‘Radical’ solution to quorum issue saves budget from loss
By Jane Musgrave
Manalapan has a new town commissioner and she’s the same as the old one.
Commissioner Cindy McMackin was sworn in at the town’s Aug. 9 meeting, replacing, well, herself.
A confluence of unrelated events put McMackin in the strange position of resigning her post in July only to be reappointed the next month.
The idea, which Town Attorney Keith Davis described as “radical,” was the town’s unconventional way to avoid blowing a nearly $300,000 hole in its proposed $9.1 million budget.
“It’s unprecedented,” Assistant Town Manager Eric Marmer said at the July 23 meeting as town officials struggled to come up with a solution to avert the financial shortfall. “I’ve never experienced this.”
The potentially budget-busting situation can be blamed, in part, on a botched computer update that cybersecurity company CrowdStrike sent out on July 19 that had global repercussions. The flawed Microsoft Windows update caused the biggest technology outage in history. It wreaked havoc on all business sectors, including hospitals, financial institutions and, notable for Manalapan, air travel.
The timing, for Manalapan, was particularly problematic.
July is the month all governments in Florida must meet to set a proposed tax rate for the upcoming fiscal year. Unlike other meetings, which can be attended via Zoom, state law requires elected officials to be physically present to vote at the rate-setting hearing.
Some of Manalapan’s elected officials head out of town in the summer, returning only for mandatory meetings.
So, when the computer glitch immediately grounded 4,000 flights and caused chaos in the skies for days, two town commissioners who planned to attend the July 23 meeting to set the proposed tax rate got stranded, while a third was out of state with no plans to be at the meeting in person.
“I’ve checked. Nobody’s getting out of here for three, four or five days,” said Commissioner Dwight Kulwin, who was in Massachusetts and only able to attend the July meeting by phone.
Commissioner Orla Imbesi was also stuck in the unable-to-fly zone. McMackin was in Montana and wasn’t planning to return until Aug. 8.
With only three commissioners at the meeting, the town didn’t have its needed four-member quorum. That meant, according to the Town Charter, no vote could be taken.
But the clock was ticking. Under Florida law, the tentative tax rate had to be sent to the Palm Beach County property appraiser by Aug. 4, although officials at the appraiser’s office asked that the rates be submitted by July 31.
If they violated the law, commissioners couldn’t impose the property tax rate of $3.00 per $1,000 of assessed valuation they needed to fund the budget in the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1. Instead, by law, they would be limited to the rolled-back rate of $2.8486 per $1,000, which would leave the town’s planned budget $291,000 short.
The lower rolled-back rate would generate the same amount of taxes as last year from existing properties because property values have increased. But town officials had hoped to keep the same $3.00 per $1,000 of value rate as they had approved last year and use the extra money for services.
“We’re going to have to operate the town on donations,” Marmer said as town officials debated a possible solution.
Ultimately, attorney Davis came up with the unorthodox plan. If one of the commissioners resigned immediately, the commission would need only three to make a quorum and the tax rate could be set.
McMackin volunteered. “I’m probably the prime person to resign,” said McMackin, who also attended the meeting by phone. “I’m just here to help the town basically. Whatever works best for the town, I’m completely willing to do.”
So, she resigned.
The three commissioners at the July meeting — Simone Bonutti, Elliot Bonner and David Knobel — approved keeping the rate the same as last year’s. Residents can comment on the spending plan during hearings on Sept. 18 and 24, after which a final tax rate and budget will be approved.
In August, McMackin returned to town and was reappointed.
While Mayor John Deese and Kulwin voiced concerns that the opening would cause a flurry of interest and wannabe commissioners would be upset when McMackin was reappointed, Town Manager Linda Stumpf said their fears were unfounded.
“I don’t think they’re going to be banging down my door,” said Stumpf, who last year had to find five new commissioners to replace four who chose to resign rather than file new, more detailed, state-required financial disclosure reports —and a fifth needed when Deese moved into the vacated mayor’s position.
Stumpf’s prediction was correct. Aside from McMackin, only one other person sought the post. Davis told commissioners that they couldn’t just automatically reinstate McMackin.
They had to make it an open process.
Decade-long Manalapan resident Jerry Jacobson said he applied in response to a mass email the town sent out.
“I was just trying to help out,” said Jacobson, who is a lawyer and holds a doctorate degree in medicine.
He said he didn’t know why the seat was vacant. When told the odd story, he laughed.
“Sounds like politics,” Jacobson said. “There’s no way else to describe it.”
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