Issues With County Dominate Town Hall Meeting

Topics ranging from the county government, an update on Summit's efforts to recoup monies lost in the Ameripay payroll tax fraud, and questions about the Board of Education's budget were all fair game at Tuesday's town hall meeting hosted by Council President Dave Bomgaars.

But despite every change in topic, every other question always came back to the county and resident's concern that Summit taxpayers get the least amount of return on the tax money they send to Elizabeth.

Steve Murphy, councilman at large, said he and Mayor Jordan Glatt have had contact with County Manager George Devanney and communicated that Summit is unhappy with the return on every dollar it sends to Union County.

"There are 20,000 residents looking for a better bang for their buck," he said.

Ward I Councilwoman Ellen Dickson, who announced last week she would be running for County Freeholder, said she would like to see county government "de-emphasized" saying municipalities should be able to pave their own roads even though they are county roads and police their own streets with a county police force, county park police and county sheriff.

Residents Tom Graham and Ed Vant, president of the Summit Taxpayers Association, both suggested working more closely with the county by council going to a county freeholder meeting and/or hosting a forum in Summit so the freeholders can experience Summit firsthand. Summit has not had a representative at the county level since Frank Lehr.

But Councilwoman Nuris Portundo said "shock and owe does not work with the county." Instead she advised the city needs to continue identify projects that the county would be willing to fund, such as recreation and open space projects and road and sewer projects. Upcoming projects are slated to begin soon at Briant Park, the repair of the Morris Avenue Railroad Bridge, and the installation of a stop light at the intersection of Broad Street and Springfield Avenue near Huntley Tavern.

"That is how the county responds," Portuondo said. "Let's find out what we can."

Dickson said she plans on meeting with Devanney to get up to speed on county issues as well now that she is running for office.

"We can't afford to ignore them anymore," she said.

Other topics of discussion included:

• Building permits: A question was asked about what the city is doing to expedite building permits so new businesses can open expeditiously. Portundo said the planning board is expected to discuss changes later this month that would allow for temporary uses of vacant spaces and would modify the permitting process. "We don't want to be haphazard about it," she said.

• Ameripay: One resident asked for a status update on the city's efforts to recoup monies lost in the Ameripay fraud scandal. In additional to pursuing legal action on multiple fronts, the city is also expected to release the details of an internal investigative report soon. Council accepted the resignation of Chief financial Officer Ron Angelo earlier this year. While Bomgaars wouldn't confirm the resignation was due to Angelo's role in the Ameripay fraud, it is likely that his removal is a recommendation in the report from the internal investigation.
• Board of Education/Teacher negotiations: The question was raised as to who is negotiating on behalf of the taxpayers in the board of education's talk with the teacher's union. Bomgaars explained the council cannot interject itself into the board of education's negotiating just as the board of education cannot interject itself in the city's negotiating.