RED BANK: COURT NIXES TAX ACTION

Aug 2, 2018

The borough’s attempt to revoke Riverview’s tax exemption for two years amounted to a “fishing expedition” in search of justification, the court ruled. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Red Bank can’t retroactively revoke the tax-exemption for Riverview Medical Center, New Jersey’s tax court ruled last week.

In attempting to do so, the borough was improperly hoping that a “fishing expedition” in the form of legal action would turn up evidence that the hospital, owned by Hackensack Meridian Health, was being used as a for-profit facility, the court ruled. More →

August 2, 2018 - 2:40 pm |

RED BANK: PROPERTY TAX UP 4.7 PERCENT

May 11, 2018

Michael Ballard, who heads the finance committee, with Mayor Pasquale Menna at left, on election night last November. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Red Bank property owners may see a 4.7-percent increase in the local portion of their tax bill this year under a budget introduced Wednesday night.

The hike was driven by a drop in revenue, said Councilman Michael Ballard, including a halt by Riverview Medical Center of its customary payment in lieu of taxes.

May 11, 2018 - 3:30 pm |

RED BANK: MENNA DEBT IN PRESS SPOTLIGHT

Dec 29, 2016

Mayor Pasquale Menna at work on his River Road home in October, 2011, and at borough hall last June. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

Red Bank Mayor Pasquale Menna borrowed $75,000 from an Eatontown man who’s a “convicted car thief,” according to a report by the Asbury Park Press posted Thursday.

The article does not allege wrongdoing on the part of either Menna or his lender, Louis Lerner III of Eatontown. Instead, it details financial difficulties for Menna that include a $40,000 lien placed on his home by the Internal Revenue Service.

December 29, 2016 - 9:00 pm |

RED BANK: RESIDENT MAPS VALUE CHANGES

Dec 19, 2016

Red Bank resident and data maven Tom Labetti has created an interactive map showing changes in borough property assessments from 2016 to 2017.

Based on data Labetti compiled by Tax Assessor Mitch Elias under a new Assessment Demonstration Program in which the borough is participating, the map is searchable by individual addresses as well as by degree of change in assessed values.

December 19, 2016 - 2:05 pm |

RED BANK: SITE IDEAL FOR HOTEL, SAYS MENNA

Dec 7, 2016

The VNA’s departure could put its headquarters building on the tax rolls. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

The VNA Health Group is quitting Red Bank, leaving behind a large empty building that could wind up on the tax rolls of a borough whose officials complain often about the high number of nonprofits.

Heck, it would even make a great hotel, Mayor Pasquale Menna tells redbankgreen.

December 7, 2016 - 12:24 pm |

RED BANK: MELTING POT CLOSES

Oct 25, 2016

Under common ownership, the Melting Pot also shared a liquor license with Taste, its next-door neighbor at the Galleria. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

Four months after its next-door neighbor, Taste restaurant, closed amid a failure to renew its liquor license, Red Bank’s Melting Pot restaurant followed suit Monday, announcing its closing on Facebook.

October 25, 2016 - 5:45 am |

RED BANK: SALARIES ON AGENDA

Jul 26, 2016

Salaries for the mayor and council members would remain unchanged, but the earnings potential of professionals at borough hall would rise under a proposed ordinance. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

Six borough hall jobs will offer potential salaries above $100,000 if an ordinance on Wednesday night’s agenda is passed by the Red Bank council.

That’s up from three the last time the council adjusted salaries for its professionals, in 2014.

July 26, 2016 - 1:53 pm |

RED BANK: TASTE TO REOPEN, SAYS OWNER

Jul 22, 2016

Taste restaurant in Red Bank’s Galleria complex has been closed for the past three weeks for failure to renew its liquor license, according to borough Clerk Pam Borghi. Ken Kruse, who owns Taste, tells redbankgreen the restaurant and bar “had some issues which the accountant and state had to work out” over taxes. He said he plans to reopen the Bridge Avenue eatery next week.

Meanwhile, the adjoining Melting Pot, which Kruse also owns and which is covered by the license, remains open as a BYOB, Kruse said. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

July 22, 2016 - 11:49 am |

RED BANK: A YEAR LATER, STRINGS RESOUND

Jun 4, 2015

Student musicians preparing to rehearse at the middle school last June, above, and performing at the borough sidewalk sale a month later. (Photo above by John T. Ward, below by Wayne Woolley. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

A year after budget cuts appeared to doom the strings program at the Red Bank primary and middle schools, the band is back.

