Garbage time
The history of Sea Girt is an ebb and flow in its relationship between residents and leaders. The pleasant surroundings of the beach, woods, and nicely ordered residential housing have always attracted a comfortable populace who expect high quality. Every few years, the leadership oversteps or overspends, and the pushback is clear. The population is smart, and politicians should never underestimate them. Every Mayor seems to have their year of reconning. Mayor Black’s was a new Borough Hall, Mayor Doyle was the rebuild of the Stockton Hotel in 1963. 1989 was Mayor MacInnes’.
Still the “New Guy” after 10 years on Council, and then two as mayor. He was a pilot, first for the Air Force, and then as a Captain with Eastern Airlines. He retired as a Brigadier General. He knew how to command.
New Jersey’s garbage crisis hit Sea Girt. The syringe tide and dumping abuses led to restrictions and new mandates on landfills, which led to higher hauling and dumping fees. The state also mandated recycling, which fell exclusively on town budgets. While the recycled glass, aluminum, and paper netted Sea Girt $8,000 in its first year, the public works budget tripled.
The phased closing of the Fresh Kills landfill for all of New York’s Garbage increased dumping fees everywhere (EPA Photo)
Health insurance costs for municipal workers and teachers outpaced inflation, and the town lost its fight over beach fees, settling their lawsuit from the public advocate by lowering badge costs 65%. In the town’s defense of the beach utility, it noted beach revenues were spent only on the beach, but the revenues were down by $89,000, and this certainly could not help the town’s budget.
Mayor MacInnes and the council proposed a referendum to exceed the state budget cap by $188,000, or a disaster would occur. The March special vote on the emergency spending offered voters some tough choices. Voting it down would force the borough to fire four public works employees, two of the eleven police positions, fire the librarian and completely eliminate the recreation budget. No one wanted a large tax increase. Keeping pace with inflation was not sufficient. Municipal salaries that failed to keep pace with neighboring towns would open the town to union lawsuits & mediation to force further adjustments. Trenton had cut aid to municipalities. Although Sea Girt was never a large recipient, suddenly every dollar mattered.
Residents had many questions. M. Clay Adams, of Stockton Blvd., nearing 80 and worried about tax affordability, got involved, with a well-written letter to the Coast Star challenging the budget and asking a litany of questions.
Borough spending in the past five years had gone up from $673,000 to almost $1.5 million without much change. School enrollment had fallen, and costs had still risen. This was the first hint of the demographic problems we have today.
In the lone public meeting, MacInnes spoke for forty minutes about the fiscal problems, explaining why they were out of the council’s hands; mostly mandates, union, pension, and garbage. Higher valuations in Sea Girt caused a higher burden from the county. He finished by stating that if people wanted to maintain the fine character of the community, they had to pass this budget or “a diminished Sea Girt” would be the result.
Many budget questions were not answered to voters’ satisfaction. Residents voted it down handily.
Council went to work to manage with the lower budget amount, and MacInnes put the blame squarely on Trenton. But disaster never came.
Mayor MacInnes in 1990 (Frontline Video)
MacInnes, to his credit, cut spending, including eliminating the $17,000 token payment to Mayor and Council members. They got creative and minimized the ‘diminishment’ of Sea Girt. Volunteers helped where there were shortcomings. Other than the beach erosion issue, the community continued to thrive. The council also got a little more flexible.
A 1988 ordinance restricting parking on the West side of town after 9 PM to combat the patrons of Jimmy Byrnes Sea Girt Inn caused problems for the residents’ guests. The council worked out a sticker system to permit some overnight parking.
The Railroad Plaza was dedicated to the Mayor who survived his first budget challenge
The town worked. The people and their leaders cared about its success. The school’s reputation continued to improve, as did the academic performance of the students.
19-year Sea Girt Elementary School Basketball Coach Frank Matatizelle celebrated his 200th victory in 1989. He had seven first-place teams since the school opened in 1970. The girls’ team was extremely competitive and often practiced against and beat boys’ teams. They were undefeated in 1985 and 1991, with many of their best players contributing to the excellent record of the Manasquan HS squad. Many Sea Girt kids played their first basketball in Rec programs, which were slated to be cut. Parents pulled together to keep it going. They were a tight community and pulled together despite the budget problems.
The tight community would be rocked by events in 1990.