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Middle Recycler’s $180G Tab Drives Taxpayers' Demand for ‘Every Dime’

Government | Tue, 08/05/2008 - 12:40 pm | Read 1251 | Commented 10 | Emailed 1
Tags: court house, host community benefit, mining, recycling

By Joe Hart

COURT HOUSE –– A contract that provides a host community benefit from a local recycler was again the major topic of discussion at Middle Township Committee’s meeting Aug 4.

Albrecht and Heun, a mining and recycling company, made a pact with the township in 1990 to pay $1 per ton of recyclable material taken onto its Goshen Road facility.

The company, also known as Future Mining and Recycling Inc., met this agreement by accepting municipal recyclables such as fallen leaves and giving the township other materials such as mulch at no charge.

The agreement was put under some scrutiny over the past several months and a recent review of township’s records revealed that the company had been calculating the benefit incorrectly for several years and owes the township over $180,000.

Taxpayers suggested to the governing body that results from that review, conducted by Municipal Auditor Glen Ortman of Ford, Scott & Associates, LLC, might be incomplete. They said the auditor’s report was based solely on receipts from municipal trucks that had picked up and dropped off material at the recycling center as well as periodic reports generated by Future Mining.

The residents said a more thorough audit of company records and outside contractors could reveal a much larger benefit owed to the township. Dan Lockwood, Republican challenging Mayor F. Nathan Doughty in the November election, said the agreement was potentially worth over $200,000 per year.

The residents asked the township to investigate the matter further.

Sam Kelly, of the Middle Taxpayers’ Association, characterized it not as a request but as a demand.

“We want every dime that the taxpayers are owed,” Kelly said. “We want this issue pursued aggressively.”

Kelly noted that it wasn’t a township investigation that revealed the $180,000 discrepancy. It was by the efforts of Lois Shuman that the money was discovered.

Shuman, along with many other township residents, oppose Future Mining’s plans to transfer its current operations on Goshen Road to another site on Indian Trail Road in Burleigh.

In researching Albrecht and Heun, Shuman discovered the host community benefit agreement, searched through the records and found the discrepancy.

Committee members said the township is currently barred from recovering the $180,000 from Future Mining due to pending litigation, but will do so as soon as the matter is resolved.

The governing body, however, did not commit to any further investigation or audits of the benefit agreement.

Committeeman Steve Barry said that Ortman’s report was a “very thorough professional review of the agreement.”
In a press release dated June 20, Barry reported that the benefit records were complete and the computations and tonnage reports were accurate.

Contact Hart at (609) 886-8600 Ext 35 or at: jhart@cmcherald.com

Print | Email Updated 1 year 32 weeks ago

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Comments (10)

We welcome your thoughts, stories and information related to this article.

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Wed, 08/06/2008 - 9:28pm - Posted by: Anonymous

Other records would be found at the contractors who have brought material onto site. You go directly to them and ask to see them. All the demolition that was done through out the county where else did the stuff go???Daly's recycling>only the smart ones. Garden State didn't open until 2006, that's a whole lot of demolition going on in that time. Avalon, the Wildwoods, Stone Harbor, etc, etc....... The truth will set you free, Maybe that's what some of them need.

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Wed, 08/06/2008 - 4:54am - Posted by: Anonymous

Excellent investigation by the Middle Twp. Taxpayers Association and Lois Shuman in particular. The private citizens have been kept in the dark for too long and the politicians have had too much opportunity for questionable "deals". More towns need to check out exactly what is going on in their local government.

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Tue, 08/05/2008 - 11:06pm - Posted by: Anonymous

Where else would records be found?????

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Tue, 08/05/2008 - 6:24pm - Posted by: Anonymous

Just a thought...

I wonder what "Mr. Fiscally Responsible," Chuck Leusner, has to say about this situation?Wasn't he in office when this deal went down?

EdR

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Tue, 08/05/2008 - 6:10pm - Posted by: Anonymous

Thanks, Joe Hart for shining the Herald's light on this issue in Middle. Until our government is transparent, the community desperately needs impartial journalism.

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Tue, 08/05/2008 - 5:02pm - Posted by: Anonymous

If I read the Gazette article relating to this matter correctly, I would have to agree with Dan. I think we may be owed quite a bit more than $180,000. I have heard speculation that it could be as high as $500,000...could be much higher.

I don't think an internal investigation by Middle officials will bring us "every dime." Perhaps, the interests of our residents...and justice would be served better if this was investigated by state officials.

Again...many thanks to Lois Shuman.

EdR

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Tue, 08/05/2008 - 4:41pm - Posted by: Anonymous

SOUNDS LIKE THERES A LOT MORE THAN MONEY AT STAKE. LOOKS LIKE SOMETHING CRIMINAL?

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Tue, 08/05/2008 - 4:37pm - Posted by: Anonymous

Get rid of them....Jim Alexis has been running the Township anyway....Nate might have a sweet demeanor, but so what...him, Susan, and the rest only worry about their own, pockets and family...not the people they are supposedly working for.........congrats to the Taxpayer's Association.......dig up those backroom deals....Albrecht and Heun has enough money...and they always seem to get whatever bid that comes through....take a look at the new fire department.

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Tue, 08/05/2008 - 3:57pm - Posted by: Anonymous

For months, Middle Twp officials treated residents who asked about the Host Community Benefits with arrogance and disdain. Future Mining did not "meet" its obligations with trades of leaves, etc. -- that is what is being claimed now that it was revealed that Twp officials ignored the obligation. What did they get out of turning a blind eye? That story has yet to be told. Meantime, the Twp should hire professional investigators to reconstruct what should have been paid. and maybe that will take gathering invoices, and, if necesary, contracters' records. And estimating how many trucks were let onto the site without being weighted. Also, it seems there may be parallell records that no one knew about to get rid of. Another story yet to be told. Investigators must also trace what Future Mining supposedly "wrote off" -- those goods and services were not subject to public bidding, all those transactions must be voided. If the Twp Committee members were acting in the PUBLIC's interest these things would be considered. Let the chips fall where they may. Instead, they call a non-audit an "audit". Here is the ultimate image: what happened here is the same as if a private taxpayer met with Alexis, or with Dougthy, or with whoever, and made a private deal so that they did not have to pay their property taxes.

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Tue, 08/05/2008 - 12:47pm - Posted by: Anonymous

Vote 'em out, time to clean house...dirty, and apathetic pols. Bah!



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