[Kearny Water Meter Replacements]

I'd say your recollection is wrong but you keep making up facts repeatedly. That's deliberate to justify your faulty conclusion. You didn't think you'd be challenged on the facts. And you just made up another fact -- that the reason to hire United Water was temporary to correct the data. Why do you keep ignoring that the contract was for billing and collecting and very limited meter reading?

I'm not making up the facts. "The transition from East Orange Water to United Water New Jersey has been much more complicated than could have been expected. Inaccurate and incomplete billing records from East Orange have slowed the process considerably. Presently, the Kearny Water Department does not have the personnel or computer system available to take on this critical task. The Mayor and Council will be carefully evaluating the performance of United Water before the end of the current contract. Billing accuracy, customer serivce and collection effectiveness will all be reviewed. If it appears fiscally prduent to assume the responsibility of customer billing, that route would certainly be considered." -- Mayor Alberto Santos (12/4/2001)

I

got that at a council meeting. In fact, I remember that 5 years ago, you actually brought the notice you got from United Water (to read your meter) to a Council meeting. You complained it was handwritten. Now you blatantly change your story and say United Water never attempted to read your meter??

Here is what the handwritten note on half a sheet of paper with an uneven cut said said

ATTN: Current Resident

Call United Water to

establish acct with

us or Face Shutoff

1800 422 5987

refer to account# [acct number]

It said nothing about wanting to perform an actual read of my meter. Let me make it clear: There was no actual read done on my property until I sold my house.

As to billing adjustments, every utility in the world, everyone, does credit and debit adjustments on a daily basis.

On occasion PSEG does an estimated read but they make a point of getting actual reads. Harrison's water department doesn't do estimated bills as a matter of course, they read the meters with remotes on the sidewalks.

The law has always been lowest qualified bidder! There was no significant change that would apply here! If there was, praytell, Sir Esquire, what were they? (Am I right to think that you no longer represent any public entities?)

The change was significant. It allowed Town's to take back control of the bidding process.

You yourself acknowledged the phone meters don't work. The problem can't be fixed without replacing the meters. Once again, with just 15% long-term estimated bills, that sounds like United Water did a good job.

I disagree with the 15% estimate based on my own personal experience and the history of reimbursements for overbilled water.

As to leaks, you're wrong. To say you'll know it when your house fills with water ignores many leaks that some homeowners don't pick up on, like a leaking toilet. If you don't think a year's worth of a leaking toilet is alot, try letting your toilet run for just one month and then come back and tell us how much more your water bill is.

If my toilet is leaking, I hear it. If my sink is leaking, I see it. If a pipe is leaking in the wall, I will see it shortly when it soaks my wall and busts through the sheetrock.

And you didn't know (or thought that I wouldn't know) that their meters are read monthly, not quarterly.

Once again, from the onset (Item #5 above), I stated that commercial should be treated differently than residential.

You know how many employees there are in the water department! There are 4 guys (including the superintendent) who get in holes and fix water mains. There are 2 clerks. Zero water meter readers.

Do they? Always? Why did we need J.Fletcher Creamer for? What do they do when their are no repairs to be done?

Your (hey, [sic] on myself!) delusional on not having to hire anyone under your plan. Your plan would either create a gaping deficit in the water department or literally double water rates within 2 years.

You say the above because you want to justify the bonding.

I think I should correct myself: I now realize you were really, really wrong. You came to your conclusion and then created untrue and semi-true "facts" to justify your conclusion when challenged. You failed. United Water did a good job and you can't stand being wrong.

I disagree with you. I posed under my own name as a member. You're (no sic) posting unanimously as Fact Checker. Why don't you sign up as a member under your real name.

[Kearny Water Meter Replacements]

You can't make up your own facts. The TERM OF CONTRACT is clearly spelled out in the bid documents. As a lawyer, you should know you couldn't bid a service contract without it!

I am not making up my own facts. I am basing my statements on what I recall. When Kearny got back the water department from East Orange Water Commission, the data that was turned over was a mess. The reason for hiring United Water was to correct the data and to provide actual physical reads. It was suppose to be temporary. It became a permanent job. One in my opinion which was not done per the contract they bid on.

Again, you can't make up your own facts. It's 15%. United Work reads and re-connects meters on a daily basis.

Where did you get "United Work (sic) reads and re-connects meters on a daily basis." They never attempted to read or reconnect my meter. If you review council minutes you will see month after month, individuals getting refunds for overestimated bills. This went on for years. United Water was suppose to do physical reads not estimated billing.

Government entitites MUST award to the lowest qualified bidder. It is a rare circumstance in which a bidder is found not qualified, short of failure to provide basic things like insurance or criminal wrongdoing or prior litigation. The law has NOT changed in any significant way. Again, you can't make up your own facts, not even legal ones!

I'm glad that you now recognize that you don't have to accept the lowest bidder. The change in the law was significant and designed to secure qualified bidders and curtail underbidding of jobs.

Ask anyone with a catch up bill or who has had a leak whether they want one estimated bill, much less three a year! I don't know of a single utility in America that bills that way!

