Ewing mayor feeling dissed by his council

Saturday, March 22, 2008

By Rick Murray
EWING Its a tempest too big for a teapot but maybe just the right size to ruffle feathers in a whole hen
house or, in this case, a town hall.
Republican Mayor Jack Ball has been complaining for weeks that the townships Democrat-controlled
township council wont let him speak out at meetings.
The last council meeting was what you might call the straw that broke the camels back, Ball told The
Trentonian last week.
Council Vice President Joe Murphy, sitting in at councils helm in the absence of Council President Bert
Steinmann, had a verbal dust up with the mayor, and so the tempest came to a head and naturally made
headlines.
Im a patient guy, but I have a right to speak up, said Ball, who secured a deal with ruling Democrats at
the January reorganization, which said they would all try to get along. The mayor said Murphy wouldnt
call on him when he raised his hand at the last, recent council session. He just ignored me, huffed Ball.
And that wasnt the first time. Ball says hes tried many times to get councils attention at their meetings,
but has gotten the cold shoulder, even though he says procedure is clearly on his side.
The Faulkner Act is the state law. Its rules determine how the different forms of local government
organize themselves and function.
In Ewing, the township has a strong mayor/council form of government, which means the mayor devises
policy for the day-to-day operation of the town and executes it with the help of an administrator. Council is
the legislative branch that holds the purse strings, and its president organizes how that body conducts its
business.
Which means the mayor, technically, has every right to give input at council meetings indeed, his input is
generally invited and necessary but how and when he puts in his two cents is up to council. Or at least,
thats how Steinmann reads the rules.
Hell be talking and then get in a discussion with a citizen in the audience, and that discussion gets to sort
of take over the meeting, Steinmann said of Balls tactics.
Whatever the case, Ball said he and council really dont disagree much on substantive policy issues. And
in fact, the two branches of township government mesh pretty well, having for months worked to whittle
down a pretty ugly-looking tax rate increase for fiscal 2008.
We were looking at a 43-cent increase, which by working together, we managed to get down to an 18-
cent increase, said Ball, adding that no inflation-fed tax hike is ever pretty but at least now theres some
lipstick on that pig.
Which, in the end, may be prettier than a camel with a broken back, or anything in the hen house.
Ball invites everybody to meetings he himself holds on singular topics of importance the third Wednesday
of every month, starting at 7 p.m. at town hall.
URL: http://www.trentonian.com/articles/2008/03/22/past stories/20006113.prt
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