"Matty" The Ghost of Matawan Borough

Street & Parking Report Missing - Has anyone seen "Matty The Ghost of Matawan Borough?" Well, apparently in the Halloween spirit a Report regarding parking and streets in Matawan was never given to the Borough Council. Interestingly enough Councilman "Buddy" Mullaney stated he did receive the Report. However, his daughter, Councilwoman Mullaney, Councilwoman Deborah Buragina, Councilman Mike Cannon, Councilman Paul Buccellato did not. This was brought to the attention of the Borough by Councilman Buccellato who informed the Council, including the Mayor, that he may file a complaint with the Attorney General's office, etc. It seems the Report was received by Fred Carr, Borough Administrator, who claims he distributed it to each Councilpersons mail box in the beginning of 2007. That rascal, "Matty The Ghost of Matawan," must be up to his old tricks, he must be the one who took the Reports. Except for Councilman "Buddy" Mullaney's report. My, my, my, I don't know what you people think, but I don't believe good ole "Buddy" received the report either. This would raise the question of why did he say he received it or if he did receive it why didn't he discuss the report with the anyone else on the Council? Councilman Malley was absent so we don't know if he too received the Report. It all stinks, if you ask me. Oh Mullaney may come back and say he was mistaken, he was confused about which report it was, or that "tricky Matty The Ghost" was at it again. I say hogwash!

What is going on people? I truly encourage Councilman Buccellato to go forth with notifying the proper authorities. There should be transparency in government.


Borough Freezes Budget - There will be no more spending in Matawan. The Budget has been frozen as was revealed at the Council meeting. I guess the party is over! Hap-hazard spending for Matawan Police covering the Matawan Alliance events at no cost to the Alliance, but to the taxpayers is over, Municipal employees working on these events, paid for taxpayers is over. I admire what the Matawan Alliance is trying to do. However, not with the taxpayers money. Giving money to the Matawan Alliance to help defray their insurance costs prior to the Budget being adopted is over! Well folks, if Matawan should have some kind of emergency requiring emergency services where will the money come from. Good guess is our pockets. Afterall, the 2007 Budget shows an increase of $1.4 million dollars over the 2005, 2006 Budget.

DEP News - Savings to Matawan- Councilman Paul Buccellato reported he received an email, release date October 1, 2007. Speaking to Councilman Mike Cannon and the Council he advised the NJ DEP is refinancing the Matawan Bond for Major Sewer System Rehab, thus saving the Borough $43,462.95. Councilwoman Meghan Mullaney appeared not to know about this fact and did not mention it as a Report. No surprise here. A simple guess is that her head was in the same place it was when the present Administration was spending, spending, spending. In the opinion of MA, Councilwoman Mullaney should not be Chairperson to the Finance, Education & Personnel Committee. It is becoming very apparent that her interests lie elsewhere.

Court Renovation - Councilman Mike Cannon proclaimed he cannot go along with the estimate of $221,000. to renovate the Court. This amount far exceeded the original estimate. It is my opinion, whoever did the estimate should find another job. In a sincere statement Councilman Cannon explained that he is asking that other options be explored i.e., utilizing nearby towns Courts for the time being. It was so moved by the Council. Councilman Cannon was on his toes here and at least is thinking. With the Budget frozen, there is no money for this renovation. It must be done as mandated by the State, just not now. Councilman Cannon made it clear that he keeps a close eye on the finances of the Borough. Even though he is not the Chairperson of that committee, he continually touches base with the CFO. Once again, where was Councilwoman Mullaney??????

Note - Not to take away from Councilman Cannon, but Councilman Buccellato mentioned at a previous meeting, when Cannon was not present, that this project's estimate requires more work. Buccellato mentioned items that should have been included, that weren't, and the cost was way over the estimate. Just in case you thought we fell asleep at previous meetings.