I warned Mayor Santos and the Council that United Water was estimating bills. They had five years to review which accounts were being estimated and they failed to make United Water accountable. The catch up bill problem rests squarely on the shoulders of the Mayor and Council. If you have a leak, you don't need an actual bill to tell you. Eventually your house fills up with water.

You said there were no monthly reads. You were wrong. You want to estimate the industrial users, who get monthly reads, 11 times a year?? You can't be serious.

I specifically stated that industrial users would be treated differently because they are a volume user.

If the town is going to read the existing meters, then you have to hire meter readers. That's the reality of civil service.

As to United Water, the contract was to read nonfunctioning meters, bill customers and collect water bills. With just 15% long-term estimates notwithstanding the problems with telephone meter technology, sounds like they did a good job.

As to the water department, there are 0 meter readers. There are 2 clerks. Do you think the 2 clerks can bill and collect 8,000 accounts some 44,000 times a year?

How many employees are in the water department? Saying there is 0 meter readers and 2 clerks doesn't answer the question. United Water was not hired to read "nonfunctioning" meters, they were hired to read the meters, bill customers and collect water bills. They billed customers and collected water bills but failed to read all the meters. My 5 point plan does not require you to hire one single person.

Yes, you should go to a council meeting. Sounds like they rejected you five years ago because you were wrong, really wrong. Who's got the lowest water rates in the region? Kearny!

I'll admit when I'm wrong. I wasn't wrong and for sure I was never "really wrong". I warned the Mayor and Council that United Water was estimating water bills rather than performing actual reads and little was done. Now that catch up bills were generated, residents complained, the Mayor and Council forgave bills and is bonding for new meters. Having the lowest water rates in the region doesn't mean that the town isn't being frugal with its money.

[Kearny Water Meter Replacements]

Wrong. The contract was to read only those meters that could not be read over the phone. Most of the meters could be read over the phone 5 years ago. It was a bid contract for only 2 years. It was rebid for another 2 years. United Water was the low bidder both times.

I don't believe this is true. If it is true the bid documents did not reveal this fact. We overpaid United Water if this is the case, my understanding was that they were going to do physical reads of the meters.

Wrong. Most of the meters were being read over the phone as recently as last year. Per the Jersey Journal story, only 15% of all meters were long-term estimates. You're right that many of the meters would get disconnected, but United Water physically re-connected many of the nonfunctioning phone readers. That's why only 15% were long-term estimates. But this year Verizon declared that their phone lines could no longer be used for meter reading connections. All water bills are now estimated or based on a manual read.

I know that even after I made public statements against United Water, my meter was never read. I received estimated bills up until I sold my house and a Kearny Water Department employee did a final reading. I believe that the percentage of estimated bills was much higher than 15%. But even if was 15%, United Water didn't do their job. They were paid to read every meter quarterly.

Because United Water is the lowest bidder and it's a public contract. You as a lawyer should know public bidding requirements.

New Jersey Public Bidding law has changed and allows the consideration of other criteria beyond who the lowest bidder is and therefore the Mayor & Council could reject United Water's lowest bid. They can hold a hearing and make a determination based on other facts including prior experience with the bidder. Years ago Contractors would low bid and then put in change orders which ultimately would be more expensive. The second lowest bidder has threatened a lawsuit because United Water's subsidiary is apparently not a qualified bidder.

Wrong. Bills are mailed to residential homeowners quarterly. You want to send 3 estimates and 1 catch-up bill each year?? That makes estimated bills a permanent, recurring problem!

You can still bill quarterly (an estimated bill) and then do an actual read (once a year) which would insure the person got an accurate water meter read at least once a year. The above is acceptable to most residents especially since it will save them money on their tax bill (no need to bond).

Wrong. You obviously don't know that South Kearny and the Kearny meadows industrial area are part of Kearny and that their industrial meters get monthly water meter reads.

My original post (Item #5) contemplated that larger volume users would be treated differently than lower volume (residential) users. The Mayor's meter bonding is not just for South Kearny / Industrial Area meters, it goes townwide. I believe that it is wasteful and a burden to taxpayers.

It's 44,000 manual reads a year that would have to get done. That's a fact. My number of 10 full-time workers to do that work is a conservative estimate! Your plan would result in an annual million dollar cost within 2 years and a doubling of water rates within 5 years.

Your attempting to justify the expenditure by saying we need to hire more town employees. Your numbers are simply wrong. We paid United Water over $300,000 per year to send out estimated bills. The Mayor knew that a large percentage of bills were estimated but did very little to correct the matter. Now he is rewarding United Water (its subsidiary) with a new contract. Why? The Water Department has enough employees to do the job I've outlined. See my prior posts.

Go to a Council meeting and ask the Mayor. But let me restate the obvious: the remote read meters will be installed by United Water under the just awarded contract. The longer you drag this out (you can't be serious about "a period of years"), the longer the estimated bills countinue.

I've been known to go to town meetings. It has been a while. I may take you up on the offer. We can both address the Mayor and Council and give our input. Will the Mayor and Council listen to me? They didn't over five years ago when I pointed out that United Water was estimating a large percentage of bills and not complying with their contract.

