Short says committee should not get benefits Mayor feels they're deserved, as service is a full-time job BY DAN NEWMAN Staff Writer MIDDLETOWN - Committeeman Patrick Short last week expressed his objection to the issue of elected officials receiving benefits from the township, and was met with sharp criticism from fellow committee members. Short, the first Democrat to serve on the Middletown Township Committee since 1989, said he does not receive benefits from the town. Short said he feels that it's improper to accept them because he and the rest of the committee do not hold full-time positions within the township. "Elected officials who work part time should not be given full-time health benefits," Short said. "I do not want township residents to pay for my health benefits or my family's health benefits when they are struggling to pay for their own." Short said that he works less than 35 hours per week as a committeeman, a figure that Mayor Gerard Scharfenberger cannot agree with. "I know for a fact that I am working about 50 to 60 hours per week doing stuff for Middletown. I even put in time on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, so for him to even say that I, or anybody else that works hard on this committee doesn't deserve it, that's wrong," said Scharfenberger, who noted that he chooses not to accept benefits from the town. "And if he's working less than 35 hours per week with regard to his position on the committee, he ought to do more then, perhaps." Deputy Mayor Pamela Brightbill, who also does not take the benefits offered to her, said that the option to have them is, in a sense, a tradeoff for receiving just $4,000 per year, a very low stipend compared to other municipalities. "My check every other Friday amounts to $130.60, so it's not like I or any other committee member is in this position for the money," Brightbill said. "This is in a sense a full-time job, and so if any committee member wants to take advantage of the benefits that are being offered, I see no problem with that." As for Short's assertion that committee members should not be eligible for benefits, Brightbill said that the newest committee member may still need to learn a bit more about his new role. "At the reorganization meeting, he definitely showed that he hasn't studied much on some topics and this is one of them," Brightbill said. "I've put off going back to work just so I can commit myself to helping this town." Short said that he wants to see an ordinance on the February workshop agenda to eliminate full-time benefits for part-time employees. "My interest is to contribute to the community, not take from the community," Short said. "This is an unnecessary burden on the taxpayer."