HonlH A, I intern 26 December '84 34 —

An Editorial Secrets in the Court House

They're nice fellows: Tony Catanoso, Ralph Evans, Jim Kilpatrick, Bill Sturm, Gerry Thornton. , , , But those county freeholders also break the law about once a week, probably 50 times a year, in our opinion. The law is the New Jersey Open Public Meetings Act, commonly referred to as the "Sunshine Law." . . , ., The freeholders abuse it, twist it, mangle it. and, in the pijocess, strangle the public's right Scarcely a i eek goes by that the freeholders don't hold a "private" (translation: secret) meeting behind closed (and locked) doors. So \far this month, they've met "privately on Dfee. 6, 8 (a Saturday and an unadvertised "continuation"), 10, 11 and 20. THEY VIOLATE the Sunshine Law in three Wf^irst, their typical resolutions authorizing private meetings inadequately described the topic to be discussed. They use a stock (and meaningless) phrase, "on legal and personnel matters." The resolution should indicate "generally what matter will be discussed in closed session and when these discussions will be disclosed to the public," according to the New Jersey Department of the Public Advocate. ' More important, many of the topics discussed at these secret sessions are not on the list of 12 "exceptions" to the Open Public Meetings Law. (State-prepared guidelines explaining the 12 appear below). In their Dec. 8, Saturday morning session, for example, the freeholders discussed and agreed upon (possibly with an illegal vote, depending on who you talk to) a retroactive $12,000 raise (total salary, $81,000) for Solicitor Albert M. Ash. IN FACT, the freeholders do whatever they B lease at these sessions, in total disregard of ie law. Two years ago, on Dec. 28, 1982, they divided their departmental responsibilities at a closed session. They even voted on those assignments, eventhough the law specifically requires that all voting be done in open sessions. Finally, the freeholders violate the law by not releasing the minutes of those secret ses-

sions "when the reasons for discussing and acting on it in closed session no longer exist, to quote state guidelines. County Administrator and Clerk to the Board Kathryn Willis is spennding her final weeks before retirement transcribing pages of years-old minutes of private sessions, never released. To our knowledge, the freeholders have only twice in the lasftwo years released minutes of closed sessions — after requests in writing from this newspaper in behalf of the ''"'The freeholders have made a joke of the Open public Meetings Law. But it is no '^COUNTYGRAND JURY recently sharply criticized the Middle Township Sewerage Commission for Open Public Meetings Act violations which, it said, "undermine the public's faith in the ability of such a public authority to operate legitimately and effectively." There apparently were no indictments because the violations "were not done knowingly and intentionally." The freeholders do not have this excuse. They know what they're doing. And they have failed to respond to our private urging that they stop. The freeholders will reorganize on Jan. 3, saying goodbye to veteran member Anthony T Catanoso, welcoming new member Harbet (Chuck) Frederick, and setting their procedural rules for 1985. It is the appropriate time to establish a new and correct policy on private meetings: Use them only to discuss, not vote upon, topics specifically permitted by the law. Explain those topics adequately in the resolutions approving the closed sessions. And release the minutes as soon as the justification for secrecy is gone, which is ususally almost immediate. Finally, since minutes do not always adequately capture the essence of a meeting, the freeholders should tape record their sessions, as many Cape May County municipalities already do. , The freeholders were elected by a public that trusted them to govern wisely and honestly. The freeholders, in turn, should trust the public with the knowledge to judge their performance.

Who Wants To Try And Slip Into An -R" Rated Movie When You Can Watch The News On TV7'"

