Hiding information from Vernon's council

Vernon Township code says, "The Township Council shall research, investigate, negotiate and complete open space transactions in its discretion, including the management of the Open Space Trust Fund." Only one entity in Vernon has this power: the council. The Township Council must make informed decisions. That demands transparency and analysis from commissions, committees, professionals, consultants and the administration.

Yet, on April 8, 2014, during an environmental commission meeting, Jessi Paladini, recording secretary, made the following statement to the commission regarding Camp Sussex: "I'm just going to tell you what the mayor told me this morning to relate to you, 'Don't talk about demolition costs or other finances related with the project,' he said, 'don't cloudy, don't muddy up the waters by presenting to the public: here's a parcel of land we want to preserve as open space and, by the way, we have all this demolition that we have to do.'" Why is the mayor sending a message of deception? During that same meeting, Beverly Budz, the chairwoman says, "they are going to nail us on the yearly uptake [upkeep] on what it's going to cost manpower to take care of this property." I requested long ago for the mayor to provide the council with a proposal for Camp Sussex, which would include demolition costs, costs to build, and maintenance projections. Then the Town Council could decide whether to support the purchase of Camp Sussex or not. Commissions are supposed to make recommendations based on rational analysis and professional input.

Instead, we are deliberately misled by the mayor and his appointees. The mayor is withholding information and encouraging others to not be forthright. They're not developing information that the council needs in order to make decisions for the township. We cannot approve huge expenditures without access to that information. Vernon cannot afford a financial disaster created unilaterally by one person that will affect Vernon taxpayers well into the future.

Dan Kadish
Vernon Township Councilman