Manalapan officials may undergo background check
BY KATHY BARATTA
Staff Writer

MANALAPAN - Working on a suggestion from former township committeeman Drew Shapiro, Mayor Andrew Lucas proposed a resolution that was unanimously passed by the Township Committee at a recent meeting.

The proposal called for the committee to pass a resolution that would institute a policy of conducting background checks for elected municipal officials.

The governing body consists of five representatives who are all elected at large in the township. Committee members serve three-year terms.

Lucas said he suggested passing the resolution because he believed the proposal was a good idea given that as elected officials, the members of the governing body find themselves in contact with juveniles in much the same way as local volunteers who work with or coach children in sports activities.

Lucas said the background check for members of the committee would follow the formula outlined under an ordinance for anyone who is involved in municipal activities where they have unsupervised access to children.

The present background check consists of the volunteer's fingerprints being taken by a Manalapan police officer who sends one set to the New Jersey State Police and a second set to the FBI, according to Michael Gross, chairman of the Manalapan Recreation Advisory Board.

Gross said the fingerprints are used to run a criminal background check on the individual. Once it is determined that person has a clean record, a photo ID card is issued to the individual that is good for four years. Gross said the process costs the individual $36.

In a letter sent last week to Lucas and Township Administrator Tara Lovrich, Shapiro wrote, "I am writing this letter as a resident ... I went through the background check and fingerprint procedure in relation to my coaching softball, flag football, etc.

"It occurred to me that elected officials do not go through this same procedure. However, they attend and are allowed to attend many events that involve our children; summer recreation, school programs, DARE graduations, etc. I am asking that the governing body discuss this at their next meeting, as I believe the elected officials need to set a good example for the residents and coaches in town," Shapiro wrote.

Lucas said the committee's 5-0 vote on March 28 in favor of the resolution was done to affirm the panel's commitment to hold elected officials to the same standards as recreation volunteers, but he said the process for the elected officials would be voluntary with each person paying $36 for his or her own background check if they choose to undergo one.