[Kearny Water Meter Replacements]

Verizon no longer supports telephone-read meters. Not a one.

Not replace them?? The number of estimated reads will go through the roof.

Manual reads?? 8,000 meters, 4 times a year and 1,000 meters, 12 times a year = 44,000 manual reads a year. You'll need a small army of about 10 full-time meter readers! Salary and benefits would be $700,000 in the first year and in a couple of years this would be a one million dollar annual cost for Kearny. Every year. Water rates would go through the roof.

Your idea holds no water, not a drop.

Over five years ago, Mayor Santos & the Council awarded an initial contract for United Water to physically read the meters. Let me make that clear: United Water was suppose to go into homes and physically read the meters.

Your statement "Verizon no longer supports telephone-read meters. Not a one." is misleading. Reading the meters over the telephone lines didn't work almost from day one. From what I understood, the meter would call out to a phone number and report the current meter consumption number. The phone lines would inevitably be disconnected or not work properly. Kearny paid big bucks to have United Water physically read the meters and they never did. The Mayor and Council are awarding their subsidiary with a new contract to replace meters. Why?

Using your numbers, if there are 8000 meters. You need to physically read the meter periodically maybe once a year. If you take 8000 meters and divide that by 260 days (52 weeks times 5 days), you need to read 30.76 (or 31) meters per day to cover the whole town. That would mean that every resident would have an actual meter read once a year to catch up on any over or underestimated bill. You don't need to hire any new employees to do the above. Being the town's meter read is great job security.

Meters aren't read every month. Your example is again misleading.

My ideas expressed above hold a lot of water. My ideas aren't new.

Tell me why the Mayor doesn't support a cheaper time tested remote read meter that can be installed over a period of years by town employees?

[Kearny Water Meter Replacements]

There was an interesting article in the Observer this week from Celeste Regal about the battle over who should get the contract to replace water meters in Kearny.

Over five years ago, I addressed the Mayor and Council on this issue and brought to their attention the fact that United Water was not complying with their Contract. I recently brought this up again in the Kuehne Chemical topic on this board. http://forums.kearnyontheweb.com/index.php...ost&p=97718

I believe that there is no need to replace the water meters in the majority of the town and awarding a contract of this nature is wasteful and additional burden on taxpayers. Here is my solution to the current problem facing Kearny with respect to water meters.

1. United Water should be required to comply with its original contract and read the meters or return the money they were paid to do so.

2. Town Employees (Finance/Treasurer) should take back the billing operation saving the town money.

3. Residents who want an actual reading could do their own meter read and send in a prepaid post card to the Water Department. Town Water Department employees would then do actual readings at least once a year to keep residents honest. If the resident's "actual read" is way off, the town could do an actual read on a particular home. Since a Water account bill is a lien against the property, the Town is secure in getting its payment even if the house is sold. A final water reading will insure that the bill is eventually paid in full.

4. Town Water Employees could start the process of installing remote readers similar to the ones installed in Harrison and the City of Newark. They are a lot cheaper and proven technology.

5. Town Water Employees would initially concentrate in replacing meters and installing remotes on larger volume customers first. That is where the potential large income for the Water Department exists not in residential water accounts.

Over five years ago, I brought this issue up to Mayor Alberto Santos and Councilwoman Laura Cifelli-Pettigrew (who was the Water Department Chairperson). I am glad they have gotten around to addressing it now. But their approach is too expensive and not thinking out of the box.

My opinion at the time was that United Water was not reading the meter in violation of their contract. Why would you reward them with this contract?

The bottom line: Reject all bids. Read the meters manually. Implement the above. Save Kearny taxpayers some tax dollars.

[Harrison Special Meeting]

I wonder what the secret deal is this time that they don't want the taxpayers to know about. Democracy at work in Harrison.

I uploaded last night an article covering the meeting. Visit www.YourHarrison.com. Please spread the word to your neighbors, friends and family about the website.

[* Personal Guarantees from Redevelopers]

Mayor Raymond McDonough and the Town Council moved one step forward towards modifying a financial agreement with the Harrison Commons, Pegasus Group, and the Canyon Johnson Urban Fund (Redevelopers). According to a Memorandum from Bond Counsel Tom Hastie, the necessity for the change was caused by an objection by Harrison Common's mortgage holder Citibank. Citibank objected to a special assessment concept because it diminished Citibank's security interest in the real property.

Mayor McDonough started the meeting off by stating that he appreciated everyone making an effort to attend the meeting on such short notice. The Meeting Notice was printed on Friday, July 17, 2009 and the actual Agenda was uploaded to the Town's website late last night or early this morning (Hey! I can't stay awake all night). There was no member of the press at the meeting and only a handful of residents. Mayor McDonough held the meeting on the Third Floor of the Town Hall even though the Second Floor Council chambers was open and available for use. The reason for the Special Meeting, the Redevelopers need to make an application to the New Jersey Environmental Infrastructure Trust Fund (NJEIT) by tomorrow, July 22, 2009.

