The Courier - January 10, 2008

Dems take on TOMSA appointments:

By J.J. SULLIVAN III
Staff Writer

    A resolution passed by the Township Committee, 3-2, appointed four members to the Township of Middletown Sewerage Authority (TOMSA) on Jan. 6.
    The appointments were ill advised and resulted from partisan favoritism, according to the objections of committeemen Patrick Short and Sean Byrnes.
    ''I'm voting against this resolution because I think anyone involved in certain political positions who work for certain firms should avoid receiving any money or revenue from the townships they represent," Byrnes said. "I believe it's prudent for people involved in party politics to abstain from receiving revenue from their township."
Short was more specific when explaining his reasons for voting against the resolution. "It seems that the members of TOMSA all come from .an exclusive club," said Short, referring to the Republican Party.
    "[TOMSA] meets once a month; less than one hour per meeting and each member receives just under $1,500 annually. However, the members of TOMSA take advantage of the Public Employee Retirement System (PERS) and receive pension and health benefits for their services to TOMSA," Short said. "We need to do away with partisan appointments. Next year, I'm going to examine TOMSA and determine if the authority should be run differently."
    Scharfenberger denied Short's allegations that TOMSA was an exclusively Republican club. "[The members of the sewerage authority] are the best candidates who applied for the job. That's the reality of the situation," he said. "Anyone who wants to be involved in this commission has the opportunity to do so. Everyone is entitled to apply for a seat."
TOMSA makes the township a phenomenal amount of money, according to Scharfenberger. "It is run extremely efficiently, and I believe that the return is much greater than the cost is takes to operate the authority," Scharfenberger said.
    Chantal Bouw was appointed to a five-year term as the second commissioner. Thomas Stokes will serve the same term, until Feb. 1, 2013, filling the third commissioner seat.
    Joan A. Smith, vice president of the Middletown Republican Club and former township mayor, was appointed the first alternate, and will serve until February of 2013, as well. Emil Wrede became the second alternate on the authority, and will sit on TOMSA until Feb. 1, 2011.
    According to the Middletown Republican Web site, TOMSA Chairperson Clifford G. Raisch is listed as the vice chairman of the Middletown Republican Executive Committee. Fellow TOMSA commissioner James Hinckley is also listed on the GOP Web site as the treasurer of the Middletown Republican Executive Board.