BY DAN NEWMAN
Staff Writer
The old phrase “every vote counts” never rang truer than in Hazlet last week.
Joseph Lamb (1,481 votes received) and Joseph Belasco (1,465) each earned another term on the Board of Education. The other incumbent, Richard Barney, won another term as well by the slimmest of margins.
Barney received 1,286 votes to 1,285 for Patricia Monahan. The one-vote win for Barney took a few extra days to get sorted out.
Originally, Barney maintained a 1,285 to 1,284 vote lead over Monahan, who was running for her first term. A few days later, it was discovered that there was another ballot that had yet to be counted.
Monahan said she was considering asking for a recount, but was then told that there was another ballot out there that had to be counted. On Monday, the ballot was opened at the Monmouth County Board of Elections office in Freehold. The names of Barney, Monahan and Lamb were on it, which meant that Monahan was still short by one vote.
As of press time, Monahan was unsure if she would ask for a recount. The deadline to request a recount is Saturday, officials said.
“I think I may be able to do more on the other side of the table and not go after a position on the board at this time,” Monahan said.
She did say that, regardless of the outcome, she will continue to push for a full-day kindergarten program to be implemented and was thankful for the support she received from the community.
“I was pleased that so many people came out and voted for me, especially because I was going against three incumbents,” Monahan said. “I’m not bitter at all.”
As for the $43.7 million budget, it was passed for the third-consecutive year, by a vote of 1,276-1,020. The budget calls for an 8.4-cent tax increase, a lower figure than the previous two years, when the budget was passed with tax increases of 17.8 cents (2003) and 12.6 cents (2004).
“I was confident that the budget would pass, but some years you never know how it’ll work out,” Superintendent Renae LaPrete said. “It’s nice to have a vote of confidence three years in a row.”
LaPrete did discuss the prospect of having to face a budgetary crunch down the road due to S-1701.
“It [S-1701] could always be problematic, but for right now, we’re doing well,” LaPrete said. “It was a good effort by everyone involved to get things done.”