Holmdel pay-to-play vote expected Aug. 16 BY KAREN E. BOWES Staff Writer HOLMDEL - A vote to ban pay-to-play has been postponed until at least mid-August. "The reason it wasn't adopted the other night is because the wrong ordinance was published," Township Attorney Duane Davison said on Monday. The Township Committee was set to vote on the matter July 19. A new public hearing is now tentatively scheduled for Aug. 16. "They're republishing the right ordinance," Davison said. "I assume it will pass." Committeeman Larry Fink proposed the measure in 2006 with the goal of completely eliminating pay-to-play, the practice of firms that do business with municipalities giving pricey donations to candidates running for election. "The main amendment is to change the limit on contributions allowed from professional firms to zero," Fink said on Monday. "The existing ordinance provides up to a $250 contribution. The new ordinance would change that to zero." Fink noted it's important to remember that currently each firm is allowed to have town employees donate up to $250 each for a total of $2,500 per firm. "The new ordinance, if adopted, would totally eliminate businesses that serve the town from contributing to local campaigns, which would remove, I think, a serious conflict of interest." Committeeman Terence Wall supports the measure. "The right number is zero," Wall said on Monday. "Because there have been concerns over the years of politicians bumbling multiple checks from employees of firms and delivering them to campaigns. By keeping professionals out of the political process, you level the playing field." Because it's an election year and the pay-to-play measure has lagged on for so long, Fink called on Mayor Serena DiMaso and her Republican running mate Jerry Allocco to voluntarily make the ban retroactive. Fink, a one-time mayor and now the committee's lone Democrat, said the Democrats running for committee, Janet Berk and Michael Sockol, have already pledged to not accept any such contributions.