There was some interesting discussion back and forth between Council members Steve McCormick and Maria McCormick with Councilman James Doran and Bond Counsel Tom Hastie. Ultimately, the Mayor and Council passed two resolutions, the first a Resolution Making Application to the Local Finance Board, and the second a Resolution Declaring the Town's Official intent to Reimburse Expenditures for Project Costs from the Proceeds of Debt Obligations. These two resolutions were necessary for the application to NJEIT for funding. Councilmembers Steve & Marie McCormick voted against the two resolutions. The Mayor and Council also introduced for first reading Bond Ordinance 1213 which proposed bonding of 4.5 million for the water, sanitary sewer and infrastructure.

After some questions from Councilmembers Steve and Marie McCormick, Bond Council Tom Hastic revealed that the Redeveloper "principles" would be personally guarantee the infrastructure bonds. At the end of the meeting, Town Clerk Paul Zarbetski distributed the Financial Agreement with the Redevelopers. Among the apparent principals are Richard Miller, Michael Richman, David Barry, Michael Barry, and Mark Villamar. There was however no personal guarantees contained in the package. Mayor McDonough promised me that he would provide the names of the principles that would be signing personal guarantees before the September 2009 Mayor and Council meeting.

If the Redevelopment principles sign personal guarantees, I will be a lot more comfortable with the town bonding for infrastructure which originally was suppose to be paid entirely by the Redevelopers. If there are no personal guarantees, I believe the Harrison taxpayer will ultimately be holding the bag.

Of interest is that the principals of Canyon Johnson Urban Fund will not be signing personal guarantees. One of the principles of Canyon Johnson is Magic Johnson. The Financial Agreement and proposed Bond Ordinance is available here

The partial Agenda provided to me is available here

View the full article

[Harrison Special Meeting]

I just posted up the Agenda for another Special Meeting of the Mayor & Council on the www.yourHarrison.com website.

[* Another High Noon Harrison Special Council Meeting]

There will be another Special Council Meeting at high noon in Harrison tomorrow July 21, 2009.

Click here for the Agenda.

View the full article

[* Why Corzine Should Lose]

On Thursday July 16, 2009, President Barack Obama visited New Jersey and held a rally for Governor Jon Corzine at the PNC Arts Center in Holmdel. It was with mixed feelings that I watched President Obama stumping for Governor Corzine. I was one of the very early supporters of then Senator Obama in his candidacy for President. When Jon Corzine and our local politicians were all lined up behind Hillary Clinton, I was one of the few local Democrats who supported then Senator Obama. I was extremely proud of my numerous contributions of $25.00 to Obama’s campaign. I asked for nothing in return for my support except for one thing: Honest Efficient Government.

I am sure that while I was working away in my office on Thursday insuring that I continued to support my family and kept my staff employed in these tough economic times, those who initially did not support President Obama, and some local politicians who would not even put up a sign for Obama were undoubtedly on hand for a photo opportunity. In the news coverage of the rally, I couldn’t help but notice that Corzine looked like a little kid who had gotten a present that he knew he really did not deserve. You could tell that Corzine was uncomfortable. He knew that he did not initially support Obama. What was it that Corzine said, Obama was not experienced enough? Hillary was. Or was he thinking who would elect an African-American president? Corzine did what was politically convenient and supported who he thought was a shoe in for the Presidency, Hillary Clinton, and that has defined his Governing of New Jersey to date. I, on the other hand, evaluated the candidates and supported the one I found to be most articulate, compassionate, and qualified for the job. A millionaire like Corzine should not be worried about going out on the limb to do the right thing.

Christopher Christie released a video welcoming President Obama to New Jersey. He reminded President Obama that New Jersey is one of the highest taxed state in the United States and is in need of a change in governance. He invited President Obama to visit New Jersey again when Christie is Governor. Today, Christie’s campaign website has a video of individuals who voted for Barack Obama but are voting for Christie this coming November. Christie gets it.

My wife’s a Republican. I’m a Democrat. She said the other day to me that she knows that it will be the first time in a long time that I will be voting for a Republican come November. She is right. Corzine does not deserve my vote. Every decision he makes is political. I want a Governor who makes decisions on what is good for the average citizen and not what appears to be politically convenient. An example of the latter is his caving to the New Jersey Public Employees Union Leaders who threatened to picket a Corzine campaign rally at the Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange where Vice President Joe Biden was going to be the Guest of Honor. Biden had stated that he would not cross a Union picket line to attend the campaign event. The Union Leaders knew that Corzine would buckle under the pressure and give in to their demands. A real Governor would have told the Union Leaders go ahead and picket the Vice President of the United States. To Vice President Biden, Corzine should have said that is your personal choice, the rally will go forward either way.

I ask you to seriously consider who you want to be the next Governor of the State of New Jersey. I voted for Obama and I'm voting for Chris Christie. Join me.

