I would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank Norman Graham, a private citizen of Marlboro, for his diligence in monitoring the actions of the Marlboro Township Council. Mr. Graham has been known to frequent numerous public meetings of the council and is not afraid to speak up when the need arises.
As evidenced by his most recent letter to the News Transcript, he was present at 1 a.m. during a council vote where he witnessed Councilwoman JoAnn Denton change her vote regarding the amendments to change the mayor’s budget. He then so appropriately informed the citizens of Marlboro of this change of vote. If it were not for his courage to monitor our elected officials, no one would ever have known about her change of heart.
Now one must ask the obvious question: if Councilwoman Denton was serious about her vote in the first place, then why did she not stick with it? Why did she change her mind and vote in unity with the other members of the Democratic-controlled council? We can draw our own conclusions, but I am sure that a reasonable excuse will be offered.
On the other hand, the most serious revelation to the public that Mr. Graham documented was the fact that the council was voting on a budget amendment at 1 a.m. This vote took place with only two people to witness the council’s actions.
Is voting on any issue that affects the well-being of the township appropriate at 1 a.m.? No wonder there were only two people left in the room. But perhaps that is exactly what they wanted to accomplish after all.
When the Democrats took control of the council over two years ago, they roundly criticized the former Republican council. They made an issue that the 7:30 p.m. starting time of council meetings was too early for the public to be able to attend. They said this was not open government. They quickly moved the time back to 8 p.m., in the so-called best interest of open government.
Now we find meetings dragging on to the wee hours of the morning. Don’t they realize this discourages public participation rather than encourages it?
As a former member of this council I sympathize with the point that the workload and pressing issues of operating this township have increased. This drags meetings on and on. But I also understand that one of the reasons that the law requires open public meetings is so the public can participate when they so desire. Voting at 1 a.m. is not open government and does not encourage public participation.
Perhaps the time has come for the council to consider changing its meeting format to one that would be more citizen-friendly. Reinstate an earlier start time and enforce a strict curfew. No more votes at 1 a.m. This would be just a start for this council.
Thomas E. Broderick
Marlboro

