This letter originally appeared on the December 17, 2008 edition of the Twin-Boro News, Sounding Off section.
Dear Editor:
In last week’s edition of the Twin-Boro News, Mr. Kai Chen raised questions regarding upgrades to Dumont’s Memorial Field.
I commend him for his letter, although I was surprised to read it since he was in attendance at our last meeting of the Dumont governing body.
At that meeting, he received documents provided by Council President Bob McQuade, but failed to ask any questions.
I realize that Mr. Chen may want to take the information home with him and review it, but I do question as to why he chooses to use the editorial page to raise his questions. In fact, since Election Day, Mr. Chen has made it a point to attend our meetings, yet fails to ask any questions.
Nevertheless, the reason why the borough waited for the presentation regarding upgrades to the Memorial Park was twofold.
First, the borough, like many other communities in the Northern Valley, has multiple issues to deal with on a daily basis, let alone future planning.
Secondly, the borough was waiting to receive confirmation that it would receive some $171,176 funding from the Bergen County Open Space, Historic and Recreation Trust Fund. These funds would be in addition to the $485,000 already granted for the multi-year/multi-park upgrade program announced early in 2007 by Mayor Matt McHale and Recreation Liaison Councilman Marty Caspare.
Additionally in his letter, Mr. Chen referred to his letter dated Oct. 22, pertaining to the borough’s bio-fuels alternative pilot program for municipal vehicles.
Many of the questions raised are valid, yet Mr. Chen misses the key component of this program, that is that it’s a pilot program.
I am not a bio-scientist nor an engineer, but a member of the Dumont governing body committed to exploring new technologies with the hopes of a greener environment while saving Dumont taxpayers unnecessary expenditures for fossil fuels.
I sincerely welcome Mr. Chen to join the Borough of Dumont’s governing body in exploring this exciting and viable fuel alternative source.
However, I must question Mr. Chen’s motives. While I have no problem with a public discussion regarding the happenings of the Borough of Dumont, I again question why he resorts to the editorial page of the Twin-Boro News rather than ask his question and share his opinion at the meetings which he attends.
Democracy, and especially municipal government, serves its constituents best when there is an open, honest and equal exchange between those who are in public service and those whom the public servants serve.
I urge Mr. Chen to put politics aside, and have a real discussion, whether it be in public or private.
Regardless of politics, Happy Holidays to all the readers of the Twin-Boro News.
Sincerely,
Carl Manna
Councilman
Showing posts with label rebuttal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rebuttal. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Sounding Off: C3 is more than just a Web site
This letter originally appeared on the October 8, 2008 edition of the Twin-Boro News, Sounding Off section.
Dear Editor:
Last week Mr. Joseph Hakim and Ms. Kai Chen submitted letters regarding Dumont’s newly implemented Citizens Communication Center (C3). I thank them for their concerns and questions.
As the Democratic mayor of Dumont, the free exchange of ideas and opinions is a priority of my administration. Along with my fellow colleagues on the Council, we have worked tirelessly to engage our constituents in the hopes of reaffirming and practicing our collective democratic principles.
Regardless, I appreciate the opportunity to respond to any controversies or implied controversies regarding C3 and the Borough of Dumont.
C3 is more than just a Web site as Mr. Hakim and Ms. Chen have intimated. Dumont’s C3 system is completely administered by the Borough of Dumont, which allows Dumont residents to receive e-mails, text messages, calls to their home and cell phones, updates on borough news, process municipal service requests, register their emergency contacts, refer friends, and provide special needs information, as well as a host of other services solely for and about Dumont.
Dumont’s C3 system is further complemented on the administrative side by managing this information for residents with full GIS capabilities and other important functionality like surveys, polls, content management, frequently asked questions, and by centralizing municipal services requests.
Upon signing up, registrants are geo-coded for targeting purposes via GIS mapping technology so in the event of an emergency, power outage or evacuation, the Borough of Dumont can identify affected individuals.
However, this technology is also helpful for non-emergencies and for the administration of borough services. For example, the recent notification that overnight parking would be extended from Oct. 1 to Nov. 1.
Other important mapping tools further allow the Borough of Dumont to zone alerts to particular sections of town, streets, or for that matter, target an individual property.
This feature is not covered under the County of Bergen’s contract with C3. The County of Bergen’s contract with C3 allows every municipality, so long as the municipality pays for usage, to administer voice messaging only.
The Borough of Dumont has full access to the previously described services, and not just the voice messaging.
The ability to communicate over various types of communicative devices affords the Borough of Dumont and its residents the possibility of better and improved municipal services.
The centralization of advance technological communications provides Dumont’s taxpayers with a value which would have had to been contracted with over five different vendors resulting in a lack of integration and higher cost. We have achieved this service at a monthly rate of $1,500 over a two-year period.
I am most dismayed by both Mr. Hakim and Ms. Chen’s lack of information and am happy to be able to explain further.