View the full article

[Laxed Security At Chemical Plants]

The Mayor and Council were politically motivated? Paaaaleeeeeze! Frank and Rosa lived to embarrass Santos. They spent every waking moment conniving and plotting against him. Whether their "expose" was a true perception of the situation is debatable but no one with half a brain ever questioned their motives---which were anything but noble. But you know, life has a way of balancing out. Santos is still going strong and the Ferreiras are but a faded memory.

If Frank Ferreira ever shows his face in Kearny again, he's got more b***s than I ever gave him credit for.

If raising questions is living to embarrass Santos, then we're guilty. Mayor Santos has after 6 years come to agree with our position on the need to retrofit Kuehne. That was not his position 6 years ago when he accused us of grandstanding.

Another issue that I pointed out long ago (2003?) was the fact that Kearny was paying United Water to read water meters and United Water wasn't reading the meters. Recently (May 2009), the Mayor and Council agreed to forgive homeowners whose water meters were under read but now being billed for actual consumption. What Mayor Santos should have done was taken care of the problem back when I raised it. But if John Pinho asked a question, Mayor Santos would immediately take a defensive posture. I once joked that if you wanted something to get council approval, hire me to oppose it and it would be voted in by the Mayor and Council.

In 2003(?), I was simply pointing out what turned out to be the fact: United Water was paid to read water meters and did not read the meters they simply sent out estimated bills. Why should I as a Kearny taxpayer subsidize my neighbor not having to pay his/her water bill because the Mayor and Council didn't take the appropriate measure to have water meters read for years. Mayor Santos and the council were made aware by me of the fact that the majority of the meters were being estimated for years. Some overestimated and some under estimated. Solution: sue United Water for their failure to read the meters per their contract to make up for lost water revenue income.

How much did we pay United Water to send out estimated bills? $300,000+ per year? I could have done that from my house with a computer, a software package and a laser printer. The Mayor said he was going to study bringing the billing in house but decided to stick with United Water. Why?

Frank and Rosa have moved on. Their talent and skills are much more appreciated outside of Kearny. I thank God they are doing well. I've been Frank's friend since we were teenagers and me and him founded a youth club in Holy Cross Church in Harrison. Frank has always been ahead of the curve. I realized that early on. Nobody can question "his b**ls" (your words). He led the charge to make the Kuehne Chemical plant safer and now his goal of having the plant retrofitted may actually come to fruition. In any other town, the Mayor and Council would be honoring him and Rosa. Mayor Santos and you will never do that.

As far as what we did. We wrote letters. We went to council meetings. We publicized on the internet the danger of lax security at Kuehne. What else would you have done? Look on KOTW's Environmental page and read Frank's letter to Chief Dowie. Like I said, Frank has always been ahead of the curve.

John M. Pinho

P.S. To the readers of KOTW, please note I'm using my real name as a registered user. The other poster hasn't registered and is hiding as a Guest. I may not respond to all anonoymous Guest posts.

[Laxed Security At Chemical Plants]

Nope, you were grandstanding. What did any of you do following your trespassing "stunt" on the site and then running to the Observer?

If I was grandstanding, the Mayor is grandstanding now. I was not grandstanding then, nor is the Mayor grandstanding now. Mayor Santos is expressing some 6 years later the same concern that I was expressing in 2003: conventional security isn't the ultimate answer for Kuehne. A retrofit is.

So the record is clear, nobody trespassed on the Kuehne chemical plant. The video taken by Frank Ferreira in ~2003 was done from the street. It showed a main gate ajar with a gapping hole. When Jonathan Dienst of NBC went out to the Kuehne Chemical Plant in 2006 nobody challenged him. Dienst's producer called me at my office to let me know that they were outside Kuehne filming and the gate was wide open. I told them that Kearny Police were patrolling and would surely be there shortly. They assured me that no security was present and that I could come down for an interview and see for myself. I did. They were right.

I haven't been down to Kuehne since. I think about it on occasion. If the topic comes up, I passionately discuss the need and rational for a retrofit of the plant. I just hope that Mayor Santos, council members, Freeholder Cifelli, Governor Corzine, Assemblywoman Quigley and Assemblyman Prieto, Senators Lautenberg and Menendez, Congressman Rothman, other elected officials, Kuehne's management, and members of the public, get together to lobby for funding for a retrofit of Kuehne plant. Kuehne should repay from profits over a number of years some of the cost of the retrofit. A formula can be worked out between the parties.

Let me be clear, what Frank Ferreira and former Councilwoman Rosa Alves did in 2003 was admirable and in the interest of the public good. The characterization by Mayor Santos and some council members that we were grandstanding was irresponsible, unprofessional and politically motivated. Putting what happened in the past aside, I am glad that Mayor Santos has changed his mind and is supporting retrofitting the plant. We will all be more secure when that is accomplished. I hope he invites us to the ribbon cutting ceremony outside the Kuehne Chemical Plant. I'll have Frank bring his video camera.

