Millville Insider

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

Team Santiago voted May 5, 2020 to keep Doug Long and his firm as the personnel attorney for the city of Millville by a vote of 3-2. Pepitone started the discussion stating they voted originally for Long and there was no need to replace him. Apparently conviction of a crime, ethics violations, and money mismanagement do not matter to Pepitone. Pepitone also stated falsely that Long was less expensive then than the replacement law firm. The city is actually paying more for Doug Long’s law firm at a time when the city should be looking for ways to save money. Next up was Cooper who also supported Long and his firm. He stated that they were consistent. This is true. Long and Marmero have consistently donated PAC money to cities in return for lucrative legal contracts. Team Santiago was the beneficiary of those donations in the last election. Remember Cooper’s ethics when he is up for freeholder election in November. Santiago also backed Long and his firm singing their praises. Sa

Doug Long and his firm, Marmero and Grace were awarded several lucrative no bid contracts by Team Santiago that have so far paid over $480,000. Yes, that is correct close to a half a million dollars with more yet to come! Team Santiago awarded these contracts even though Long, Marmero,  and Grace had their share of ethical and financial complaints which were known to Team Santiago.  These are the ones that we know about so far: 1. Ethics and election violations against both Long and Marmero. The common thread throughout all the complaints is that Long and Marmero engage in a pattern of illegal use of campaign donations to secure government positions for their law firm. This pattern continued when Team Santiago awarded lucrative law contracts to Long and Marmero as a payback for contributing to Team Santiago. For more information see the links at the end of this article. 2. Marmero and Long were reprimanded by the NJ Supreme Court for the misappropriation of trust funds.