The township continued to conduct business in an opaque and non-transparent manner with its approval of a deal with Woodland Township to share municipal court services. If adopted by Woodland Township, the shared services agreement would then require the approval of the New Jersey Superior Court in Burlington County. The committee adopted Resolution 2018-51 without Read More…
Category: Open Public Records Act
Three Interesting Items From The February 12, 2018 Tabernacle Township Meeting
1. Still Waiting For The Perfect Moment? Although the Public Safety Director position and the Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for Emergency Services/Contract were each listed for discussion on the committee’s February 12, 2018 meeting agenda, the Committee didn’t discuss them. Instead, both items were again tabled for discussion at a future meeting. The committee’s reason Read More…
Tabernacle Committee Finally Gets TRS Roster
The township finally received the Tabernacle Rescue Squad (TRS) roster. It took a long time (years) for this to happen. At the January 2, 2018 township meeting, the committee officially adopted the TRS roster, and the rosters of the fire company and the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). There are many reasons why the township Read More…
Walter Luers, Esq., Prominent New Jersey Open Government Attorney, Will Discuss OPRA And OPMA In Burlington County
The Southern Burlington County NJ, NAACP, is holding its November meeting, Thursday, November 16, at 7 PM at the Bethel AME Church in Moorestown. The church is located at 512 North Church Street. There are parking lots on both sides of the building. Facing the front of the church, enter the door on the far left Read More…
Tabernacle Committee Poised To Reject Reform Of Open Public Meetings And Open Public Records Acts
In a move that runs counter to the public interest, local governing bodies are adopting a resolution opposing legislation that would modernize and strengthen the state’s Open Public Meetings and Open Public Records Acts (OPMA and OPRA). The resolution is a generic, pre-written document, which is being circulated throughout the State by The Municipal Clerk’s Read More…
Time For Better Tabernacle Township Meeting Recordings, Emergency Service Rosters
TTJ will not be reporting on the June 26, 2017 meeting because I was not present. So I have no audio or video recording to post. I planned to listen to the official recording so that I could report on the meeting. I purchased a copy of the township’s audio recording but it was inaudible. Read More…
Tabernacle’s Legal Bills Don’t Meet State Standards
New Jersey’s Office of the State Comptroller (OSC) is an independent office that audits government finances and investigates fraud and waste at all levels of government. New Jersey’s local governments (municipalities, townships, cities, etc.) spend over 100 million dollars each year for legal services. Because this is a large public expenditure, the OSC examined how Read More…
Tabernacle’s 2017 Reorganization And Resolutions
The new year is the time when local governments reorganize. Tabernacle held its 2017 committee reorganization meeting on January 3. Stephen Lee, IV and Joseph Yates, IV were re-nominated mayor and deputy mayor and were sworn in. The Committee then adopted Resolutions 2017-1 through 2017-24 to make various appointments and address administrative issues such as Read More…
The Truth About Brooks v. Tabernacle
At its August 22, 2015 meeting, the Township Committee voted to approve Resolution 2016-97, which authorized payment of $18,000 for legal fees to my attorney. The amount of my attorney’s fees was a compromise based on my attorney’s itemized bill (July 18, 2016, closed session minutes). The payment of legal fees was ordered by the Read More…
Court Orders Tabernacle To Release Farmland Assessment Documents
On June 21, 2016, Burlington County Superior Court Judge Ronald Bookbinder ordered Tabernacle Township to turn over the documents responsive to my November 1, 2014, Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request. Though marked “tentative,” the decision has become final. Back in November 2014, I requested the Farmland Assessment application forms and the receipts that my neighbor Read More…