John M. Pinho

[Laxed Security At Chemical Plants]

Both Senator Lautenberg and Corzine mention the Kuehne Chemical plant as examples in their testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

I have urged the Mayor and council to make this their top priority. In my opinion, there is no reason why this plant cannot be retrofitted in the same manner as the Kuehne Delaware plant. It has been almost three years since the Wall Street Journal Article was published. As I stated in my Letter to the Editor published in the Observer, a New York Times reporter did what my friends Frank Ferreira and Rosa Alves did almost three years ago and had a very similar result. Frank & Rosa's video is still available online. It clearly shows the vunerability of the plant. Senators Lautenberg and Corzine mention the same facts in their testimony. I believe that even the Republicans in Congress cannot vote against a loan to Kuehne Chemical to retrofit their plant. The residents of Kearny deserve as much respect as the residents of Delaware. This issue is a Kearny issue. Although Mayor Santos agreed with me that Kuehne must be addressed, he suggested only that we write our federal officials. I agree in part but Senator Corzine and Lautenberg know the facts already and have been fighting for us already. What we need is to think outside the box. I suggested at the council meeting that the Mayor and Council meet with officials of Kuehne Chemical and ask them what they need to increase their security. What funding do they need? What are they willing to do to retrofit the plant? What will it cost? Then go and put together funding to accomplish the task. This can be a model for other chemical plants throughout NJ and the United States. The terrorist attacks have changed our capitalist system as it relates to chemical plants. We must have a modified capitalist system where Government is a partner in chemical companies.

John M. Pinho

I am not sure it has ever been done but I couldn't help but quote my own post of over 4 years ago. This week Rose Duger of the Jersey Journal wrote a story entitled $1 M grant to beef up South Kearny Security. In the article Mayor Alberto Santos "hailed the grant as important to the security of Kearny and surrounding areas, he called the new security system a stopgap measure. The mayor has been a proponent of forcing the chemical manufacturer to retrofit the plant with safer technology that would require less chlorine to be stored at the site." He is quoted as saying "Ultimately, I think the technology of this plant needs to be retrofitted," he said. "This is not the ultimate solution."

I am glad that the Mayor has come around to supporting the idea of retrofitting the plant. This has not always been his position. When former Councilwoman Rosa Alves, Frank Ferreira, and I brought this very important topic to his attention, Mayor Santos stated at town public meetings that we were "grandstanding". We were not grandstanding, we were concerned. I am so glad that the Mayor now understands the importance and urgency of getting funding to retrofit the Kuehne Chemical plant. If he asks I will support his efforts to make the retrofit a reality.

[Mayor Santos running out of excuses?]

The posting asserts that Pinho began his criticism of the Mayor when he lost the Kearny utility as a client of his law firm.  That certainly appears to be the case as the only historical criticism that Pinho has pointed to is something that Rosa-Ferreira did on Keuhne Chemical from 2001.  (Paul, you as an attorney should know that credibility and motivation are relevant in debate as well as at trial.)

The reason I mentioned former Councilman and Mayoral candidate Ed Callaghan was to point out that I did not support the Mayor in his Democratic primary bid. I guess that qualified as being critical of the Mayor.

There's also a question about the accuracy of Pinho's "not more than $36,000" claim.  Since Mr. Pinho is a forceful advocate of posting public documents on line, and his bills are public documents, why hasn't he posted them on-line?  Shouldn't he live up to his own standards?  Or is he just playing a game?

The "not more than $36,000" includes all work including "special projects". My billing file is in storage. I pulled out my old Quicken records to give everyone a total. The last time I checked the Mayor still had not posted the town's finanicals on the web nor did he respond to my Letter to the Editor in the Observer. I guess he is busy or "is he just playing a game?"

[Mayor Santos running out of excuses?]

I guess your answer means John Pinho was not active in Kearny politics (as he said earlier) when he lived in Harrison.  John's silence also probably means he made at least $200,000 as a lawyer for the Kearny utilities authority that was paid by Kearny property owners.  So, when faced with the truth, John resorts to throwing mud at the Mayor.  It really, really must bite.

75481[/snapback]

I answered the "how much money I made while working for the KMUA" question above. As you can see it is way below the imagined $200,000.

I am not throwing mud but expressing my opinions frankly. I will state that despite my disagreement with the Mayor on certain issues, I respect him and the job he is doing as Mayor. I do not however give him a free pass as many others do.

[Mayor Santos running out of excuses?]

1.  United Water reads meters, bills accounts and collects on accounts.

No. They bill and collect but don't read meters. They estimate bills. The bid documents should say bill and collect and only read a small percentage of the water meters. We would then get lower bids for the work.

There are about 10,000 accounts/meters.  At the meeting you missed, it was said half don't get good readings because they're telephone meters that break down regularly

.

My understanding is the town bonded years ago to replace the meters. What happened to that money? Harrison has a remote reader where the meter reader scans from the outside of the house the remote reader and they perform their own meter reading. Water is billed quarterly so even if you estimated 3 of 4 quarters you would catch up at the end of the year. United Water didn't do that with my bill. Does your bill say "Reading Type" Estimated?

The meters belong to Kearny, not United Water.  It's not United Water's doing.  The other half are mostly manual and electronic-read meters.  So United Water does 5,000 good readings and another 5,000 that gets delayed or estimated or re-read manually because of the faulty technology.

