Weather: Cloudy this morning with showers during the afternoon. High 43F. Winds at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 80%..Northern Jersey could see freezing rain this afternoon
- KA"H: According to U.S. Census data, Lakewood Township is number 1 in the country (minimum 50,000 residents) with the largest percentage of residents under 5 years of age - 18%. Number 2 is Lehi, Utah at 12.2%.23,851 children were born in Lakewood from 2016 through 2020. (reporter Onejerseyschore)
- BDE. Levaya of R' Berel Brody Z"L brother of Rav Pinchos shlita and Dayan Rav Tzvi Brody shlita at Lakewood bais olam 9:30 pm
-CDC director Walensky: "What the vaccines can't do anymore is prevent transmission."
- Horrific Bronx fire leaves at least 19 dead, including 9 children dozens more critically injured. The five-alarm blaze broke out just before 11 a.m. at 333 E 181st St, a 19-story building in the West Bronx,
New Jersey on Sunday reported another 12 COVID-19 deaths and 26,615 positive cases,
- Tehillim: Message from Philadelphia yeshiva to daven for Rebbetzin Temi Kamenetzky wife of the R"Y Rav Shmuel shlita. Who is in need of Rachmei Shamayim. name is Tema bas Charna Raise תמה בת טשארנא רייזל. Tehillim is being recited in the Yeshiva
- CDC Director Walensky says CDC will provide data on "how many of the 836,000 deaths in the U.S. linked to Covid are from Covid or how many are with Covid,"
- Steep rise in serious coronavirus cases, in Israel climbing from 172 the previous day to 205. Out of those severely ill, 48 are connected to ventilators. 17,521 new coronavirus cases had been diagnosed over Shabbos.
- Lakewood MUA board members will get a $10,000 raise for their annual "compensation" going up from $5,000 to $15,000 annually. This comes right after the board voted to increase water rates on Lakewood residents by 15% over the next 3 years. Lakewood residents serviced by the MUA will see an immediate 7.5% increase in their bills. The township committee voted to give the raise with a first reading of the ordnance, the second reading and vote is this Thursday at the township board meeting. Members on the MUA include Mayor Ray Coles, committeeman Meir Lichtenstein, Mrs. Yocheved Miller wife of deputy Mayor Menashe Miller, state senator Bob Singer and others who do not reside in Lakewood or in areas serviced by the LTMUA.
- Omicron hits Israeli Roshei Yeshiva. Rav Gershon Eidelstein, Rav Dovid Cohen R"Y Chevron,Rav Baruch Weissbeker R"Y Bais Mattisyahu, Rav Yehoshua Eichenstein R"Y Yad Aaron, Rav Yaakov Stefansky R"Y Torah betifarta, all tested positive for covid and diing well with mild symptoms.
- Lakewood residents will be eligible for up to $2,500- $3,000 for tuition relief or towards educational expenses. The grant came from the American rescue plan and will be managed by Agudath Israel. There are limited funds available and applicants will be entered into a lottery. To be eligible you have to show a loss of income on your 2019 and 2020 tax return which means that alot of families will not be eligible. More info at TVOL issue this and will be posted at Agudah website
- OU statement: "But we may not allow this moment to pass without increasing awareness of the more prevalent and hidden incidence of ... abuse between siblings, family, and peers. These are the stories that occur far more often but due to their narrower scope and lower profile rarely create a headline. As a result, we tend to be far less educated about this danger, leaving us less vigilant in detecting it and less receptive to claims that it has occurred".
-Strickmans yeshiva siyum Kesivas Sefer Torah in memory of R' Refoel Rubin Zt"l T at Estreia 978 River Ave 1:00 pm.
Vizhnitz Rebbe from Kiamisha NY will be staying in Lakewood today through Tuesday at 1002 W. Kennedy
- Midwinter giveaway family fun event today Jan 9th at Oorah headquarters 1:00 pm -4:00 pm pm1785 Swarthmore ave. Air mattresses Toys, Juicers, Blenders Balloons and Feivish While supplies last
How much money did lakewood township get from the rescue plan. They got the funds because of the poor amount of residents living here. They are throwing some crumbs out to the sheepul. How much did the township keep? who else got the funds
ReplyDeleteHow much us Agudah getting to manage this grant?
Did any taxes go down
How do they have no shame???
ReplyDeleteSuch brazen CHUTZPAH from the entire township committee to raise money from the poor and give themselves a yearly raise of ten thousand dollars
This stinks
Unbelievable.
They should all resign in shane.
First the Twp committee members allowed the MUA commissioners pass a cumulative 15.2% raise on all customers in their service area. Now that there's more $$$ in the pot, the next step is for them to dip in and triple their compensation.
DeleteWhy can't I have that position?? After all, I'm gonna have to pony up more money thanks to the bigger bill they voted to give me. I'll even agree to actually study whatever I'm asked to vote on.
Let's not forget about the fancy health insurance plan (or payment in lieu) which the 7 Commissioners are receiving on top of their salary. It's not just 15K. The benefits are worth far more.
DeleteLakewood township’s Land Use board members conduct double the number of meetings, with each lasting a few hours. They also have to spend real time preparing and studying the often-complicated applications beforehand. Their decisions impact this entire town for generations. But yet, they aren't getting compensated by the residents or even receiving free insurance benefits. They must volunteer for public service.
DeleteWhy should the MUA members get all of these benefits for practically no work when other hard-working members on other boards/commissions get nothing, besides for the satisfying privilege of serving the people of Lakewood? Whatever money comes into the authority belongs to the people, and should be used for strictly legitimate expenses. Lakewood’s MUA customers cannot afford higher utility rates.
This latest committee ordinance only adds insult to injury by tripling the compensation of highly connected individuals, the majority of which will suffer no impact as a result of their own decisions.