As part of the the borough-based Monmouth Conservatory of Music’s 50th Anniversary Gala Concert, strings players from the two-school district will take the stage of the vaunted Count Basie Theatre for a song Saturday.

But the appearance signals more than mere survival of a music program that was on the verge of disappearing when $80,000 was cut from the district 2014-’15 budget, advocates said. Rather, it marks the culmination of a community-wide effort to restore the program and position it for the future.

June 4, 2015 - 7:54 am |

FAIR HAVEN CRIME & ARREST REPORTS

Mar 16, 2015

Crime and arrest reports, unedited, as provided by the Fair Haven Police Department for the month of February, 2015.

02/06-Garry Vandemark 2^nd, 32, Atlantic Highlands, was placed under arrest following a traffic stop. Mr. Vandemark was charged for driving while suspended, Unlawful Possession of a Weapon and Obstruction. Subject was processed and released pending a Fair Haven Court Appearance. S/O Brooks Robinson was the arresting Officer.

March 16, 2015 - 12:39 pm |

SEA BRIGHT: TAXES, FIREHOUSE PACK COUNCIL

Aug 6, 2014

Mayor Dina Long, center above, helped move tables to accommodate an overflow crowd Tuesday night. John Lamia, below, was sworn to fill the unexpired term of Read Murphy. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

A boatload of critical issues came crashing ashore in Sea Bright Tuesday night, as officials and residents wrestled with soaring taxes, where to put a Sandy-wrecked firehouse and more.

Dozens of residents packed a bimonthly borough council with their concerns: a bulkhead ordinance that would require some property owners to raise the level of protection adjoining their homes along the Shrewsbury River; a plan to build a 150-foot tall cell tower just feet from the ocean beach behind borough hall; the timing of repairs to the seawall.

Two matters in particular drew concerted heat: a proposal to rent land for use as a temporary fire station from a former mayor in arrears on taxes, and a 10-percent increase in tax bills, reflecting a whopping 17-percent increase to cover the cost of sending borough kids to Shore Regional High School in West Long Branch.

That one, and other issues, reflected longstanding frustrations.

“Twenty-five years ago, when I first came on the council – it was a subject then,” said Councilman Jack Keeler. “It hasn’t changed.”

August 6, 2014 - 10:48 am |

RED BANK: HELP KEEP THE STRINGS SINGING

Jul 23, 2014

As reported by redbankgreen last month, the strings program in the Red Bank school district is facing extinction because of budget cuts. The school board and parents are looking for ways to keep it alive. Meantime, a handful of students from the program plan to play a selection of folk tunes, including “Go Tell Aunt Rhody,” at 2 p.m. this Saturday in front of Toad Hollow, at 9 Monmouth Street, in an effort to call attention to the effort. The video below, made by parent Wayne Woolley, is another part of that effort.

Wouldn’t it be nice to give them a big, curbside audience to encourage them? You might also bring your checkbook or cash, in case you feel inspired to help in that way. For more info, contact Cathy Costa at ccosta273@yahoo.com. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

July 23, 2014 - 11:36 am |

RED BANK: SCHOOL STRINGS TO GO SILENT

Jun 19, 2014

Getting ready to tackle Beethoven, Bartok and Bach, Red Bank primary and middle school students tuned up for their annual concert at the middle school Wednesday night. The strings program, however, was cut from the 2014-’15 budget, shaving $80,000, even as the local tax levy soared by nearly 10 percent. “It was all bad choices,” said school board President Ben Forest, whose daughter was among the kids playing their final concert at the school. “It’s horrible, but sometimes we’re charged with making horrible decisions.” Pressure to save the program is great, he added, and “we are looking at ways of restoring it.” Here’s a letter about the options sent to parents on Wednesday: Strings Letter 06-2014 (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

June 19, 2014 - 6:50 am |

RED BANK: MUANG THAI BACK IN BUSINESS

Jun 18, 2014

Red Bank’s Muang Thai restaurant is back in business after it was seized by the state Treasury Department over unpaid taxes last Thursday. Jack Pongnoo, owner of the East Front Street restaurant, tells redbankgreen that the shutdown resulted from a misunderstanding of how much he owed the state and when, and has now been resolved. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