United Water did not read my meter for years. They are under contract to read all the meters. There is simply no reason why they are not doing the job.

1 Water Superintendent, 1 Asst. Super and 2 water repairmen who repair water lines every day.  There's also 1 Admin Clerk and 1 Asst. Clerk who handle monthly reporting requirements

.

6 people in the water department.

Meter reading would require at least 2 people but if you want the telephone meters manually read, you probably need 4 or 5 full-time meter readers.  As to billing, if you think by pressing a button you bill ALL 10,000 accounts (some are monthly, some are quarterly), collect all of them, properly deposit and account for all payments, reconcile mispayments (over or under payments) and meter reading errors, you're way wrong.

Fix the meters with remote scans and you can read the meters (in house) with the personel we have. If you're afraid our water department personnel can't handle payments, send the payments through the tax collector's office or outsource it to a bank (cheaper than United Water).

John, as to your final comment, what a dodge!  Apparently you do have the time, so please enlighten us with at least some of the issues you raised against the Kearny Mayor back then.  When Santos first ran??  You've got to be kidding, you were a Harrison resident at the time!

I walked door to door with former Councilman and Mayoral candidate Ed Callaghan. I was involved in Kearny even before I became a resident.

[Mayor Santos running out of excuses?]

John, if one of us asked a witness a question calling for any of the following statements, do you think an objection would be sustained as calling for a conclusion? I think so:

1. "If you don't agree with the Mayor on every point you are accused of making 'personal anti-Santos attacks.'" 

2. "The Mayor's biggest problem is that if you don't agree with him, he stops listening even if your comment makes total sense (i.e. Kuehne Chemical Plant security)."

3. "The Commissioners who eventually became a majority of Santos appointments voted to replace me not because I was doing a poor job but because Santos wanted another attorney to fill the job."

Each of those statements, if made by a witness in court, would be stricken as conclusory. None of them is substantiated on this forum. I want facts, and more particularly, I want facts that will help me understand the issues better.

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Paul,

I am expressing my opinion based on first hand knowledge. My statement is based in fact. When I raised (along with former Councilwoman Rosa Alves and her husband Frank Ferreira) the security issue with the Kuehne Chemical plant, Mayor Santos stopped listening and accused us of "grandstanding". Former Councilwoman Alves had had some politically based disagreements with Mayor Santos, therefore the Mayor stopped listening even if what the councilwoman was saying made total sense. The Mayor has since changed his mind on Kuehne.

As far as the KMUA, my statement is fact. You want me to lay a foundation. My foundation is I signed this post with my name. If I was trying the case, I would call the former commissioners and I would lay the foundation through their testimony. I'm not trying a case, I'm making a statement on a discussion board. I stand by my statement.

[Mayor Santos running out of excuses?]

Yes, let's compare.  Hey, John, how much did you earn while attorney for the Kearny Municipal Utilities Authority?:  _____________________

(By the way, my guess is more than $200,000.)

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I reviewed my records, I made no more than $36,000 per year from work performed on behalf of the KMUA.

[Mayor Santos running out of excuses?]

You're probably the only person who tries to argue with a straight face that making government bigger would save taxes!  The service was privatized via bid and United Water was the low bidder.  At the council meeting you didn't attend, a cost analysis was done showing the minimum level of additional staffing (5 full-timers) that would be needed for the town to do billing, collecting and meter reading.  John, if you think it can be done by current employees, tell us who exactly.  If you think the guy fixing the water main breaks will do billing or that the gal responsible for monthly water reports and operations of the transmission system will do collecting, you are either clueless with respect to the current staffing of the water department or you're being deliberately misleading.

No, I'm not the only person who tries to argue with a straight face that making government bigger would save taxes. What I'm saying is that:

1. We are paying United Water to read meters but they are from my vantage point not reading the meters on a regular basis. We are paying for reading and billing of water meters. United Water is only billing but not reading the meters. We are paying for a job they are not performing.

2. The town has hired additional personnel for the water department. Are those persons fully occupied that they cannot handle the billing with the aid of a computer software package and a couple of printers?

Enlighten me on how many people work for the Kearny Water Department and provide their job titles and description of their jobs.

Also, could you provide examples to back up your statement that "Long before I was replaced as legal counsel to the KMUA (Kearny Municipal Utility Authority), I was voicing my opinion on various Kearny issues."?  Make sure you date the "opinions", where they were "voiced" and the date of your termination on the KMUA.

That would take too much time. But you can ask Mayor Santos about our history going back to the Democratic primary for Mayor (when was that 9 years ago?) My opinions were voiced both at council meetings and in private to whoever would stop to listen.

[Mayor Santos running out of excuses?]

John,

When your suggestion regarding the Water Department was rejected, were you told why? Were you told why you were replaced as legal counsel for KUMA?

Finally, re this: "The Mayor's biggest problem is that if you don't agree with him, he stops listening even if your comment makes total sense (i.e. Kuehne Chemical Plant security)." John, that's a personal attack. Please don't tell me that you don't see how many layers of unsubstantiated conclusions are in it.

