Monday, May 13, 2013
"Discrepancies" were found in some of the charges submitted by AshBritt, the debris removal firm contracted by the state after Superstorm Sandy
AshBritt, Inc., the firm hired by the state to haul debris after Superstorm Sandy, benefited from an “ambiguous” contract that resulted in at least tens of thousands in extra charges, according to a report released on Wednesday. Ocean County Administrator Carl Block handed the Freeholders a thick report at Wednesday’s pre-board meeting. The report, done by state-hired monitor The Louis Berger Group, Inc., reviews the mileage billed to Ocean County by AshBritt. “The director contacted me after some articles had been written about the clean up efforts,” Block said. Freeholder Director John P. Kelly had asked for a report to be done breaking down the process of debris hauling as well as the charges in relation to distance. “Discrepancies” had…
Friday, March 29, 2013
Lautenberg to Christie: FEMA state AG's office on contract
The Federal Emergency Management Agency warned the New Jersey state Attorney General's office days after Superstorm Sandy struck that awarding a contract to AshBritt for storm cleanup could jeopardize federal funds, the Star-Ledger reported Friday. The newspaper reported that, in a letter from U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) to Christie penned in February and obtained under the state's Open Public Records Act, the senator said his office was informed by FEMA that reimbursements to local municipalities and counties could be at risk. The post-Sandy contract was "piggybacked" from a 2008 contract AshBritt had with Connecticut, the newspaper reported. Since Lautenberg's letter, however, officials told the Star-Ledger, there have been …
Monday, March 11, 2013
Monmouth legislators Handlin, O'Scanlon issue statement
Assembly Republicans Amy H. Handlin and Declan O’Scanlon, both R-Monmouth, issued the following statements on the hearings into contractors used to haul Hurricane Sandy debris. Assemblywoman Amy H. Handlin, R-Monmouth: “Sandy’s carnage left unimaginable debris in our state and because of Governor Christie more than 8 million cubic yards – a volume that boggles the mind – have been removed from our communities within 100 days. Partisan objections to this contract, which was competitively-bid to a company that by all accounts has performed exceedingly well, are arguments for a slower recovery. “Those who actually suffered through Sandy have had more than enough storms in their lifetime without having to deal with a pointless political …
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Mayor's wife working with Conti firm who marketed AshBritt for Hurricane Sandy contracts
Belmar Mayor Matt Doherty's wife, Maggie Moran, has ties to the company that the borough contracted to clean-up after Hurricane Sandy, according to a Star-Ledger article. The company, AshBritt, has dozens of contracts throughout the state to haul debris from the devastating storm, and Belmar is one of them. The borough will also decide at its Wednesday meeting whether to approve $2.6 million to AshBritt's contract for Belmar's garbage and debris removal. According to the proposed agenda, the council will decide a contract for the purpose of Garbage and Debris Removal from an authorized vendor under the State of New Jersey Cooperative Purchasing Program I-NJCP. The widespread use of AshBritt and the political ties of those recently …
Lincoln Osiris
9:35 am on Friday, April 5, 2013
Mr Mangino, I agree with half of what you are saying. The FEMA confusion is compounding a crappy situation. And the expansion was unneeded. And we do need to fix a few things locally. Here is the problem with the Ashbritt deal: why would anyone hire an out of state company which then hires in state contractors to do the cleanup when we could hire those same contractors without paying a middle man… more ›