Pay-to-play laws up for public review
Three ordinances proposed to squelch all phases of the practice
BY ELAINE VAN DEVELDE
Staff Writer

TINTON FALLS — After a year of wavering on the subject, the Borough Council has decided that three local laws to put a stop to rewarding campaign contributors with professional services contracts are better than just one.

After introducing the three ordinances to limit and/or halt what is known as pay-to-play practices, the public will now have a chance to have input on them.

A public hearing on all three was scheduled to be held at the March 15 Borough Council meeting 7:30 p.m. in town hall on Tinton Avenue.

“We figured that this would be the best way — through three ordinances — to make sure we are clear on all aspects of not tolerating the practice,” said Borough Council President Jerome Donlon. “So, we have one limiting contributions of people who hold liquor licenses in town, another to outline how any Zoning Board applicants must indicate if they have contributed to any elected official’s campaign, and how much; and, the one that most towns have, to limit political election campaign contributions by professionals who stand to gain a no-bid contract with the town.”

That ordinance is modeled after one crafted by the statewide group Common Cause, which has lobbied against pay-to-play.

“That one has a dollar limit on campaign contributions,” Donlon explained. “It’s $400 for individuals and up to $2,500 for groups.”

Despite the effort, Councilman Peter Maclearie’s said his feeling has been that the ordinance should have been on the books long ago.

Maclearie is running against Mayor Ann McNamara for mayor in May and pay-to-play reform is a large issue on his campaign platform. However, he and McNamara have pledged to work together on the reform.