Having served as Dumont’s mayor for almost three years, I have made it a point to be available to all constituents, regardless of forum, whether it be meeting in person, answering questions at council meetings, or returning phone or e-mail inquiries, However, neither Mr. Hakim nor Ms. Chen have attempted to contact me.
Their inactions have led me to question their underlying motivations. Both individuals falsely imply facts and furthermore, as in the case of Mr. Hakim, make accusations regarding my and the council’s intent, as well as who owns C3.
As a candidate for council, Mr. Hakim especially should perform his public service by uncovering the facts before making such statements.
To date almost 1,000 household have signed up with the borough for this important and worthwhile service, C3.
I am happy to have an open forum and engage more residents on not only the benefits and attributes but also the new innovative ways and approaches of how the Borough of Dumont can better serve its residents.
I encourage all residents to visit www.dumontnj.gov and sign up for this groundbreaking initiative.
Sincerely,
Matt McHale
Mayor
Dumont
Dear Editor:
Last week Mr. Joseph Hakim and Ms. Kai Chen submitted letters regarding Dumont’s newly implemented Citizens Communication Center (C3). I thank them for their concerns and questions.
As the Democratic mayor of Dumont, the free exchange of ideas and opinions is a priority of my administration. Along with my fellow colleagues on the Council, we have worked tirelessly to engage our constituents in the hopes of reaffirming and practicing our collective democratic principles.
Regardless, I appreciate the opportunity to respond to any controversies or implied controversies regarding C3 and the Borough of Dumont.
C3 is more than just a Web site as Mr. Hakim and Ms. Chen have intimated. Dumont’s C3 system is completely administered by the Borough of Dumont, which allows Dumont residents to receive e-mails, text messages, calls to their home and cell phones, updates on borough news, process municipal service requests, register their emergency contacts, refer friends, and provide special needs information, as well as a host of other services solely for and about Dumont.
Dumont’s C3 system is further complemented on the administrative side by managing this information for residents with full GIS capabilities and other important functionality like surveys, polls, content management, frequently asked questions, and by centralizing municipal services requests.
Upon signing up, registrants are geo-coded for targeting purposes via GIS mapping technology so in the event of an emergency, power outage or evacuation, the Borough of Dumont can identify affected individuals.
However, this technology is also helpful for non-emergencies and for the administration of borough services. For example, the recent notification that overnight parking would be extended from Oct. 1 to Nov. 1.
Other important mapping tools further allow the Borough of Dumont to zone alerts to particular sections of town, streets, or for that matter, target an individual property.
This feature is not covered under the County of Bergen’s contract with C3. The County of Bergen’s contract with C3 allows every municipality, so long as the municipality pays for usage, to administer voice messaging only.
The Borough of Dumont has full access to the previously described services, and not just the voice messaging.
The ability to communicate over various types of communicative devices affords the Borough of Dumont and its residents the possibility of better and improved municipal services.
The centralization of advance technological communications provides Dumont’s taxpayers with a value which would have had to been contracted with over five different vendors resulting in a lack of integration and higher cost. We have achieved this service at a monthly rate of $1,500 over a two-year period.
I am most dismayed by both Mr. Hakim and Ms. Chen’s lack of information and am happy to be able to explain further.
Having served as Dumont’s mayor for almost three years, I have made it a point to be available to all constituents, regardless of forum, whether it be meeting in person, answering questions at council meetings, or returning phone or e-mail inquiries, However, neither Mr. Hakim nor Ms. Chen have attempted to contact me.
Their inactions have led me to question their underlying motivations. Both individuals falsely imply facts and furthermore, as in the case of Mr. Hakim, make accusations regarding my and the council’s intent, as well as who owns C3.
As a candidate for council, Mr. Hakim especially should perform his public service by uncovering the facts before making such statements.
To date almost 1,000 household have signed up with the borough for this important and worthwhile service, C3.
I am happy to have an open forum and engage more residents on not only the benefits and attributes but also the new innovative ways and approaches of how the Borough of Dumont can better serve its residents.
I encourage all residents to visit www.dumontnj.gov and sign up for this groundbreaking initiative.
Sincerely,
Matt McHale
Mayor
Dumont
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Sounding Off: Dumont’s C3 benefits hailed
This letter originally appeared on the September 17, 2008 edition of the Twin-Boro News, Sounding Off section.
Dear Editor:
Please let me take this opportunity to address the issues and questions raised by Joseph Hakim and Kai Chen in their letters published on Sept. 10 ("Light is shed on Web ‘confusion’ " and "Privacy vs. safety on Dumont’s C3" respectively).
Both individuals fail to understand that the fundamental attribute of the Citizen Communication Center (C3) is that it is primarily an innovative emergency notification system that happens to have a Web site component. While Dumont will continue to participate in the county-run "Reverse 9-1-1 System," C3 will better protect and serve the residents of Dumont in a number of ways:
By offering the ability to send e-mails and text messages in addition to phone calls, C3 dramatically increases the likelihood that all residents will receive important alerts.
