Torregrossa and Hall for Manalapan Township Council

Manalapan Plans Vote to Investigate Sewer Authority
Lavish Spending, Hefty Pay Raises, Squandered Surplus and a 33% Rate Increase “Demands Probe�

Manalapan’s Deputy Mayor Joe Locricchio and Committeeman Andrew Lucas will ask in Wednesday’s upcoming Manalapan Township Committee meeting that Democrats join them in voting for open public hearings into the claims of abuse at the Western Monmouth Utility Authority.

Following the Asbury Park Press investigative report which uncovered the WMUA burned through an $8 million surplus while slamming residents of Manalapan and Marlboro with a 33% rate hike in just one year, Locricchio and Lucas believe Manalapan must put partisan politics aside and follow Marlboro’s lead and hold hearings.

“When the Republican candidates for Township Committee first sounded the alarm, we said their claims must be taken seriously. Marlboro’s mayor heeded that warning, while some Democrats here said a 33% rate increase and a squandered surplus was nothing wrong,� said Locricchio. “The residents of Manalapan deserve a probe of corruption at the WMUA.�

Two weeks prior to the Asbury Park Press investigative report on the WMUA, which showed lavish spending and political cronyism, Miracle Torregrossa and Peter Hall, candidates for Manalapan Township Committee released details of their own investigation.

The Press investigation showed money being spent on a public relations firm for the sewer authority whose spokesman ran the 2003 Assembly campaign for Michael Panter and Bob Morgan, while the Torregrossa and Hall campaign discovered two commissioners appointed by Manalapan democrats included a family friend of Manalapan Committeewoman Rebecca Aaronson and another who gained favor working with a Democratic political campaign.

“Our residents have the right to know how not only the Township Committee spends their money, but how it is spent by the WMUA,� says Lucas. “We will not stand by while some Democrats on the Manalapan Township Committee bury their heads in the sand as our residents are left paying for mistakes made by political appointees.�

“The silence by people like Rebecca Aaronson, Drew Shapiro, and Michelle Roth is deafening. We must rid our local government of corruption and political cronyism. Manalapan residents want answers, and Manalapan residents deserve better than this,� said Peter Hall, candidate for Manalapan Township Committee.

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