Lack of Transparency and Administrative Oversight

Transparency and administrative oversight seem to not excess in Little Falls.

 

In the past there has been over a years delay in the review and approval of Council meeting minutes.  For instance, at the Council's meeting of July 11, 2016 minutes from the regular meetings of October 2014, November 24, 2014 and December 29, 2014, as well as the minutes for the workshop meetings of November 10, 2014, December 8, 2014 and January 12, 2015 were approved by the Council.

 

While there has been a concerted administrative effort to prepare minutes for the Council's review and approval in a timely manner, the Township has still fallen short in meeting this objective.

 

According to the NJ Open Public Meeting Act, governing bodies are required to keep minutes and to make them available to the public for inspection and copying.  In addition, the Governor's Best Practices guidelines include a criteria for the timely posting of council agendas and minutes on the town's web site.

 

Failure to adhere to these guidelines is evident by the fact that the minutes approved by the Council at its September 12, 2016 meeting, which included minutes from sixteen meetings held between July 13, 2015 and April 25, 2016 have not, as of his date, been posted on the town's web site.

 

Administrative oversight to ensure compliance with governmental guidelines is lacking. 

 

In the interest of greater transparency it is time that the Mayor stopped allowing the fox to watch the hen house.