June 18, 2014 - 7:39 am |

RED BANK: TAXMAN SEIZES THAI RESTAURANT

Jun 12, 2014

Muang Thai owner Jack Pongnoo, seated, with Muang Thai staffers last August. Below, the sticker slapped on the restaurant door by state tax officials Thursday. (Photo above by Robert Kern, below by Boris Kofman. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

Fans of Red Bank’s well-regarded Muang Thai appear to have lost a dining option.

June 12, 2014 - 6:20 pm |

RED BANK: BULKHEAD, BELLHAVEN DEBATED

May 15, 2014

The council approved a bond to pay for a bulkhead to halt erosion at North Prospect Avenue, above. A change to another bond, for a possible spray park at Bellhaven Natural Area, below, drew criticism. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

Not for the first time and almost certainly not for the last, Red Bankers picked over a pair of big-ticket projects at Wednesday night’s council meeting.

One was a bond ordinance council members were in a hurry to approve in order to save two Navesink River yards from severe erosion.

The other: A possible spray park at Bellhaven Natural Area that has pitted environmental activists against West Siders desperate for a playground.

May 15, 2014 - 5:09 pm |

RED BANK: BUDGET IN SPOTLIGHT

Apr 24, 2014

By JOHN T. WARD

Red Bankers with an interest in how much their local government costs them can find out where the money goes at a presentation Thursday night.

That’s when borough hall department heads explain their 2014 funding requests to the public at an annual event inaugurated by Councilman Mike DuPont in 2007.

On the table is the 2014 proposed $21 million spending plan, which town officials said is $218,000 smaller than 2013’s. About $12.6 million of that is to be covered by the local property tax.

Still unknown, however, is what property owners will pay, though preliminary estimates show the owner of a home assessed at the town average – currently estimated at $387,440 – paying $64.77 more this year.

April 24, 2014 - 7:54 am |

RED BANK: TRUSTEES PAN BOROUGH BUDGET

Mar 28, 2014

Barbara Withers, a resident of the Atrium at Navesink senior complex, implores the board to preserve a book-delivery service for its residents. Below, board president John Grandits, left, with Mayor Pasquale Menna outside the library meeting room. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

A plan by the Menna administration to rewrite the proposed Red Bank Public Library budget and undo the recent layoff of half its staff got a cold reception from the library trustees Thursday night.

One or two of the suggested changes, such as leaving the soon-to-be-vacated job of the library director unfunded, appear to be “illegal,” trustee Brigid McCarthy told a packed meeting of library supporters.

Still, Mayor Pasquale Menna, displaying obvious frustration with what he called “drama” surrounding the borough’s recommendations, said the standoff can and will be quickly resolved, even if he has to take unilateral action.

March 28, 2014 - 8:22 am |

RED BANK: LIBRARY LAYOFFS MAY BE REVERSED

Mar 27, 2014

The fate of jobs for three full-time librarians is still up in the air. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

Red Bank officials said they are working toward a budget fix that might undo the layoff of half the staff at the borough library two weeks ago.

At Wednesday night’s borough council meeting, administrator Stanley Sickels said he and borough CFO Eugenia Poulos had developed an alternative to the library’s budget that might “maintain the full-time staff.”

Now, attention turns to the eight-member library board of trustees, which gathers Thursday night in what may be its best-attended meeting in history.

March 27, 2014 - 1:10 pm |

RED BANK: BOARD DEFENDS LIBRARY LAYOFFS

Mar 18, 2014

The library board of the trustees at a meeting in February. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

Responding to “misinformation” and “half-truths… stretched beyond their limits” surrounding layoffs of half the staff at the Red Bank Public Library last week, the library’s board of trustees is pushing back.

In a question-and-answer document prepared by six of eight board members and obtained by redbankgreen, the trustees say that personnel costs accounted for 95 percent of the library budget before the layoffs, which affected six of the 11 staff members.

