By David Kilby, Staff Writer
MONROE — Several citizens who live in Monroe’s Fire District 3 have filed a lawsuit claiming the district’s fire officials did not follow the statutes in place for fire district elections.
The case will be heard by Superior Court in New Brunswick at a date to be determined, possibly within the next week. The citizens will be represented by Leonard & Major LLC from Jamesburg.
The voting results for Fire District 3 this year were 314 votes for Douglas Martin and 255 for Joseph Haff, the winning candidates. They beat Robert McCloskey, who received 229 votes, Michael Konowicz, who received 193 votes and Patrick Hye, who received 151 votes.
One of the complaints in the lawsuit is that Mr. Hye’s first name was spelled “Partick.”
”No voter brought that to the attention of the poll workers during the election,” Mr. Martin said.
Another part of the complaint is that District 3 voters allegedly were told to vote in District 2, thus taking away from District 2 votes and adding to District 3 votes.
Fire District 2 sent out fliers to clarify the polling place was the new firehouse on Halsey Reed Road, but some of those allegedly were sent to District 3 voters.
John Kuehns, from Forsgate Manor, the spokesperson for the voters who filed the lawsuit, said this confused voters and discouraged their resolve to vote in the fire elections.
Fire election statutes state a voter can only vote in a district if his or her name is on that voter’s registry list, but in Monroe, many voters do not know which of the three fire districts they are in, explained Maurice Mahler, chairman of Fire District 2.
As of the last fire district election Feb. 19, Monroe Township did not have a mailing list breaking down what voters are in what district, Mr. Mahler explained. By next year’s election, such a list will exist, he added.
”People have been calling, asking the clerk, ‘what fire district do I live in?’” he said.
To alleviate the situation, District 2 has given its voting books to someone within the district who will make an accurate list of who belongs to what district.
But confusion still may exist for new people moving in, Mr. Mahler said.
There were only about two or three District 3 residents that came to the District 2 firehouse, Mr. Mahler added.
District 2 starts at Prospect Plains Road and extends a mile on the other side of Route 33, thus including Monroe Manor. The district also includes Clearbrook, Stonebridge, Southfield Estates, Renaissance 33, Renaissance Crossing, Encore, Concordia and The Ponds, among other neighborhoods, including those by Congress Farm on Federal Road.
”I had neighbors who didn’t know where to vote, people who wanted an absentee ballot and didn’t know what district to vote in,” Mr. Kuehns said.
He added, “It’s up to the agents of our government to provide the proper information so you can go and vote. At a minimum, they’re discouraging you to vote. Mailing is just one of the issues.”
District 3 includes residents in Rossmoor, Regency, Greenbriar-Wittingham, Forsgate, as well as many houses north of Schoolhouse and most of Buckelew Avenue, Mr. Martin said.
”The other complaint was that people were not admitted in to Regency,” Mr. Martin said. “But the Regency polling place was only for Regency residents.”
He said taxpayers should know what district to vote in since there is a 10 percent tax difference between the districts.
A study is being done on whether to consolidate the three fire districts. The main reason is to achieve more equity between the tax rate of the three districts. The tax rate for District 1 is 11 cents per $100 of assessed value or $186 per year for the average property owner. District 2 has a tax rate of 19 cents or $322 per year, and the tax rate for District 3 is 29 cents or $491 per year.
The other alleged violation is voters from District 1 and 2 voted in District 3, Mr. Martin said.
”The voting districts don’t line up exactly the same,” he said. “When the county made up the list, each district had to tell what streets to include.”
But he said some streets cause confusion, like Buckelew Avenue, which starts in District 3, then goes to District 1, then back to 3.
Mounts Mill Road is another road that is in District 1 and 3, he said.
Joel Shain, Monroe township attorney, said his firm cannot comment on the litigation at this point.
Mr. Mahler said the lawsuit may cause many problems if the judge decides there has to be a re-election.

