Recreation committee may be put out of commission
Panel has to follow new rules to comply with
state regulations

OCEANPORT — The borough’s recreation committee will need to change its form of organization in order to continue its financial practices.

Currently the recreation committee which has 13 members appointed by the mayor and council will need to, under statutory requirements, change its formation from a committee to a commission, or must change the way the money it raises is deposited.

The matter was brought to the attention of the council by the borough’s auditor, Bob Hulsart of Armour Hulsart and Company, Wall, after reviewing this year’s budget.

"This has gone unnoticed," said Councilman Philip Apruzzi, "for the past 35 years."

Currently the committee raises money each year which is then deposited into a trust fund held by the borough, and checks are signed by the chief financial officer.

According to Apruzzi, the committee spends its money by purchasing park equipment, sponsoring bus trips, landscaping and doing baseball field maintenance. For the committee to spend the money, noted Apruzzi, the committee votes on how and where to spend it, then it is brought before the council for its approval.

But in order to continue this practice, suggested Hulsart, the committee would need to change into a commission with five elected members who would serve three-year terms.

The committee still has the option to remain as is but the money, said Apruzzi, "would automatically go into the surplus fund of the borough’s budget, and committee members would lose control of those dollars."

As a commission, according to Hulsart, the money would be retained in the current trust fund, and the commissioners would have full control over how the money is spent.

Apruzzi, as council liaison to the committee, said, "Spending would still have to be approved by the commission and the council. Everything would remain the same; only the formation of the organization will change."

The committee which showed revenue of $26,000 in this year’s budget obtains its money through donations, fees charged for a six-week summer action camp for children between 5 and 12, and donations for the use of various borough recreational facilities.

As an example of how the money is spent, Apruzzi noted, that just recently the committee donated funds to develop a tot play area inside Charles Park. The construction of the play area totaled $23,000 which was offset by a state recreational safety grant in the amount of $10,000. "The committee picked up the remaining $13,000," said Apruzzi.

Borough Attorney Francis A. Margalotti will look into the matter to get the specifics on the ramifications of making such a change and creating a borough ordinance in establishing such a commission.

Apruzzi noted that if the committee is changed to a commission, its current members can still be involved with the exception that the commissioners will be responsible to oversee all its practices.