DID CHASEY, KENNEDY LIE AT PUBLIC MEETING?

At the township committee meeting held Tuesday, January 13th, a new public defender, Jim Swift, was appointed. Mr. Swift replaces Angela Costigan, who, despite being hand-picked by Kathy Chasey, Janet Forman and Bill Kennedy, refused the appointment, likely in a dispute over compensation. As of 2008's budget, Mullica's public defender is paid $1,900 per year (a raise in 2008 from $1,700 per year) to likely appear for 12-15 court dates during the year.

The potential lie by Chasey and Kennedy came when committeeman Michael St. Amour questioned the compensation for the new public defender. While conversations involving the public defender's compensation package were NEVER HELD with St. Amour or fellow committeeman Bernard Graebener, it is believed that Mr. Swift had been promised, in a back-room negotiation, a compensation of $3,600 per year, a raise for this position of over 89% from the previous year. While it is realistic to expect a legal professional to require more compensation for 2009, in the current economy we should be interviewing more candidates to minimize the impact to the taxpayers.

The back-room negotiation makes sense since Chasey, Kennedy and Mayor Janet Forman have three of the five votes on budget issues. St. Amour asked point-blank at the committee meeting if the new compensation was to be $3,600 as rumored. Both Kennedy and Chasey back-pedaled, saying that the amount would be determined at the budget meeting and that all committee members had agreed in 2008 that our professionals needed to be considered for higher compensation.

WE WILL KNOW AT THE UPCOMING BUDGET MEETING, TUESDAY, JANUARY 20TH, AT 5:00PM, WHEN MOST TAXPAYERS CANNOT ATTEND THE MEETING, IF CHASEY AND KENNEDY WILLFULLY TWISTED THE FACTS AT TUESDAY'S COMMITTEE MEETING. If the budget line for the public defender is in fact increased to $3,600 as his contract is expected to read, the public deserves an apology from Kennedy and Chasey. The misrepresentations to the public from these two has continued for too long.

It is also expected that the prosecutor, who earned $7,500 in 2008 (an increase of $500 from the prior year), will be seeking a 33% increase to $10,000 for 2009. With the willingness of Kennedy, Chasey and Forman to give away taxpayer money at an alarming rate (who of us gets a 33% increase in pay in any year?), it appears that we are in for a sizeable property tax increase in 2009.