Freeholder Board made to answer for their lack of Openness

At this evening’s Freeholder Board meeting a letter from the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey was presented to the Board reprimanding them on clear violations of the First Amendment.

The complaint was made by Doris Lin, a resident of Monmouth County who was removed from the podium during the public comment section of the Freeholder Meeting on August 25th.

“I write to advise you that the Freeholders actions against Ms. Lin were an unconstitutional restriction of her speech in violation of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution,� according to the letter.

Ms. Lin presented this letter to the Board at the meeting Thursday evening. The letter requested a public apology be made.

“I think it’s imperative that Ms. Lin be issued an apology. I also think that the rest of the residents of Monmouth County deserve an apology. For too long the Freeholder Board has intimidated residents into silence,� Rebecca Aaronson, Democratic candidate for Freeholder, said.

“This has been an ongoing problem, the Freeholder Board does not want the residents to know how their tax dollars are spent, and they certainly don’t want to hear about residents concerns,� Barbara McMorrow, Democratic candidate for Freeholder, said.

To address these concerns Aaronson and McMorrow have proposed a number of ways to make the Freeholder Board more accessible:

Evening meetings
Freeholder meetings would be moved to 7 pm so that members of the public would be able to attend and comment on Freeholder business.

New Website that is user friendly
Revise the website to include minutes of the meetings, a directory of county employees and ensure that it includes updates on when and where meetings will be held.

Video taped meetings

Freeholder Board meetings would be televised and aired on local cable channels. Barbara and Rebecca would work with the county college to create opportunities for students to gain hands on experience while broadcasting these meetings to the public.

Town Hall Meetings
As Freeholders, Rebecca and Barbara would schedule a town hall meeting each month, to be held at 7 pm in public locations throughout the county. At these meetings there would be no Freeholder business conducted, but would instead be a chance for residents to discuss their thoughts and concerns about county government.

Mayors Council
County government needs a direct link to the municipalities – mayors are that link. Barbara and Rebecca would meet with the mayors council (all 53 mayors in each municipality) each quarter to discuss what the county is doing, as well as to hear concerns from each municipality.

Reach out to communities to find out what they need from their county government
Barbara and Rebecca know that the best way to make county government accessible is to go to the people. Rebecca and Barbara will work to make sure that all residents know about what services the county offers. They will also work with municipalities to ensure that they are accessing the grants and services in which the county participates.