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Is public getting accurate information?

| 15 Sep 2014 | 03:09
    Adopted resolution
    Adopted resolution
    Altered resolution
    Altered resolution

On Jan. 1, 2014, the Vernon Township Council held their annual reorganization meeting in accordance to New Jersey State statute. Reorganization meetings are held at the beginning of the governing body’s operational year. The purpose of this meeting is for the council to conduct business, such as; appointing the Township Attorney, filling vacancies on boards and committees, designating the official newspaper and establishing the annual meeting Calendar, to name a few.

Resolution #14-02, designating meeting dates and work session dates of the Township Council for the 2014 calendar year was adopted. Months later, I discovered there were 2 versions of this Resolution. The version the Council voted to adopt and an “Altered” version. The “Altered” version allows the Council to vote at Work Sessions

The Resolution in question is worded in part as follows:

"BE IT RESOLVED, in accordance with the Open Public Meetings Act, N.J.S.A. 10:4-1 et. seq., the Regular Meetings of the Township Council of the Township of Vernon shall convene on the Second and Fourth Mondays of each Month (except as noted with * in schedule below) at 6:30pm (if there is an Executive Session), or at 7:30 p.m. (if there is no Executive Session) at the Vernon Municipal Center, 21 Church Street, Vernon, N.J.

At the June 23, 2014, council meeting, I brought the matter to the Council’s attention. Township Attorney Kevin Kelly confirmed there were two versions of Resolution #14-02. I believe this was an attempt to circumvent the “Senator Byron M. Baer Open Public Meetings Act” (OPMA), more commonly know as the “Sunshine Law.” It’s very disappointing that the majority of the council has ignored my plea to recognize the version we voted on at the Jan. 1, 2014, Reorganization council meeting.

Work Sessions are informal meetings where the governing body has the opportunity to ask questions and collect pertinent information to conduct future business. The public is entitled to know that the council will vote on the business of the town at regularly scheduled Council meetings.

With the many complex issues currently before us, it is my concern that information is NOT free flowing, accurate or available for the public.

Jean Murphy
Vernon Township Council Member