Act (OPRA). It also admitted that it’s been violating the Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA). These aren’t surprising admissions for those who have been watching. In the consent order to settle this complaint, which I filed in May 2018, Tabernacle agreed to Read More…
Tabernacle Admits To OPRA And OPMA Violations; June 2019 Meeting Videos
There are 565 municipalities in New Jersey. Last week, through a Superior Court consent order, a Tabernacle Township employee received a civil penalty for “knowingly and willfully” withholding public documents, since the Open Public Records Act (OPRA) became law in 2001. Separately, in the same consent order, the Tabernacle Township Clerk was ordered to retract Read More…
April 29, 2019 Tabernacle Township Meeting Video, No Changes To Tax And Spend 2019 Budget
For comments on the 2019 Tabernacle Township budget see the April 8, 2019 TTJ POST and recent video recordings of the various budget discussions. The budget hearing will be held at the May 28 township meeting, which begins at 7:30 pm at town hall.
Tabernacle’s 2019 Budget: Tax And Spend
2019 Budget. Tabernacle’s 2019 municipal budget was the main item for discussion at the April 8 committee meeting. Committee members again demonstrated that they would rather increase taxes than decrease spending or increase revenue. No belt tightening for this committee. The committee directed Chief Financial Officer Rodney Haines to make final tweaks on a budget Read More…
Tabernacle Tables Ordinance It Blindly Advanced
Gross Vehicle Weight Ordinance. At the March 25, 2019 meeting, the township committee tabled ordinance 2019-1, which would have increased the Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW) of vehicles allowed to be parked in residential zones from 12,500 pounds to 17,500 pounds. The motion to table occurred after residents, during the public hearing, provided relevant information on Read More…
Tabernacle Township Introduces New Official Seal
April 1, Tabernacle, NJ At a recent meeting, the Tabernacle Township committee decided to revise the township’s official seal. Mayor Barton said: I’ve privately run the numbers and determined that we’re much more than corn and asparagus. Committeemen Lee and Moore, anticipating recognition of Tabernacle’s long and proud history of cranberry and blueberry production, were Read More…
Budget Time In Tabernacle Township
At the March 11, 2019 township meeting, Rodney Haines, Tabernacle’s Chief Financial Officer, told committee members that the cost of the township’s debt service will drive annual municipal tax increases for the next decade. Haines said that municipal tax increases of approximately 3.8% every year will be required over the next 10 years. According to Read More…
Welcome To “Tabernacle Rescue Squad Township” Where The Squad Gets The Gold Mine And The Residents Get The Shaft
At the January 22, 2018 township meeting, the committee approved a contract with the Tabernacle Rescue Squad (TRS) for EMS services and a new use license agreement for the TRS’s use of the Emergency Services Building (ESB). The new contract and use license agreement are supposed to fulfill the promise the committee made to the Read More…
Tabernacle’s Emergency Services “Plan” Still On The Brink Of Failure
At its December 27, 2018 meeting, the township committee took the first of two big steps backwards in its five-year slog to develop and implement a centralized emergency services plan. First, it accepted the resignation of Arch Liston, its public safety director. Mr. Liston was a highly experienced, independent administrator who was hired to recommend Read More…
Negotiations With Tabernacle Rescue Squad Continue
Township Committee held a massively long, three-hour closed session at its November 26, 2018 meeting (aka executive session). The agenda items for the closed session were the Tabernacle Rescue Squad contract, 2019 professional appointments and the possible purchase, lease or acquisition of a property. When they returned from closed session, committee members made no comments Read More…