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Paul,

With respect to the Water Department, the rationale as I understood it was that the data from the East Orange Water Commission was poor and the town needed someone to work through the data to get it straightened out. In addition, there were not enough personnel, at that time, to handle fixing the data, read the meters, and bill the water accounts. It was suppose to be a temporary fix.

As far as my comment on the Mayor, please let me know how that's a personal attack. Show me the "many layers of unsubstantiated conclusions".

[Mayor Santos running out of excuses?]

Reading the posts of John Pinho and the omnipresent Paul cause me to jump 

    into this again. Gentlemen, I know of NO municipality that posts their entire

    budget on the internet. This is something that is simply not done, it's too

    time consuming with no real purpose or justification. I'm certain copies are

    available in town hall for anyone to peruse, and you can probably buy a copy

    for a nominal fee. It seems to me, you guys are obsessed with trying to

    find things about the mayor to complain about. This issue of the budget not

    being available on the net is just the latest.

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The nominal fee for a copy of the audit is over $50.00 so to get all the documents the finance committee has access to is got to be over $100.00. Since the Mayor put out the challenge for us Kearny taxpayers to help him figure out ways to save on our property tax bill, he should give us the facts (audit, budget, line-items etc.) If the Mayor truly wants our input he can scan into PDF the documents and post them on the town's website. There is no cost to doing that beyond getting a secretary or staff member who is already getting paid to do it. I assure you that the town is not using all the disk space it is already paying for with its website server so posting the public financial information would be at no additional cost.

[Mayor Santos running out of excuses?]

John, you really can't handle the facts.  You also don't have a single, realistic suggestion on reducing property taxes.  Not a one.  Only personal anti-Santos attacks -- especially after you no longer had Kearny property owners paying you a salary after the Mayor replaced you as legal counsel to the sewer authority.

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Here is a "single, realistic suggestion on reducing property taxes": have the Water Department personnel handle the water meter reading and billing rather than pay United Water over $300,000 per year. A suggestion I made several years ago to the Mayor and council. It was rejected.

If you don't agree with the Mayor on every point you are accused of making "personal anti-Santos attacks." I have never made any personal anti-Santos comments but I have voiced my opinion on various town issues. My comments at any council meeting have never been personal. The Mayor's biggest problem is that if you don't agree with him, he stops listening even if your comment makes total sense (i.e. Kuehne Chemical Plant security).

Long before I was replaced as legal counsel to the KMUA (Kearny Municipal Utility Authority), I was voicing my opinion on various Kearny issues. The Commissioners who eventually became a majority of Santos appointments voted to replace me not because I was doing a poor job but because Santos wanted another attorney to fill the job. That is politics and I accepted my fate. He had the votes to replace me and he did.

[Mayor Santos running out of excuses?]

I was actually prepared to say that Mr. Pinho's suggestion might be worth considering. Having it online would make access easier. On the other hand, I'm not sure I want the whole world having such ready access to that information. And of course, the remark about hiding information was misleading and inflammatory, whether intentionally or not.

However, in the interests of having a productive dialogue: Does anyone know how many pages of data would be involved?

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Paul,

The town has an annual audit. The audit doesn't judge whether the town is wisely spending its money but it determines whether "the financial statements are free of material misstatement" and makes recommendations on ways to improve the town's accounting system. The audit generally runs around 170 pages. There are additional documents reviewed by the town's Finance committee that should also be posted on the town's website. I am not sure how many pages in total that would be. My point is that if the Mayor wants our input we should be given easy access to the documents (without paying for them) that he and the Finance Committee have to review.

[Mayor Santos running out of excuses?]

It's on the public record; complaining that it's 'hidden' in any way is pure bullshit, frankly. What's the matter, a trip to the library too strenuous for you? Honestly, now--you're totally wrong and we all know it. I'm sure you do, too--just admit it and move on. Your credibility isn't looking any better with this semantic dance of desperation.

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Strife767,

Since you appear to have knowledge of what records are public, answer the following question. Could I as a taxpayer get a copy of the town's bank statements including a copy of all the checks written by the town to pay its bills?

[Mayor Santos running out of excuses?]

John,

You can read it at town hall if copying is a problem.

You as a lawyer know full well what's public information. 

You know what this looks like?  You've come up with nothing so you're now trying to fool people into thinking the budget is not publicly available.

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I know they are available but if you want to take a copy home (to look at and analyze it) you need to pay. Mayor Santos wants input from Kearny's taxpayers. He should therefore put the town's financial data on the internet so everyone can get a copy for free. There is no additional cost to the town as they have already paid for the disk space on the internet site where they host the town's website. Disk space is cheap. If the town doesn't have a copier that can scan and converts the file into PDF format, he can drop off a copy in my office and I'll scan it and get him a PDF file to post on the town's website.

As far as your comment that I "can't handle the facts", I have the following comment. Sometimes it is better to be the horse with the "blinders" on than to be the one without them. Remind me next time I get my property tax bill to put my "blinders" on so I can be as happy as you when I write out my ever increasing property tax check.