Our Readers Write Names of Virtue? To The Editor: The other day I was walking down by the ocean. It was a mild afternoon. The sun was untouched by clouds and waves rolled timelessly along. I don't know why but I thought back a few years ago when I was in college in Florida. I remembered this guy named Loyal. That's right... Loyal! He was in one of my classes. He • wore old clothes, had a dirty beard and smelled. He carried a toothbrush in his rear pocket and would carry this bag around with him with his clothes and personal belongings in it. I saw a palmetto bug jump out of it once. Loyal didn't talk a whole lot. He was a real loner. I spoke only once to him and asked, "Why the name, Loyal?" He replied, "...because everyone can relate to it." MY THOUGHTS of that episode were interrupted momentarily. I wondered what it would be like if we all had first names like Loyal. Names of virtue. Maybe Kindness and Respect. How about Honor and Love. Charity and Humility. Decency and Concern. The list is endless. Then, maybe our personalities would reflect our name6. Well, I just dreamed along the rest of that afternoon. The sun was beginning to set and I was getting tired of being alone. I thought once more about Loyal. About his name. Do we relate with it? I mumbled something and went home. MICHAEL J. STUBBS % North Cape May

Guidelines on Open Public Meetings Law

(ED. NOTE. Following is taken from " Guidelines on the Open Public Meetings Law.'' a state pamphlet that explains a 1975 law with the general requirements that "all meetings of public bodies shall be open to the public at all times.") EXECUTIVE OR CLOSED SESSIONS May a public body hold a closed session to discuss a matter before it votes on it? Answer: Generally, no. A public body may hold a closed session to discuss a matter only if that matter falls within one of the exceptions to the public meetings requirement contained in the Law and only if the procedure set forth in the Law for the holding of closed sessions is followed. If the matter to be discussed does not fall within one of the stated exceptions, then even if the matter is sensitive or

controversial, both the discussion and any voting must take place in public. What are the exceptions to the requirements that a public body hold its meetings in public? Answer: The law allows, but does not require a public body to hold a closed session to discuss or act upon any of the following:

1. matters rendered confidential by Federal law or that, if publicly disclosed, would impair the receipt of Federal funds; 2. matters rendered confidential by State statute or court rule; 3. material that would constitute an unwarranted invasion of individual privacy if disclosed (Generally, to fall within this exceptiion, the material would have to identify (Page 35 Please)

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—Whither Onions? On Al, Red , Little John

By JOE ZELNICK This will be short because I've got to go chill some Ripple for New Year's Eve. The last column of the year seems the ideal time to clean up some questions that keep clinging, like the needles from a Christmas tree. People who apparently confuse me with the "Mr. FixIt" from the old Philadelphia Bulletin have asked me such things as: What is Middle Township sewage treatment plant operator Walt Turnier doing at the pump station at midnight? Is county counsel Al Ash worth $81,000 a year? Would the proposed radio station in Court House interfere with TV reception at the Bellevue? WHO IS THIS GUY "Red" who has his name on so many local license plates? Why isn't the Court House Post Office open on Saturdays? How come none of the four paintings the county purchased for a thousand bucks for its permanent art collection were done by county artists? Which Herald-Lantern contributor has "Little John" tattooed on her left arm? Why will Gerry Thornton be the next director of the Board of Freeholders? I DON'T KNOW the answers to all those questions, only -* 'horn ^ | Turnibi Wuo ummug me midnight .oil because^ne^fthe^

two pumps was down. Ash's $81,000 a year ($1,557 a week) is no small piece of change. But a person could probably make even more in this county selling "Sorry, We're Closed" signs. The artists the county is paying $250 apiece hail from Philadelphia and Lancaster, Pa., because they won art shows in Cape May, North Wildwood, Stone Harbor and Ocean City this summer. You know how greedy those summer people are. As for the Court House Post Office, reportedly the only one in the county closed on Saturdays, the answer I got was that the Feds tried to save money a dozen years ago by closing all post offices on Saturday. But they coupled that order with a request to hear if anybody complained. Most towns complained and the Feds reneged. Court House (yawn) didn't, and remains closed. NOW LET ME ASK you a question. In an effort to increase my cooking skills, I recently bought my first onion and sliced it into a frying pan to roast with some porkchops. A mere hour later, the chops were done, but the onions were gone, not a trace to be found. I never left the house and no one entered. Where did the onions go? Finally, this newspaper is looking for a slogan for '85, to replace the "More in *84" that motivated us the last 51 weeks. We want something with reader appeal, like "All the News That's Fit to Print," or "Cooler bv a Mile," or "Don't Throw It; Stow It." A prize will go to the best entry. And remember, this is a family newspaper.