Camden County and Gloucester County The Truth : April 2013

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April 2013

04/30/2013

Gloucester City Fails to Provide Requested Documents For The Freedom Pier Project

We requested the following information from The City of Gloucester in regards to there Freedom Pier Project and was told the do not have any of the documents requested.

If you read the agreement it only relates to the construction of residential properties.

Freedom Pier llc seems to be a fantom company

The issue is that these documents are required "per there agreement"

1. I am requesting all meeting minutes as outlined in section 5.1 of the Redevelopment Agreement between the City of Gloucester and Freedom Pier llc. 1/1/08 to present

2. I am requesting all progress reports as outlined in section 5.2 of the Redevelopment Agreement between the City of Gloucester and Freedom Pier llc. 1/1/08 to present

3. I am requesting all submissions as outlined in section 5.3 of the Redevelopment Agreement between the City of Gloucester and Freedom Pier llc. 1/1/08 to present

4. I am requesting all insurance documents required as outlined in section 7 of the Redevelopment Agreement between the City of Gloucester and Freedom Pier llc. 1/1/08 to present

5. I am requesting all Approvals as outlined in Exhibit E of the Redevelopment Agreement between the City of Gloucester and Freedom Pier llc. 1/1/08 to present

6. I am requesting the development agreement between Gloucester City and Freedom Pier llc that outlines the plan as described in the Gloucester city Resolution 008-2013 (there should be a new agreement as the original calls for housing not a bar/brew pub)1/1/08 to present

Email response from Gloucester City Clerk

With regards to the attached OPRA request
#'s 1-6 - None

Kathy Jentsch

-------- Original Message --------

Date:	Thu, 16 May 2013 15:29:53 -0400
From:	Kathy Jentsch <[email protected]>
To:	Kathy Jentsch <[email protected]>

This E-mail was sent from "RNPA0B085" (Aficio 3035).

Scan Date: 05.16.2013 15:29:53 (-0400)
Queries to: [email protected]

-- 
Kathleen M. Jentsch
City Clerk/Registrar of Vital Statistics
City of Gloucester City
512 Monmouth St.
Gloucester City, NJ  08030
856-456-0205 ext. 218 (phone)
856-456-8030 (fax)
Email: [email protected]Municipal Bldg. Office Hours:
M-W	8 am - 5 pm
Thurs.	10 am - 7 pm
Fri.	Closed

freedompierllc -

Posted at 08:31 PM in Camden County, Councilman Spencer, Current Affairs, DID YOU KNOW, Freedom Pier, IS THIS LEGAL??, Jack Lipsett, John Kearney, Mayor & Council | Permalink | Comments (0)

Gloucester City Taxes to Rise 5.2 cents

Maybe Mayor and Council should get out of the real estate business and learn how to create revenue.

Read for yourself below

WorksessionMeetingMinsApril12013 -

Posted at 08:28 PM in Current Affairs, DID YOU KNOW, Jack Lipsett, John Kearney, Mayor & Council | Permalink | Comments (0)

Property Taxes to High? Then Appeal Them!

Even though home prices in New Jersey have fallen, many local governments have failed to adjust property tax valuations. This means many homeowners currently have property tax assessments based on home prices which existed during the peak of the market in 2005 & 2006.

Faced with such inequality, homeowners have a constitutional right to appeal. A successful appeal could potentially save you thousands of dollars.

Determining if you qualify for an appeal involves some basic research. The process involves checking for discrepancies in the math of your taxation board and documenting comparable properties located near you within the same price range that are paying less taxes than you are.

You can certainly do this yourself but it’s far easier with professional assistance from a knowledgeable realtor, such a myself.

Appraisers and attorneys will also appeal tax assessments on your behalf. You should know that appeals boards are frankly more likely to accept data presented by professionals than a homeowner with no experience. In fact, many such third-party cases are being won with a nearly 100% success rate and with larger settlements issued to homeowners.

Should you decide to appeal on your own, however, you’ll need to visit the office of your local assessor for the paperwork you’ll need for your petition. Keep in mind the deadline for your application is April 1st.

A handy tax appeal calculator can help you determine if you might be eligible for an appeal. This applies your current taxes and the value of your home with what the city assumes your home is worth in the market. Using these numbers the calculator differentiates between the taxes you pay and the cities assessment versus what the payment would be in the true market. You’ll need to calculate this to win an appeals process. If your home falls outside the range of 15% from the actual True Market Value you could win the appeal. (An estimated 50% of New Jersey tax assessments are currently excessive, so there is an excellent chance your own property could be eligible for a sizable tax reduction).

Links to resources to help file a property tax appeal

http://www.state.nj.us/treasury/taxation/pdf/lpt/ptappeal.pdf

http://www.laniertaxappeals.com/php/tal_calculator.php

http://valueappeal.com/ (best deal for the money)

http://www.state.nj.us/treasury/taxation/pdf/other_forms/lpt/petappl.pdf

Posted at 09:25 AM in Current Affairs, DID YOU KNOW | Permalink | Comments (0)

State Arbitrators Rule on First Cases Brought Under New Tenure Law





State Arbitrators Rule on First Cases Brought Under New Tenure Law (via NJSpotlight)
By John Mooney

Continue reading "State Arbitrators Rule on First Cases Brought Under New Tenure Law" »

Posted at 08:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

04/28/2013

Mayor James is Parking His Untagged Trailer on Monmouth St Again

Picture is from a past article, but you can drive by the Monmouth and Railrod ave to see for your self

Posted at 03:48 PM in DID YOU KNOW, IS THIS LEGAL?? | Permalink | Comments (0)

Breaking News - Fires in Gloucester City 4/28/13

All hands fire 400 block Ridgeway st.

