Things Are Heating Up

Well, I've been on the Council for a year now. As the election season approaches, politics will rear its ugly head with a bang. Both Mayor Mike Reina and Councilman Howard Tilis must run to continue to serve in their appointed positions. The Mayor's term is until May of 2010, and the Councilman's term is until May of 2012. I have heard so many rumors about who is running for what that my head is spinning.

Since I am not running for anything, I will just go about my business of doing the job I was elected to do. The Council has recently done some great things. One of the issues I am extremely proud of is the new TNR ordinance. We are one of the pioneers in Ocean County in this area. I am sure it will save the township a lot of money as well as being more humane to the animals.

We are currently working to finalize the budget. The budget documents were daunting to say the least. There were four HUGE books to wade through, and it took many hours. I feel I have a handle on it. I realize our backs are to the wall in this year of revaluation, and many people are really hurting in this economy.

The Council is also active in legislative issues. Jackson Township has continued to protest to our county and state officials on issues that will adversely affect our residents.

The most exciting experience I had during my year was my "ride along" with the police department. I was outfitted with a bulletproof vest and police jacket, went to a briefing session and rode with my "partner" on his beat. The highlight of the evening was when the police had to serve a Final Restraining Order on someone who was quite drunk. The police finally got him out of the house and put him in the back seat of the car in which I was riding. He started out complaining in a moderate voice about how unfair this all was. His volume increased geometrically as we drove him to his friend's house, which was about 20 minutes away. He swore in very colorful language in a heavy foreign accent at the police, his first wife, his current wife, the USA in general, his lot in life, his dog, and former President Clinton. When we finally got to the house, he turned to police officer and said, "Thanks for the ride."

I am going to write on my blog more often now as I will not be putting my Council impressions in any other venue. But I can only say to my constituents, "Thanks for the ride"