The layoffs were part of a library “reorganization” that “eliminates our deficit, allows us to right-size the Library for the budget, and sustains the Library for the future,” the trustees say in the Q&A. “The solution implemented [at a board meeting following the layoffs] on March 13 was just one step in a much larger process that began in 2013 when it became clear that even with stringent cuts in expenditures last year, the Library was living beyond its means.”

March 18, 2014 - 9:44 am |

RED BANK: ROBOCALLER DIALS UP TENSION

Jun 13, 2013

By JOHN T. WARD

A Red Bank man who tried to rally last-minute opposition to a bond vote engaged elected officials in a tense exchange over taxes and debt Wednesday night, but got no vocal backing from the audience.

Sean Di Somma, 31, of Morford Place, had robocalled an unspecified number of residents just hours before the bimonthly borough council meeting with a pre-recorded message warning that the governing body was about to “ram through” a $500,000 bond ordinance “to continue their own reckless and out-of-control spending.”

Di Somma did not speak during the public comment session prior to the vote on the bond, which won unanimous approval. Afterward, though, he engaged in an increasingly sharp exchange with Councilman Mike DuPont, each interrupting and telling the other to “hold on.”

June 13, 2013 - 7:55 am |

SEA BRIGHT: HANDLIN TARGETS TAX FORMULA

May 22, 2013

By WIL FULTON

Last month, Sea Bright Mayor Dina Long called a school-tax formula that would sock struggling residents with a 13-percent hike for sending their high schoolers to Shore Regional High School painful before, but after Sandy, unbearable.

Now, Assemblywoman Amy Handlin, right, has stepped up to bat for the storm-shattered borough, offering to find a legislative solution to ease such shocks in the future.

May 22, 2013 - 7:19 am |

RED BANK: A QUIET NIGHT WITH THE BUDGETS

Apr 25, 2013

By WIL FULTON

It was a tale of two tax plans in Red Bank Wednesday night as the mayor and council advanced the 2013 budgets for both the municipality and RiverCenter on a relatively light agenda.

The borough budget proposed at $21.2 million and containing a 7.7-percent tax increase, to 52.9 cents per $100 of valuation was originally scheduled for an adoption vote at the session. An adoption vote is now anticipated at the May 8 meeting, said borough CFO Coleen Lapp.

Meantime, the spending plan, which would have the owner of a home assessed at the borough average $396,000 paying $2,054, is subject to possible changes, she said.

April 25, 2013 - 12:17 pm |

SEA BRIGHT FACES ‘UNBEARABLE’ TAX HIT

Apr 10, 2013

By WIL FULTON

Post-Sandy challenges continue to pile up for the ravaged beach community of Sea Bright, this time in the form of a school tax hike via the Shore Regional High School district.

Borough property owners can expect a 13-percent increase, to 54 cents per $100 of assessed value, meaning that the average home, assessed at $344,696, would pay $1,861 for high school alone.

The rate perpetuates the dramatic disparities in the amounts paid by each of the district’s three sending towns. Sea Bright would pay some $90,000 per borough student at the school, whereas Monmouth Beach, Oceanport and West Long Branch would pay just $12,000 to $13,000, said Mayor Dina Long.

As in the past, the figures are the result of a disputed regional school tax formula about which Sea Bright officials and residents have long complained. Moreover, said Long, they reflect pre-Sandy property assessments, and not the post-Sandy reality.

The regional school tax formula has been a problem before, Long told redbankgreen. “It was painful before, but now after Sandy, its unbearable.

April 10, 2013 - 12:06 pm |

MORANA: SCHOOL TAX COULD’VE BEEN WORSE

Mar 29, 2013

By WIL FULTON

Red Bank’s school board unanimously approved the boroughs 2013-2014 school budget at the Thursday night before a small group of residents and school officials at the primary school.

The spending plan weighed in at $13.2 million, up $522,503, or 4.1 percent, from last year. The increase might have topped 8 percent, had the district chosen to employ “banked cap,” a method that allows districts to exceed the state-mandated limits on budget growth, said Superintendent Laura Morana.

But when we thought about the impact [the tax levy] would have on households, and families for community members in Red Bank, we decided it was too high, Morana said. We wanted to be responsive to the needs of our children meeting their educational needs, having the appropriate personnel, supplies and technology but at the same time, we needed to think about the members of our community, and really think about the impact on the community.

March 29, 2013 - 7:27 am |

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