Topic: COMMUNITY INTEREST
How Is Hamilton Doing?
By Tammy Duffy
Going all the way back to the time of George Washington, much of what we see and hear in the political world consists of lies and deceptions. Despite assurances to the contrary, politics is not about truth, justice, and principle. It is about money, power, and status. Politicians habitually lie, pretending to fight for principles, in order to conceal their true selfish motives. Citizens who need the frequent injunctions to participate in politics and abjure political cynicism are likely to be duped into contributing their tax dollars and even their lives for dubious purposes. Most individuals gain little from political participation. Citizens need to think outside the (ballot) box, and find new ways to act on behalf of their interests and the public good. When politicians tout that they have “the most comprehensive ethics program”, the truth is, there probably is not one or one that is so weak, crime and deceit are rampant. Politicians need to be held accountable for their actions.
Let’s rewind for a moment. In 2013, (see link below)
A potential conflict of interest surfaced before the vote was taken on the RFP for the Bromley Center. John Ricci, Hamilton Twp Business Administrator, revealed that township recreation director Marty Flynn, who was appointed earlier that year, served on the CYO’s board of trustees. Flynn’s name was listed on the CYO’s website the afternoon of the RFP award.
In September 2013, an official ethics complaint was filed with the State. (Below is the actual complaint)
“I am writing to request a review of an apparent violation of NJSA 40A:9-22.5 sections c, d and e that occurred on September 17, 2013 in Hamilton Township, Mercer County.
Martin Flynn, Director of Health, Recreation, Seniors & Veterans Services for Hamilton Township Mercer County. Mr. Flynn is responsible for the operation, management and administration of the Township owned Bromley Neighborhood Service Center.
John Ricci, Business Administrator for Hamilton Township Mercer County.
Kelly Yaede, acting-mayor for Hamilton Township Mercer County.
Ed Gore, President of Hamilton Township Council Mercer County.
Dennis Pone, Member of Hamilton Township Council Mercer County.
David Kenny, Member of Hamilton Township Council Mercer County.
Iliana Schirmer, Member of Hamilton Township Council Mercer County.
The Hamilton Township Administration failed to disqualify the Mercer County Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) as a bidder to operate the township owned Bromley Neighborhood Service Center. It was necessary for the Administration to take such action as the Business Administrator himself, John Ricci, revealed at the September 17, 2013, meeting of the Hamilton Township Council, that Martin Flynn simultaneously sat as a Township officer and a member of the CYO Board of Directors and had participated in the solicitation of bids.
Furthermore, with full knowledge of these revelations, regarding Martin Flynn’s position on the Mercer County CYO’s Board of Directors and involvement in the bid process, the Hamilton Township Council approved awarding the $115,000 contract to the Mercer County CYO in a 4-1 vote.
It should be noted and offered as proof of the above complaint that a Request for Proposal (RFP) was issued by Hamilton Township for the Operation, Management and Administration of The Bromley Neighborhood Service Center with responses due August 15, 2013. Prior to the issuance of this RFP, Martin Flynn did conduct a tour of the Bromley Neighborhood Service Center for the Mercer County CYO. In addition, Mr. Flynn discussed the CYO plans with residents of the Bromley section of Hamilton Township prior to the award.
This complaint is not intended to impugn the reputation of the Mercer County CYO, who by all appearances is an unwitting by-stander to these events, nor that of Martin Flynn as the newly hired Director of Health, Recreation, Seniors & Veterans Services, but it was incumbent upon the Hamilton Township Administration to avoid this conflict and bring it to the attention of all parties.”
To date, several years later, there has been zero outcome to this complaint. This is a fairly easy issue to analyze. Why, years later, is there no outcome to the complaint? We have OPRA’D a list of all the complaints from 2013 to present day in Hamilton, to see where they all are in the process. We are awaiting the information.
In Feb of 2013, Mayor Yaede said, “A municipal board of ethics is equivalent of the fox watching the hen house.” “By using the state’s local government ethics board, we’re taking the politics out of the procedure. The DCA has the staff and resources to properly operate and has complete separation and independence from (municipal) matters.” This does make sense, because the hens are running amuck in Hamilton. The state is taking entirely too long to evaluate ethics complaints in Hamilton. Why is there no follow up happening on these complaints?
Hamilton Township employees and board members receive copies of the township’s ethics code each year and are asked to pledge to follow the code, and certain individuals will be required to undergo annual ethics training.
The reality of this ethics code is……it’s a memo. There is no comprehensive plan given to employees or volunteers. This is a link to the town’s comprehensive plan below.
http://www.hamiltonnj.com/filestorage/228428/230035/230037/Code_of_Ethics_-_January_2013.pdf
Gifts policy
This memo that was written by the ex-Mayor who went to jail. The new mayor just updated the date and placed her name to the memo. In the memo, they make mention to a “Local Government Ethics Law.”. This document is no where to be found in the walls of the municipal building in Hamilton Township. There is not even a link given to anyone who is asked to sign the memo. Even after numerous requests to the townships leadership to share the full document, it was never shared. So this “rigorous training” people go through is based on what? No one really knows all the rules. There are documents on the State web site that could be what they used, however, no one in the township would ever verify which document they used to create the memo.