Fire on 3rd st. Units responding . Units in service with 1 3/4

Picture courtesy of Gloucester resident

Posted at 02:20 PM in Gloucester City Fire Dept. | Permalink | Comments (0)

04/25/2013

Mayor Barbara Wallace Putting the People First? No Way!!!

At the 4/24/2013 Council Meeting the council held a discussion about the idea of going paperless which would result in a cost savings to the Township. During the discussion, Council President Daniel Morley (R) asked Mayor Wallace (D) if the administration could reach ask the Superintendent of Schools if the School District had any old laptop computers they could give or lend the Township. Her response is shocking and shows what is wrong with the Norcrats...pointing to the camera she said

"I'm sure the superintendent is watching, maybe he'll answer your question."

No wonder government in New Jersey is broken with an attitude like this.

Posted at 11:31 PM in Washington Township | Permalink | Comments (0)

Is Wallace Administration Allowing Personnel Policy to Be Ignored? Did Dir. of Municipal Services Nick Pileggi Look the Other Way and Ignore Township Policy? Will Someone Be Held Accountable?

Below is part of the personnel policy for Washington Township. It appears to be clear, and a reasonable person and every day taxpayer would agree a family member should not be supervising another family member. Below the personnel policy are timesheets. Does anyone see anything wrong?

Should a father be approving a son or son-in-laws overtime timesheets? Is all of this overtime warranted? Could this be a reason Mayor Wallace is raising taxes so friends can get rich?

HOWEVER

What is more alarming is that on the timesheet for 11/12/12-11/18/12 Supervisor of Municipal Services Frank Campbell wrote:

“QUESTIONS WAS RAISED LAST WEEK ABOUT ME FILLING OUT THIS EMPLOYEES O.T. SHEETS. HOWEVER NICK PILLEGI TOLD ME TO CONTINUE WHAT I HAVE BEEN DOING FOR YEARS SIGNING HIS TIME CARDS”

So Frank Campbell has been approving his sons time cards for years? And when asks about his boss Nick Pileggi said to continue to do so.

Then why have a personnel policy?

Is this favoritism?

Did Nick Pileggi ask Bob Smith?

Did Bob Smith okay this?

What is Mayor Wallace Doing?

Can Someone On Council Look Into This?

Is Anyone On Council Paying Attention?

Posted at 11:12 PM in IS THIS LEGAL??, Washington Township | Permalink | Comments (0)

Did Washington Township Illegally Collect Over $50,000 From Taxpayers and Residents Since Jan. 2012?

Recently this site has learned that Washington Township has made $52,850 from renting the Senior Center since January of 2012. It is not uncommon for municipalities to rent public buildings for use by organizations and a private party. However unlike other towns Washington Township does not have the rental fees for the Center in the Township’s fee ordinance. A fee ordinance set fees which allows a municipality to charge for a service etc.

If there is no fee schedule for the rental of the Senior Center how is the Township legally collecting money?

Will they pay back each person who paid a fee?

How could the Township charge one person one amount of money and another a different? If there is no fee ordinance, is that legal?

Is someone in the Township possibly pocketing money from the Senior Center for personal gain?

Below are fee ordiances from other towns. At the meeting BA Bob Smith said that other towns were doing it wrong. Really Bob? Every other town that has set fees is doing it wrong OR is it Washington Township is doing it wrong AND you rather the public not know about it?

In Order: Runnemede Borough, Gloucester City and Berlin Borough.

Posted at 10:03 PM in IS THIS LEGAL??, Washington Township | Permalink | Comments (0)

04/20/2013

Wallace Administration And Another Cover Up?….Another Galloway Township???

It seems like government employees who receive a taxpayer paid cell phone think they can do anything they want with the taxpayer provided cell phone they are given. Last year it was reported on Galloway Township News that former Galloway Township manager Stephen Bonanni was teaching for Rutgers University while still on the clock getting paid by Galloway Township. This information was brought to light by a local blogger who used cell phone bills to trace Bonanni’s location at Rutgers. In addition the cell phone bill also linked the then Township manager to an alleged prostitution scandal.

It appears that Washington Township employees like to misuse taxpayer provided cell phones as well.

Below is a cell phone bill Washington Township received showing municipal employee Ken Patrone had a $20.00 service charge on his township provided phone. What was the $20.00 charge for? A request for detailed bills was denied under OPRA since the township does not receive detailed bills even though it can easily access that information online or by asking its carrier Verizon wireless.

What was the $20.00 special service charge for?

If an employee misused a Township provided cell phone why did they pay $20.00 to the Township?

Why does the employee still have a phone?

Why is the Township reluctant not to disclose the reason of the special charge?

What is going on inside the Wallace Administration?

Posted at 05:16 PM in IS THIS LEGAL??, Washington Township | Permalink | Comments (0)

Camden County and Gloucester County The Truth

This site was created to open the public's eyes to how the Mayor and City Council of Gloucester City and surrounding Camden County Towns in NJ Spend your Tax Dollars. This site is also expanding to cover Gloucester County as well. To contact this site email [email protected].