Members ays they need more information before voting
By:Alec Moore
The Township Committee slammed the brakes on a number of expenditures put before it for approval Tuesday.
Deputy Mayor Steven Sireci called for seven resolutions to be removed from the agenda for the night based on his view that the committee had not been provided with enough information to effectively vote on the items.
"The point here is that we need more information so we can make an informed decision before we put this to a vote," Dr. Sireci said.
A 3-2 split along party lines tabled all seven resolutions in question, pending further study and cost analysis. Dr. Sireci, Mayor Tony Gwiazdowski and John Souren supported tabling the resolutions while Democrats Joe Tricarico and Sonya Martin voted in opposition.
Of the resolutions in question, the ones that garnered the most debate from committee members were five resolutions to approve $30,000 worth of expenditures for contractual services for the Hillsborough Municipal Alliance.
Dr. Sireci requested that Municipal Alliance officials make a presentation at the committee’s March 11 work session to get a better understanding of the programs that will be put in place through the $30,000 expenditure.
Dr. Tricarico and Ms. Martin praised the initiatives and objectives of the Municipal Alliance, which encourages healthy drug-free lifestyles through a wide range of programs. Dr. Tricarico stated that failure to approve the $30,000 expenditure could throw off the matching grant arrangement the township has with the county to offer the alliance programs.
Ms. Martin also questioned what would happen if the township failed to uphold its end of the matching grant.
"What will happen if we don’t match those funds, what will the consequences be?" she said.
"Before we think about the consequences let’s get some information first," Dr. Sireci replied.
The committee also tabled a resolution to hire Banisch Associates for Planning Board consulting services and a resolution to hire a part-time secretary at a rate of $14 per hour for a 30-hour workweek for the Social Services Department.

