Town says grant was used properly

BY DAVE BENJAMIN
Staff Writer

Manalapan officials are expected to respond tonight to a candidate’s accusations that they “squandered and diverted a large homeland security grant” last year.

The Township Committee will meet tonight at 8 o’clock in town hall.

At the governing body’s July 6 meeting, Peter Hall, a Republican candidate for committee, took the township to task in a statement in which he accused municipal officials of misusing $140,000 in Municipal Homeland Security Police Assistance Aid.

Township officials maintain they used the funds exactly as they were directed to by the state Department of Community Affairs (DCA) and indicated that is what they will tell residents tonight.

In his comments to officials two weeks ago, Hall said, “Last year’s committee could have done a lot with that ... money. They could have used the funds to secure the safety of our citizens. That, by name, was to be used to help Manalapan’s first responders. Money, that by name, was meant for the security of Manalapan’s residents. Money, that by name, was meant to help keep Manalapan a safe place.”

He said the funds could have been used to purchase four new police cars, or a new ambulance to replace an aging fleet, “something the committee refused to do during the past four years.”

Hall added, “You took the taxpayers’ money grant ... and applied it to the township’s general fund in what can only be described as total disregard for the safety of our community. This was money that was to protect lives, to protect our children, to fund our emergency services. You used it to buy copy paper and give extraordinary bonuses to favored employees. Just think, you jeopardized 34,000 lives just to be able to say the tax rate was 47.9 cents.”

The municipal tax rate in 2004 was estimated to be 48.5 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. Chief Financial Officer Phil Del Turco told the News Transcript that after the $140,000 grant was applied to the 2004 budget for property tax relief, the tax rate came in at 47.9 cents. The owner of a home assessed at $250,000 saved about $15 in municipal taxes with the reduction.

The municipal tax rate for 2005 is expected to be 47.4 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. The owner of a home assessed at $250,000 will save $12 in municipal taxes in 2005, compared to 2004.

In the aftermath of Hall’s comments, “Mayor [William] Scherer asked me to research statements made by Mr. Hall concerning [the grant] received by the township in 2004,” Business Administrator Alayne Shepler said. “The township was notified of the availability of state aid for the Municipal Homeland Security Police Assistance Aid program by way of a letter dated July 8, 2004 from the then-commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs, Susan Bass Levin.”

Shepler said Levin informed Manalapan officials that the township would receive $140,000 of property tax relief as an offset to local tax dollars which were previously spent.

“The letter further stated if the township had already adopted their budget, the Division of Local Government Services would amend the township’s budget by reducing the tax levy,” said Shepler. “That is what happened. The division lowered our tax rate.”

The letter from Levin stated, “Part of the $1.8 billion in municipal property tax relief in [the 2004 state] budget, this aid recognizes that local officials have spent precious local property tax dollars to meet homeland security police needs. This aid must be used as direct property tax relief as an offset to that local spending.”

Shepler said, “It is perfectly clear from the directions of the Division of Local Government Services that this aid could not be used to purchase police cars, ambulances or anything and was fully intended to be a revenue with no offsetting appropriation. To indicate that this was squandered and used to purchase paper clips is clearly a misstatement of the facts. It would also be patently illegal to purchase police cars with these funds or to beef up a budget with an appropriation and then take the state aid as an offsetting revenue.”

In the 2005 budget the township received an additional $140,000 for municipal homeland security aid. Shepler said instructions from the state specifically require this revenue to be treated as property tax relief, with no offsetting appropriation.

The township’s explanation of how the 2004 grant was used was supported by E.J. Miranda, a spokesman for the DCA. He said, “The (2004) aid was dedicated solely to property tax relief. The towns are not permitted to use the aid for purchases. It was to offset the town’s increased costs of police protection and security in the wake of 9/11. The money is for tax relief for the municipalities and that’s what it was dedicated to.”