In addition, C3 will actually notify residents more quickly then the "Reverse 9-1-1 System" because few people are around to answer their home phone during the day.
Learning about road closures and school closings is important to residents, but only serious emergencies are ever broadcast by the "Reverse 9-1-1 System." Conversely, C3 allows for non-urgent messages to be sent and for residents to customize the types of notifications they would like to receive.
By allowing borough officials to send alerts directly without having to go through the county, C3 saves precious time and money in the event of an emergency and prevents the possibility of miscommunication that arises when information has to pass through multiple channels, such as the case with the recent water main break.
Using state-of-the-art mapping technology, C3 gives officials the ability to send custom alerts regarding localized emergencies.
For instances, while reverse 9-1-1 would never be used for something such as localized flooding — because every resident in town would have to be called — C3 allows messages to the be sent solely to the residents of an affected area.
When registering for C3 at www.DumontNJ.gov, residents are given the opportunity to provide the borough with information about the special needs they or a family member might have.
In the event of an emergency, Dumont’s first responders will be able to use this information to make critical
decisions and perform their duties more effectively.
Given the clear differences between C3 and the "Reverse 9-1-1 System" and the antiquated Web site of www.dumontboro.org, most residents understandably welcome the more technologically advance notification system and web site service.
Criticism about the cost of Dumont’s new Web site is misguided – and I suspect politically motivated with Election Day approaching – because that cost includes everything discussed above, as well as countless other features of C3 beyond the borough’s new official Web site.
Old Tappan may have passed on C3, if Ms. Chen’s assertions are true, but other communities like Teaneck and Nutley have recognized its unparalleled benefits and decided to make this important investment in the safety of their residents.
While citizens are always encouraged to voice their opinions, I hope that in the future those who choose to do so in a public forum will research their claims more thoroughly rather than simply resorting to uninformed accusations.
For the public’s benefit, I strongly encourage Ms. Chen and Mr. Hakim to contact the Borough of Dumont at 201-387-5022 before they continue to unintentionally mislead their fellow residents.
Sincerely,
Matt McHale
Matt McHale is the Mayor of Dumont.
Dear Editor:
Please let me take this opportunity to address the issues and questions raised by Joseph Hakim and Kai Chen in their letters published on Sept. 10 ("Light is shed on Web ‘confusion’ " and "Privacy vs. safety on Dumont’s C3" respectively).
Both individuals fail to understand that the fundamental attribute of the Citizen Communication Center (C3) is that it is primarily an innovative emergency notification system that happens to have a Web site component. While Dumont will continue to participate in the county-run "Reverse 9-1-1 System," C3 will better protect and serve the residents of Dumont in a number of ways:
By offering the ability to send e-mails and text messages in addition to phone calls, C3 dramatically increases the likelihood that all residents will receive important alerts.
In addition, C3 will actually notify residents more quickly then the "Reverse 9-1-1 System" because few people are around to answer their home phone during the day.
Learning about road closures and school closings is important to residents, but only serious emergencies are ever broadcast by the "Reverse 9-1-1 System." Conversely, C3 allows for non-urgent messages to be sent and for residents to customize the types of notifications they would like to receive.
By allowing borough officials to send alerts directly without having to go through the county, C3 saves precious time and money in the event of an emergency and prevents the possibility of miscommunication that arises when information has to pass through multiple channels, such as the case with the recent water main break.
Using state-of-the-art mapping technology, C3 gives officials the ability to send custom alerts regarding localized emergencies.
For instances, while reverse 9-1-1 would never be used for something such as localized flooding — because every resident in town would have to be called — C3 allows messages to the be sent solely to the residents of an affected area.
When registering for C3 at www.DumontNJ.gov, residents are given the opportunity to provide the borough with information about the special needs they or a family member might have.
In the event of an emergency, Dumont’s first responders will be able to use this information to make critical
decisions and perform their duties more effectively.
Given the clear differences between C3 and the "Reverse 9-1-1 System" and the antiquated Web site of www.dumontboro.org, most residents understandably welcome the more technologically advance notification system and web site service.
Criticism about the cost of Dumont’s new Web site is misguided – and I suspect politically motivated with Election Day approaching – because that cost includes everything discussed above, as well as countless other features of C3 beyond the borough’s new official Web site.
Old Tappan may have passed on C3, if Ms. Chen’s assertions are true, but other communities like Teaneck and Nutley have recognized its unparalleled benefits and decided to make this important investment in the safety of their residents.
While citizens are always encouraged to voice their opinions, I hope that in the future those who choose to do so in a public forum will research their claims more thoroughly rather than simply resorting to uninformed accusations.
For the public’s benefit, I strongly encourage Ms. Chen and Mr. Hakim to contact the Borough of Dumont at 201-387-5022 before they continue to unintentionally mislead their fellow residents.
Sincerely,
Matt McHale
Matt McHale is the Mayor of Dumont.
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