STOP the madness already!!
Oh no worries the developers take care of them
DeleteLets not forget who we are .
DeleteWe are merely subjects to our great and smarter leaders .
It`s only right .
They need the extra money to have the menuchas hanefesh to be able to sit down bekoved rosh and decide what is best for us this way we dont need to think anymore
@ Anon 9:25, it wasn't the township committe that got a raise. It was the MUA, which is a water company that serves part of Lakewood that is not served by the regular water company. Of course it's not a good thing, but it is not the twp. committe that did this.
ReplyDeleteThe same clowns sit on both boards the township committee voted to give themselves a raise for their seat on the MUA. And this is not a regular water company the MUA is part of the township govt.
DeleteAnon 11:01,
DeleteYou are wrong. The township committeemen are the individuals voting to raise the salaries for the MUA members, because it was the committee that originally established the MUA as its subsidiary Commission.
Interestingly, Coles, Lichtenstein and Miller placed themselves and Mrs. Miller on the MUA commission. So, they will basically vote to give themselves an extra 10K.
What’s even more interesting is that this whole shtick to triple their salaries is literally the committee’s very first Ordinance for the year 2022. It’s that important that it was the first order of business and comes before all other pressing matters!
The MUA commissioners meet only 12 times a year. So at a 15K annual salary they're getting paid $1250 per month to attend one meeting that doesn't even last an hour. And often, the members don’t even attend the meeting but still receive their very large payouts. Why is this being allowed?
ReplyDeleteAnd Ray Coles did not join on the meeting he got out of having to vote for the increase but it wont help he is just as responsible people are not stupid anymore. They are not fooled by the fake PR on the Poop
DeleteSo not only are 5 out of 7 commissioners - who voted to raise our rates by over 15% - either not residing in the MUA service area or not even living in Lakewood, but now they also triple their compensation for the hard work of simply nodding Yes to the few resolutions that that comes their way.
DeleteIf anything, the commissioner positions should only be handed out to actual MUA customers who actually pay into the system. The 5 Committeemen should immediately put a stop to the freeloading!
All of the MUA commissioners are appointed to their positions by the township committee. These are the individuals who our 5 committeemen appointed to vote on all MUA matters, including water/sewer utility rates:
DeleteRobert W. Singer, Chairman (non-Lakewood resident)
Samuel Flancbaum (non-Lakewood resident)
Raymond Coles (resides in service area)
Craig Theibault (resides in service area)
Anne Fish (does not reside in service area)
Meir Lichtenstein (does not reside in service area)
Yocheved Miller (does not reside in service area)
Justin Flancbaum, LTMUA executive director
Who says the people aren't stupid anymore and aren't fooled by the fake PR. Don't they vote in the same committee again and again instead of throwing the bums out?
DeleteMayor Raymond Coles said that he nominated Yocheved Miller to the appointment after the deputy mayor, her husband, asked him to do so.
Delete"When Menashe (Miller) suggested that he would like to see her appointed I told him that I had no problem with it," Coles told the Press. "I've known her for 16, 17 years, as long as he's been on the committee."
The Millers did not respond to calls and emails requesting comment.
Committeeman Meir Lichtenstein, who's an alternate MUA commissioner, said that he supported the appointment because he believed the mayor would nominate someone who would work for the benefit of the township.
Coles said Mrs. Miller has no prior experience with any board that he knew of. He said she "helped to run the Lakewood Chamber of Commerce for a few years now."
Her husband, the deputy mayor, is executive director of the chamber; his wife's name does not appear in the chamber directory.
Coles said that he doesn't see the appointment creating any conflict of interest "because the MUA rarely would do anything that comes into conflict or has a direct impact on township committee business."
How is it even legally possible for the Township Committee to vote on the MUA raise if 3 of the 5 committeemen have a clear conflict of interest???
ReplyDeleteThe jokes on us. Because the committe members know they will be voted back into power, regardless of all the posts here. We are the fools
ReplyDeleteIt is disgusting what miller and Lichtenstein did. Disgusting.
ReplyDeleteWhen politicians act as politicians, why is that disgusting? Why do we still expect them to act as bnei torah? That ship has long sailed.
DeleteMost neighboring MUA's, including those with a service area several times the size of Lakewood's, give their commissioners an annual maximum of either 2K or 3.5K in compensation.
ReplyDeleteWhy are our committeemen voting to approve such an out of control compensation package? Why are they not feeling our pain, especially in this economy? There are over 1000 residents that have high-interest tax liens placed by the LTMUA (which give legal power to the investor purchasers to eventually foreclose) on their homes, because they're struggling and still can't pay the full bill.
How in good conscience can this Committee even introduce a THREE HUNDRED PERCENT raise in salaries for the commissioners?? If anything, they should vote on a REDUCTION in their salaries.
https://hamodia.com/2022/01/09/nj-legislature-to-vote-on-bill-to-entrench-roe-v-wade-protections/
ReplyDeleteMy reaction to the committee's ordinance to give bigger salaries to their cronies is that it's plain and simple a slap in the face to the taxpaying MUA customer. We voted in these committeemen to serve our public. I get angry when I find out how they take care of themselves through various means. I'm going to be watching this vote closely. It better not be a other disgrace!
ReplyDeleteMore breaking news about the committee coming tomorrow. Stay tuned..
ReplyDeleteCDC director Walensky: "What the vaccines can't do anymore is prevent transmission."
ReplyDeleteThis is from August...
https://www.stardem.com/news/national/cdc-covid-vaccines-won-t-stop-transmission-fully-vaccinated-can-still-get-spread-delta-strain/article_5f83d0cb-8b0a-535d-bbad-3f571754e5ae.html