Resident: Don't commit Edison to 14 years of Cablevision
Reading your article concerning the ordinance to extend Cablevision's contract for 15 years left me feeling that I am living in the late 19th century, when there was little sophistication on governing bodies. Did Cablevision unilaterally write the contract? Or did someone try his hand at negotiating and failed? To provide an incentive for the township to approve this extraordinary largess, they would be paying Edison the equivalent of some $2.90 per capita and 10 cents per capita for 14 years afterward to continue business as usual. And we almost bought it? They will recover that money in just several months after next year's rate hikes. Cablevision is the ultimate cash cow. It has a guaranteed income every month. Enough to buy Madison Square Garden, the Knicks, Rangers, Liberty, Radio City Music Hall and other telecommunication and entertainment companies, and have double-digit growth every year. All on our money. And because the rates are approved by the state, they let that issue die, because, as said, "there's little that can be done." There was no comment that they even tried. The final insults were Councilwoman [Melissa] Perilstein's comment, "I am hard-pressed to walk away from a $40,000 payment, and I think something is better than nothing," and the tie vote controversy.

Since 1876, Robert's Rules of Order were the mainstay for deliberative bodies, and almost all municipalities now follow them - unless certain procedures are barred when their constitution or bylaws say otherwise. Evidently, few knew the obvious. A motion to approve or defeat requires a majority, which is one more vote. And, as far as an abstention vote is concerned, there is no such thing. One may abstain, but it is not a vote. In some circles, it is counted as a nay.

I will remember Councilmen [Robert] Diehl, [Anthony] Massaro and [Antonia] Ricigliano, who didn't give up and voted as every Cablevision user would have done. When the issue is brought up again, I hope that the other board members will rethink their positions and vote for the benefit of the people they are supposed to represent. Don't let them lock us into a long-term contract. In five years, this will be a different world and we don't need to be shackled to the past.
M.M. Radwan
Edison