Starting off the New Year


Three commissioners appear to be coming to their senses with the appointment of Brock Russell as city solicitor. Mr. Russell is replacing Schroeder who by all accounts was a very expensive payback. Mr. Russell’s appointment will result in significant savings for Millville’s taxpayers and a huge improvement in the quality of legal advice and services. The vote was 3-2 with Mr. Santiago and Mr. Cooper voting against the appointment of Mr. Russell. Why? Mr. Russell is a Millville resident with a proven track record as a city solicitor. One can only wonder why Santiago and Cooper voted no. As usual, they didn’t give any rational explanation for their votes. While the appointment of Mr. Russell is a step in the right direction, it was followed by all five commissioners voting to add more money to Schroeder’s contract once again. Time will tell what the final figure will be. This blog predicted in the April 22, 2018 blog, “The Exorbitant Cost of Out of Town Attorneys”, that Schroeder would be paid close to $300,000. If this blog could predict the cost of Schroeder’s contract why couldn’t the commissioners?

In the last minutes of the commission meeting Parent and Pepitone discussed how they felt about a citizen commenting during the meeting. Their comments show the disrespect that Parent and Pepitone have for the citizens that take their time to stand up and voice their concerns. The recording, posted below, is of Parent and Pepitone stating ‘she can’t help herself”, “she is counterproductive…” and “Let them talk, let them talk”.  Part of transparency is listening and acknowledging what every citizen has to say. Every citizen’s opinion is worth listening to and taking to heart even if it is not what you want to hear. (The video can be seen at https://youtu.be/fhe8vSB60dQ with the citizen's comments at 24:35 and Parent and Pepitone's comments at 42:30)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Team Santiago Raises Your Taxes Again!!!

It is no surprise that Team Santiago raised Millville’s taxes again. Last year it was by 4.5% and this year it is 5%.   The county and the school board also raised their taxes so the taxpayer in Millville is looking at a 10% increase in their property taxes. This comes at a time when many individuals are out of work due to COVID-19 and there is no end in sight. This affects not only the taxpayers but every citizen in Millville as landlords will have to increase rents and businesses will have to charge more to meet expenses. So what did Team Santiago have to say for themselves when they voted for the tax increase –nothing. As usual they did not answer the public’s questions and did not explain their votes. Mr. Pepitone once again voted for the tax increase even though he is behind on paying his own taxes. He should understand the burden of taxes as it seems to be a burden to him. In his ending comments Mr. Parent said this was the toughest budget he had to work with (which
Read more

ANOTHER LAWSUIT AGAINST THE CITY

 Chief Farabella was just reappointed for another 3 years even though a lawsuit was filed against  Farabella and Pepitone by a city employee.The lawsuit is worth reading.  The allegations, if true, are startling. These allegations also raise the question should Farabella have been reappointed at this time? Did the commissioners look into the allegations prior to voting? The lawsuit involves the departments of Parent and Pepitone who both voted to reappoint Farabella. Did they do their due diligence? Of interest is line 55 in the lawsuit. It clearly states that Doug Long was performing legal duties for the city in 2019. Didn't the commissioners claim that Mr. Long was not involved in the city, only Marmero and Grace. Remember at election time the lack of transparency, the lies, the lack of due diligence and the waste of your tax payers money. Millville needs commissioners who are transparent, who do their due diligence and have the interests of the citizens of Millville at heart. Th
Read more

WHO WILL FILL QUINN'S VACANT SEAT?

Now that Quinn has resigned for the second time, what happens to his empty seat? The commission has the option to appoint someone until the next election which is November 2022. Who do the new commissioners think that person should be? The last time Quinn resigned, Commissioner Sooy held fast to the belief that the person who came in 6th in the election should fill the seat. This time the 6th place person is Robert McQuade.  This is the only fair  scenario as the present commission has not even been sworn in yet. Hopefully Commissioner Sooy and the new commissioners will agree that Mr. McQuade should be appointed. Robert Mcquade put the time in to run for the office. The voters had enough faith in Mr. McQuade that he came in 6th with over 2000 votes. It seems fair that he takes the seat.  In November 2022 anyone can run for this open seat and then the voters will decide who the commissioner will be for the remaining three years.   Comment and post who you believe should fill the open s
Read more