Resident questions Township Administrator's moves

How far will appointed Wantage Township Administrator Jim Doherty go to push a special assessment on 720 residents of the R-2 Zone? I refer to a document outlining a possible step in the continuing saga of how to tax the residents of Lake Neepaulin. According to a Jan. 3, 2008 e-mail from Doherty, obtained through an OPRA request, a plan was in place to assess homeowners in the R-2 Zone for repairs for the dam at Lake Neepaulin through a commercial loan, should the NJDEP not grant the loan needed by Friends of Lake Neepaulin (FOLN). Evidently, a special meeting was held on Jan. 24, with only Doherty, relevant FOLN members, advisors or professionals, with invites to one member of the Township Committee, municipal attorney and the tax assessor. There would not be a record of this meeting, like minutes or a recording, because the entire Town Council wasn’t required to be there. I find this sneaky and typical of their behavior. The proof of this meeting is in the Jan. 3 and Jan. 31 minutes published on the township Web site. If the loan scenario unfolds, there are three possible outcomes that I could see. One spells out a scenario where if FOLN must go for a commercial 20-year $1 million loan, 100 vacant lots would each pay $70 annually, 90 lakefront properties would each pay $280 a year and the remaining 530 properties would pay the balance of the debt service of $124.15 each a year. The Township would pledge to help repay the loan in the event of default by FOLN. The state Constitution prohibits a municipality from giving “any money or property, or loan its money or credit, to or in aid of any individual, association or corporation, or become security for, or be(ing) directly or indirectly the owner of, any stock or bonds of any association or corporation.” So how can Wantage Township pledge to help repay the loan for any reason? Doherty is paid salary to work for all the people of Wantage. Who or what gives him the authority to make the decisions he does on our tax money? It’s time for our elected officials to realize what has been going on and take action. We don’t need pompous officials who allow violations of state statutes and figure they’ll deal with it if lawsuits are filed. They forget who pays their salaries and benefits. Perhaps it’s time for the administrator’s resignation if not termination. Kathleen Gorman Wantage