Monmouth County
adopts sweeping
pay-to-play reform
By BOB JORDAN.
thnt.com Online, August 12, 2007
FREEHOLD — Sweeping
pay-to-play and campaign-fund wheeling reforms have been enacted by the Monmouth
County Board of Freeholders, drawing bipartisan praise and the endorsement of
the Citizens' Campaign good government group.
The group's members had attended county meetings for months and pushed for the
changes, which will take effect Sept. 1. Other residents about 50 people
attended the board meeting Thursday at the Hall of Records also said they
welcomed the resolution, which was unanimously passed by the freeholders.
Howell resident John Lebrio told the board he has "been a staunch advocate for
these types of changes in Howell, to no avail" and also noted that in recent
years requests to county officials to take action "fell on deaf ears."
"I'm glad to see we've done a complete turnaround," Lebrio said.
Ocean Township resident Kate Mellina, who has addressed the topic at various
board meetings during the last 22 months, told the freeholders that they've "set
a standard for the state. I hope the municipalities follow."
The rules cover pay-to-play restrictions for professional service contracts and
"extraordinary unspecifiable" service contracts, capping political contributions
for those seeking such work at $300.
Also, wheeling money into Monmouth County elections is curbed: No
candidate for county office shall accept a contribution from another county's
political party in excess of $2,600 per election, according to the resolution.
Other highlights of the measure: contributions to a political party
committee or municipal party committee count against the limit; there are
restrictions against business entities seeking government contracts; and public
disclosure statements must be filed at least 10 days before the awarding of a
contract or an agreement to procure services.
Republican Robert D. Clifton, Democrat Barbara J. McMorrow, county
administrators and representatives of Citizens' Campaign for which Mellina
serves as a volunteer county co-chairwoman had worked on different drafts of the
legislation since an action committee was formed at the start of the year.
McMorrow took office in January, becoming the first Democrat to serve on the
board since 1989. Mellina said, "I do believe the rivalry thing, having the kid
from the other side, helped this."
McMorrow said: "The journey has not been an easy one. There have
been detours and bumps. But we got there. The pay-to-play portion of
this resolution is tried and tested."
McMorrow said new rules on who the county purchases services and items from are
so strong that Citizens' Campaign "is considering adding them to their model
ordinance."
Clifton said Mercer County was the first county to pass a pay-to-play resolution
and Atlantic County introduced a measure last week.
Clifton said, "We believe ours will go far beyond what the state has. We
hope all the counties follow suit."
State law bans contracts over $17,500 from being given to a business that made a
donation to the elected officials awarding the contract, or their political
party committee, unless they are awarded through a "fair and open process."
Freeholder Lillian G. Burry said, "We are making history with the passing of
this pay-to-play legislation. It would never occur without the tenacity
and concern of the citizens."
William C. Barham, the freeholder director, said state legislators "should take
notice."
"I call on all the legislators to stop the nonsense and stop wheeling all the
money around, because we all know what's going on," he said.
Another Howell resident, John Costigan, agreed pressure should be put on the
state government to move to tougher reforms.
"We should all go to Trenton. We should start at the top. I'm glad
to see we're doing a great job in Monmouth County," Costigan said.
Jeannette Mistretta, a Freehold Township resident, said there had been much
political interference while the legislation was being drafted. On one
occasion, the work committee's draft scheduled for introduction on June 28 was
scuttled and replaced by a version favored by GOP leaders.
"There were lots of shenanigans that went on at the last minute," Mistretta
said. "But at the end you did the right thing. You showed some
outstanding leadership. I want to thank you."
The resolution states that "substantial political contributions from those
seeking to or performing business with the county of Monmouth raise reasonable
concerns on the part of taxpayers and residents as to their trust in government
contracts." The document goes on to note that "counties are authorized to
adopt by resolution measures limiting the awarding of public contracts to
business entities that have made political contributions."
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