In the world of thoroughness, courtesy and professionalism, it is odd that even after numerous requests to the townships leadership for the information, the emails all went ignored for this information. .
The townships insurance company came in and did some ethics training, not the townships HR department , which was interesting. They made it clear that if you violated a rule, even if you were an employee of the township, you would not be covered under the townships insurance policy. You would be on your own to get your own lawyer. The insurance company felt that by being present at the training meant that you were trained on all things ethical. So, by not giving the entire comprehensive policy to employees, volunteer, etc, everyone is at risk that interacts with the township.
In the private sector, when given a summary page to read and sign one would always have a direct link to additional documents. One would click on those, read them and document that you read the information. If a company was not focused on saving trees, one would be given the hard copies of the referenced documents.
If the township is trying to cut down on photocopying expenses they can always print, scan and post the referenced documents to the Twp's Intranet. To enforce that people must sign a document; without the supporting documentation, is not proper protocol. Would you sign the front page of a mortgage document without seeing all pages to the mortgage, I doubt it. But, this is what the townships leadership expects people to do.
No matter what the outcome of this ethics complaint about the Bromley Center, one cannot help but demonstrate how poorly things have been managed at the Bromley Center since this RFP was awarded. As taxpayers in Hamilton, everyone should be up and arms about this. What evaluation is done by the Twp leadership to ensure things are on cadence?
The original Scope of work for the Bromley Center was that the winner of the RFP was the following. The successful proposer must provide, at a minimum, the following services at the Bromley Community Center.
Food Pantry
Holiday Parties
After school tutoring
Teen Evening programming
Career Services workshops
Computer Lab
Bus trips to places of interest
Meet quarterly basis with Bromley Neighborhood Civic Association and the Director of Health, Recreation and Senior & Veteran Services
Provide quarterly reports detailing activities, programs, rentals and financial receipts of the Center
Provide such additional programming as the operator and the Civic Association may deem appropriate
Provide a full time Center director and such other personnel, as may be necessary to provide services contracted for
Manage and coordinate the rental of rooms in accordance with TWP rates and policies
Provide background checks for all individuals who will be working at the center
So, how is the CYO doing with the minimum requirements.? Not so good. They were required by the mandates in the RFP to do quarterly meetings with the Bromley Neighborhood Civic Association. They are in breach of contract.
The first meeting that took place was not until Feb 24,2015. This only happened due to the persistence of the BNCA. It probably still would not have happened if it were not for the BNCA’s persistence. Pat Hardiman took the stance with the BNCA that is was their responsibility to set up the quarterly meetings. This clearly is not what is stated in the RFP that the CYO was awarded. The CYO is responsible for this.
Food pantry: A simple phone call to the Hamilton Township Public Works revealed that the township does not have a refrigerated truck in their inventory to transport perishable items. However, in the 2014 annual report consolidated by CYO for the township, as it pertains to the Bromley Center, it states that the Hamilton Public Works provides a monthly truck and trailer for the pick-up of food from the Southern Regional food Distribution Center in Vineland, N.J.
We placed a call and spoke to Steve Morris (he runs the food pantry collaborations in Vineland) and learned that they send both perishable and non perishable items to the Bromley Center in Hamilton, NJ. We asked how does one deal with perishable items if the township is not bringing a refrigerated truck? He said,” They have an enclosed truck and in the summer months we do not ship perishable items.”
The Bromley Center continues to participate in the N.J. Senior Farmer's Market Nutrition Program. The program provides yearly, $20 vouchers, which can be redeemed at local farmer markets to purchase locally grown fresh fruit & vegetables by Hamilton Twp. Seniors. They distributed 14 vouchers to area seniors for the 2014 season. Only 14 vouchers for the entire year given out? One can only question why this is so low and how is the community being made aware of this program?
Teen Center: (Information in Township annual report)
The Teen Center, which opened in the summer of 2005, continues with 9 to 13 yr. old "pre teens" & 14-17 yr. old teens, who utilize the center's video games, with the Xbox, PS3, Xbox One & PS4 consoles. They state they also have a pool table, ping pong table, foosball table, basketball shoot game & air hockey table, along with various board games. The average daily attendance has increased to 15-25 teens.
It was designed to provide local youths with educational, recreational, and social activities & has become a "safe haven" for Bromley Neighborhood youth.
In speaking with some of the teenagers who visit the center, they were told that if they do not have at least 12 kids each day visiting the center, they will no longer be able to supply pizza for them. So, if there are so many kids coming as the report states, why the threat to the kids who are coming, that they will no longer get pizza. It may be worthwhile to see the actual sign in sheets to see the actual attendance.
