On August 24th it was revealed that Mayor Steven Acropolis has accepted a full-time job with the Toms River Municipal Utility Authority. This is in addition to his current full-time job as Mayor of Brick Township. Obviously he cannot be in two places at once on a full-time basis and either the taxpayers of Brick Township or the water and sewer users of Toms River will suffer as a result. Most likely all will suffer while the Mayor tries to play both ends against the middle.
But a really stunning development in this situation came from the office of the Township Council President, Anthony Matthews. While six members of the Township Council showed some wisdom and a high degree of self-preservation by neglecting to comment regarding the Mayor's employment status, the President of the Council found a way to get some words out of his mouth while his foot was inside it. He came to the Mayor's defense, dismissed charges of political patronage and stated that the Council would "monitor the Mayor's job performance".
My impressions of his comments are as follows: First, it's unnecessary for the Council to monitor the Mayor's job performance since the Council has been nothing but a rubber stamp for the Mayor's actions all along. Anything the Mayor wants to do, the Council will approve. Telling the voters that the Council will monitor the Mayor's performance is a joke and an insult. Second, how can our Council President dismiss patronage charges when Mayor Acropolis was hired by the Authority with the assistance of Juan Bellu, the very same Juan Bellu who received a $50,000 raise from Brick Township at the Mayor's urging? Has there ever been a more obvious example of payment for services rendered?
The Council President's comments make it apparent that he is more concerned with protecting and defending his friends than representing the interests of the citizens of Brick Township. We should be thankful that he was clueless enough to make these comments and thereby show his true colors.
But a really stunning development in this situation came from the office of the Township Council President, Anthony Matthews. While six members of the Township Council showed some wisdom and a high degree of self-preservation by neglecting to comment regarding the Mayor's employment status, the President of the Council found a way to get some words out of his mouth while his foot was inside it. He came to the Mayor's defense, dismissed charges of political patronage and stated that the Council would "monitor the Mayor's job performance".
My impressions of his comments are as follows: First, it's unnecessary for the Council to monitor the Mayor's job performance since the Council has been nothing but a rubber stamp for the Mayor's actions all along. Anything the Mayor wants to do, the Council will approve. Telling the voters that the Council will monitor the Mayor's performance is a joke and an insult. Second, how can our Council President dismiss patronage charges when Mayor Acropolis was hired by the Authority with the assistance of Juan Bellu, the very same Juan Bellu who received a $50,000 raise from Brick Township at the Mayor's urging? Has there ever been a more obvious example of payment for services rendered?
The Council President's comments make it apparent that he is more concerned with protecting and defending his friends than representing the interests of the citizens of Brick Township. We should be thankful that he was clueless enough to make these comments and thereby show his true colors.
This letter was first published in The Brick Times of Saturday, September 11th
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