JACKSON – A township resident called for the removal of the Planning Board’s chairman, alleging a breach of ethics and a conflict of interest that officials later said was unfounded.
Elenor Hannum, who has been critical of certain construction projects and code enforcement over the years, spoke before the Township Council about Jackson’s ethics.
Hannum said Planning Board Chairman Tzvi Herman has responsibilities to rewrite the township’s master plan and that he has “the appearance of conflict, violating both New Jersey ethics law and municipal land use law.”
She accused him of showing favoritism “in land use applications since it benefits him, his family and friends.”
“Not only has he pushed through applications without regard for the environmental, traffic, water resources, stormwater management and wastewater knowing that the county holding tanks are currently over capacity. He dismisses valid concerns of residents and their attorneys,” Hannum added.
Hannum heads the organization CUPON-Jackson /Manchester, a volunteer non-profit community-based organization that was formed to spread awareness of changes that adversely affect communities, particularly when it comes to development. Critics have called it an anti-Semitic hate group.
Hannum added, “in my and most residents’ opinion, Mr. Herman has indeed violated the public trust and has displayed biased judgement in applications that serve his own personal agenda that is outlined in the Jackson Pulse magazine that he is an editor of.”
“Mr. Herman must be removed from the Planning Board because I and every resident in this town that I have spoken to perceives a conflict between the private interests and his public duties,” she added.
Councilman Martin Flemming explained, “the planning board is appointed by the mayor. It is not our decision.”
“Over the past several years I’ve watched councilmen do housekeeping – as they call it – to our code book. That housekeeping seemed to be centered around land, property zones and anything that applies to the development of Jackson Township but when I inquired about Jackson’s code of conduct, I found that there wasn’t one,” she said.
“Therefore, Jackson must refer to New Jersey ethics law. An ethics officer will obtain and maintain a signed statement from each person from whom the information is distributed and acknowledge receipt of the distributed materials and keep them on file,” Hannum said.
She said she wasn’t sure this process was taking place “except for the financial disclosure part. Whenever the public perceives a conflict between private interests and public duty, confidence is in peril.”
She added that by law government agencies have standards involving how public duties are performed “which brings me to municipal land use law. Board members cannot vote on matters in which they have a conflict of interest…or an appearance of a conflict of interest.”
Resident Sheldon Hofstein asked Jackson Township attorney Greg McGuckin if there was a procedure to follow if anyone on a township board “is accused of bad ethics. If there is proof, shouldn’t they go to the Prosecutor or the Attorney General of the State?”
McGuckin said “a complaint under the New Jersey local government ethics law is handled by the Department of Community Affairs Division of Local Government Services that is where complaints are filed if there is no local government ethics rule, so in Jackson Township if anyone wants to file an ethics complaint that is where it goes.”
Hofstein added, “if she has proof, which she says she does, go to the proper channels to take care of this.”
Tzvi Herman, a former member of the Township’s Board of Education, was appointed to the Planning Board by Mayor Michael Reina more than a year ago. Herman became the Planning Board chairman in January.
The Jackson Times reached out to Herman who was not present at the Council meeting, for response to Hannum’s accusations but received no reply. Mayor Michael Reina referred the matter to the township attorney, McGuckin, who said that Hannum had offered “no evidence whatsoever of any ethics violations. It seems to be based on a person’s religion. We don’t get into a person’s religion when you make an application to a board.”
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