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MORE U.S. TROOPS COULD GO TO SYRIA PAGE 1B

Tax board lets towns opt out

SUSANNE CERVENKA @SCERVENKA

FREEHOLD - Monmouth County municipalities will

be allowed to drop out of the county's controversial
property tax pilot program, the county Tax Board said
Monday, bowing to a request at least 11 towns have made
in the wake of an Asbury Park Press investigation.
But there is a catch: The opt-out would not affect the
new assessments property owners received this year,
including tens of thousands who saw double-digit per-

centage increases in their local property taxes.

Each of the county's 53 towns has until 11:59 p.m.
April 29 to remove itself from the Assessment Demonstration Program for the 2017 tax year.
"This is a significant, significant change," said Tax
Board Commissioner Cliff Moore, who suggested offering towns the opt-out option. "I think this is, in my opinion, more than what people asked for. This is a step in
the right direction."
That's good news for Jack Sillup, who lives in Eques-

tra, a senior community in Howell where residents have

drafted a petition signed by 600 people asking for the
pilot program to end and lawmakers to lower property
taxes overall.
"The instability of having this ADP program is a factor that is not worth having. There has to be a better
way," he said. "The problem is the damage has already
been done. They are probably not going to go back and
See TAX BOARD, Page 10A

WILL RUTGERS CHANGES

FILL LEADERSHIP VOID?

MARK R. SULLIVAN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Filling High Point Solutions Stadium in Piscataway, seen here on Saturday when Rutgers took on Maryland, will be one of the top duties of Patrick Hobbs, the new Rutgers athletic director.

New athletic director

will have his hands full
New Rutgers AD meets the
media. Page 1C
Details of Floods message
at final meeting. Page 4C
New athletic
director
Patrick Hobbs

STEPHEN EDELSON @STEVEEDELSONAPP

PISCATAWAY - Kyle Flood steadfastly, and rather

convincingly, maintained he had the full support of the
administration at Rutgers right to the bitter end.
To the point where, while the rest of the college football universe was waiting to see if the Scarlet Knights
head coach would continue in that role, Flood boarded a
Rutgers helicopter Sunday morning and was flown to
Long Island, where he was hoping to impress Sayville
quarterback Jack Coan.
The incident highlighted just how tangled the lines
of communication had become between the athletic department and university officials. Exacerbating the situation was the strained relationship behind the scenes

between Flood and athletic director Julie Hermann,

which ended up costing both of them their jobs.
New athletic director Patrick Hobbs will have his
leadership tested immediately, needing to strengthen
the relationship with the universitys academic side,
unify his dysfunctional department and get the athletics financials in order.
Theyre all related.
Take the failed pairing of Flood and Hermann.
Flood was hired by athletic director Tim Pernetti,
who lost his job as part of the collateral damage from
the Mike Rice scandal, and was never in sync with Hermann, who had her own public relations battles to fight
See RUTGERS, Page 10A

Christie, Trump scrap after N.H. boost

BOB JORDAN @BOBJORDANAPP

Count Donald Trump among those not impressed

with the presidential endorsement New Hampshires
largest newspaper gave to New Jersey Gov. Chris
Christie over the weekend.
How is Chris Christie running the state of NJ, which
is deeply troubled, when he is spending all of his time in
NH? New Jerseyans not happy! Trump tweeted Monday.
Im just so glad to be noticed by Donald. Isnt that
nice? Christie responded during an interview on CNN.
Its great. And Im happy to take whatever input he
wants to give me in 140 characters or less, which is apparently the way he communicates best. So its fine.
Christie is vying for the 2016 Republican presidenADVICE
CLASSIFIED
COMICS
HEALTHY LIVING
LOCAL

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OBITUARIES
OPINION
SPORTS
TECH TUESDAY
WEATHER

tial nomination, but Trump, as the front-runner, is resolved to protect his lead, judging by other exchanges
he had with Christie during the day.
Christie was endorsed by the Union Leader of Manchester, which said he is the one candidate who has the
range and type of experience the nation desperately
needs.
The editorial did not single out Trumpbut said other
candidates have gained public and media attention by
speaking bluntly. But its important when you are telling it like it is to actually know what you are talking
about.
That apparently helped set Trump off. Christie responded by rejecting Trumps discredited claim that
See CHRISTIE, Page 10A
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VOLUME 136
NUMBER 287
SINCE 1879

Local

Murder suspect
faces judge
Conrad Sipa of Colts Neck, accused of killing a man in his
Barnegat Light home, has had no prior brushes with the
law and deserves lower bail, his lawyer argues. Page 3A