Computer Room Access/Computer Classes: Hamilton residents have access to a computer room from 9:00 am until 3:15 pm. The computer room contains 16 computers, a networked printer and continues to be available for both adults and students. Uses include job searches, on-line applications, and career searches. e-mail checks, researching school projects or business topics and word processing. Evidently they have created lessons for a basic computer class to offer local residents. Volunteers have taught classes on and off, since 2003. When asked for a list of how many attendees actually came to the class, this was not available by the center to the people who attended this meeting.
Tutoring: Currently the tutor who is available is not a college graduate or a certified teacher. She did not graduate from high school with a 4.0 average.
Social Hall Usage: The Civic Center is the only physical location at which Bromley families, civic groups and other associates can gather within their neighborhood. It has the potential to be the single focal point for hosting meaningful events within the neighborhood.
Though the CYO may not believe that the rental, rates are a factor in what we perceive to be a reduced hall rental rate, it was requested that they support (not advocate) to solicit Township council to reduce the Bromley Civic Center's rental rates.
This is justifiable for the simple fact that the other rentals in the Township have had significant investments in the appearance of these facilities, are marketed to a wedding and business demographic and are marketed to Hamilton at-large. The Bromley Civic Center is a neighborhood center and is not marketed as a wedding or business destination.
Improving the rental rate of the Bromley Civic Center equates to more community events and more volume in rentals this more revenues.
Additionally, if the CYO is not responsible for the rental rate nor incentivized to rent the facility then the CYO web site should not be the sole means of finding information about the facility rental rates or its availability for rental.
They have hall rentals year round on Saturdays and some Sundays. There were a total of 27 rentals/hall usage in 2014. Most rentals are baby showers & birthday parties, although they also have bridal showers, wedding receptions, special meetings and community events. Attendees of this meeting asked for 2013 data and this was not available. The rental fees have been increased, which could be leading to the decrease in hall rentals. One can only wonder if the township offered reduced rental fees for Hamilton residents, if this could increase the hall’s usage?
There are numerous flyers in the annual report that reveal details to events, summer camps, tutoring programs, the food pantry, hall rentals, senior citizen club, etc. Unfortunately, not one of these flyers ever made their way to the townships facebook page, website or twitter feed. How does the township expect the community to know about the programs? How is the community getting told about them?
Let’s review the rules of engagement for the RFP. The BNCA never received any correspondence by email, phone or mail from the CYO, even though they were required to do so and hold meetings quarterly. This is a requirement in the RFP. There is no documentation that demonstrates any attempt was ever even made to do so. The CYO states they have been submitting reports to the township, however, one can only question why the township, knowing the requirements of the RFP, never questioned they were there not any minutes to meetings with the BNCA. Who in the township is responsible for making sure RFP awards are being executed upon properly? This does not seem to be a focus of the administration.
Based upon this single meeting of Feb 2015, there are items that the BNCA and the community would expect to have followed-up information for the next meeting. It was generally agreed upon at the meeting, that communicating about the available programs and driving up attendance is critical to the success of and perceived value of the Bromley Civic Center. Furthermore, as a commonly accepted principle of determining progress (in business, sports and other endeavors)is to measure the results. The expectation is that this happens. Only time will tell if this is done by the center and the township.
There is zero cost to communicating to the Bromley Community and to possible volunteers and resources in Hamilton at-large. The use of social media could be quite helpful. The township could create a separate FB page, website and twitter feeds just for the center.
The Bromley Center management stated they are sending mailers to the community on the events. But when pressed on who is on the list and how are the mailers evaluated, they had no answers. How do they know that the mailers are getting to the people? Is there return labels put on the mailers to see how many are returned? Where did they get their lists from? How old is the list? What are their plans in growing the list? None of these questions could be answered by the township leadership.
As only one of many means of measuring the success of the various Bromley Center programs that the CYO has inherited, the attendees of the meeting urged them to acquire data from the Township for the 5 years prior to 2014 and provide the Bromley Community with comparative data of pre and post CYO management of the Bromley Community Center. This would include:
- attendance at Teen programs
- hall rentals
- attendance at Senior programs
- food pantry participation
- add other programs
Let’s see if this is presented at the next meeting. The next meeting is in May, but no date has been set by the CYO.
This is just one example of how there is no follow up on RFP’s and accountability to the administration for the RFP awards they make to businesses.
There was a recent RFP released for the Mayor’s new idea for an Entertainment District, The Big H (aka Heroin) An RFP that has no Twp business plan or economic evaluation to prove it even makes sense in the first place. This needs to be available for the residents of the community to read or for a developer to understand if this is worth doing. What developer in their right mind will respond to such a request?
RFP for Entertainment District in Hamilton, NJ (see link below)
http://www.hamiltonnj.com/filestorage/228428/228430/229179/SKMBT_60115030909210.pdf
If how the Bromley Center is being managed by the township is any indication on how this new RFP for an entertainment district will be managed, I think we can all agree, this is an accident waiting to happen. This will cost the taxpayers millions of dollars and hold no one in office accountable for its failure. What will the township do to rectify these situations?
