Opinion: Board, Council,Please Speak Up

To the Editor, 

A good citizen, Jeff Mattingly, is on a mission to have our Township Council meetings televised over our local cable station. I applaud his efforts, but I cannot support him at this time because I don't want Belleville to be further embarrassed. Our Belleville Board of Education is a perfect example of why we should not televise these meetings. The Board of Education members (or should it be "Bored of Education"), lack the ability to perform a simple function that all elected officials should possess, or at least make an effort to learn. They lack the ability to use a microphone or speak loudly enough so the citizens attending meetings can hear how their tax dollars are being spent. New Jersey's "Open Public Meetings Act" states, "The right to be present at a public meeting includes the right to witness in full detail all phases of the deliberation, policy formulation and decision making of a public body."
Our BOE Trustees whisper to each other so sofly that even citizens in the front row cannot hear them. Many are the times when citizens have yelled from the audience, "Please speak up, we can't hear you." A classic answer has been, " The microphones aren't working". These folks are running an EDUCATION system; is it so difficult to believe that after a decade of complaints they would be able remedy the problem, or at least turn up the volume on their vocal chords? If you are watching Belleville Board of Education meetings on your cable channel, you may often think you hit the "mute" button.
Our Township Council is guilty of the same actions, or inactions. The Mayor slouches in his seat and at times is hardly visible to the public. They also whisper to each other as if they were plotting to take over a foreign country instead of informing the public how they were spending the $57 million tax dollars they took from us.
Yes, present our public meetings on our cable channel, but only AFTER these elected officials take a course in public speaking.


Vincent J. Frantantoni