Lake Como Budget Vote Tie May Be Decided by Borough Council

An unlikely result on the budget question in Lake Como's 2011 school election may leave the fate of the district budget in the hands of the governing body.

 Unofficial results from the Monmouth County Board of Elections show exactly 49 votes for and 49 votes against the proposed $2,904,685 Lake Como 2011-12 school budget.

According to Robin Major, administrator for the Monmouth County Board of Elections, any provisional ballots will be opened at 1 p.m. Monday and counted. The election results will be certified and made official on Tuesday. 

Bertha Sumick, clerk of elections for Monmouth County, explained that should the results go unchanged by provisional ballots and the tie be certified, the Lake Como school budget's fate will lie in the hands of the borough council, as if the budget had been defeated.

Lake Como is one of only 13 non-operating school districts left in the state and one of only three in Monmouth County, along with Allenhurst and Interlaken. 

Lake Como pays tuition for its students to attend Belmar Elementary School and Manasquan High School at rates which are determined by the receiving districts.

Voters in Monmouth County came out in force to support local school budgets. Lake Como was one of only seven districts in the county to not approve their budget outright. The other districts with failed budgets include Upper Freehold, Farmingdale, Highlands, Keansburg, Keyport and Union Beach.