Our government enacts laws, rules and regulations partly in order to harness those who enter government for personal gain and advantage. It does appear that in New Jersey the need is greater than in other places, which is unfortunate. Several state laws and regulations require that before a municipality may sell any public property, certain procedural mandates must be satisfied. Chief among them, when conveying real property to the State of New Jersey, is the introduction and passage of a municipal ordinance. In the borough of Highlands, at least under the lackluster leadership of former Mayor Richard O'Neil, respect for those particular rules seemed to be absent last August 2007.

One of the important rights of the municipal ordinance process is public participation through a public hearing. That is when residents and other interested people can speak before the governing body either in favor or in opposition. It is what makes our way of government so beautiful and powerful.

On Aug. 17, then Mayor O'Neil executed deeds in order to convey certain property to the NJDOT without first introducing an ordinance or holding hearings. Instead, he signed those deeds rather secretly and then in October 2007 introduced an ordinance and held a hearing relative to whether the borough should sell or not.

How amusing it must have been for the former mayor and those members on the Borough Council who knew about the secret conveyance, to listen to residents argue for and against the proposed ordinance knowing that the properties had already been sold and the deeds filed with the county clerk. What a shocking example of disrespect O'Neil and others still serving on the Highlands Borough Council displayed regarding the right of the people to fully participate in their local government. A call for an investigation into the conduct of these officials and others has been raised. I only hope that Mayor Anna Little is listening.

Jim White

Keyport