Thursday, May 16, 2013
But attorney advises township to wait for state's next move before answering letter suggesting possible seizure of affordable housing funds.
As in other municipalities around the state, Bernards Township officials reacted negatively when receiving a recent letter from the state Council on Affordable Housing asking that money in a specially dedicated fund for affordable housing be turned over to the state because it hadn't been spent or specifically budgeted so far. But Township Administrator Bruce McArthur, discussing the matter with members of the Township Committee on Tuesday, insisted that about $538,000 being eyed by COAH already is earmarked as a contribution for group homes for developmentally disabled adults. McArthur also said that about $1 million from an affordable housing fund — set up under state guidelines several years ago to require local developers to set aside …
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Spending plan will raise this year's municipal portion of the property tax bill by an average of $35.
With no comment from residents, the Bernards Township Committee on Tuesday night gave final approval to the $35.14-million municipal budget for 2013 that will raise taxes by $35.26 this year on an average township home assessed at $587,553.65. Mayor Carolyn Gaziano said that some residents will experience no tax increase this year since overall assessments for township properties still are down from what the valuation of local homes was a few years ago. Officials said that municipal taxes in Bernards Township have risen by about 5 percent since the mid-2000s, a period during which other New Jersey towns increased by about 50 percent. Township CFO Terri Johnson noted at a previous meeting that the actual impact on a particular township home…
Monday, May 13, 2013
No changes in proposed budget from previous discussions about 2013 Bernards Twp. municipal spending plan.
The proposed $35.14-million municipal budget for 2013 is due to be presented unchanged at Tuesday's Township Committee meeting and, if given final approval, would raise taxes by $35.26 this year on an average township home assessed at $587,553.65. Township CFO Terri Johnson noted at a previous meeting that the actual impact on a particular township home will differ depending on how the assessment for that property has varied through the years. That can depend on what improvements were made to individual homes and other variables such as location, with The Hills holding its value, she noted. The $35 increase includes financing for the Bernards Township Library and the municipal open space tax, Johnson said. Assessments up from 2012, but …
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Township Committee candidates to be listed on primary ballot, but no contest until November's general election.
This Tuesday, May 14, is the last day to register to vote in the Primary Election to select party candidates, to be held June 4. The Somerset County offices on Grove Street will have extended hours, from 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Tuesday for anyone still looking to register. There will be no local race in this year’s primary, with one Democrat and one Republican each seeking the one-three year seat on the Bernards Township Committee that is being vacated by Republican Scott Spitzer, who is not seeking re-election. For the Democrats, candidate David Ferdinand, who ran last year but was not elected to the all-Republican Township Committee, again is seeking his party's nomination to be listed on the ballot this November. For the Republicans, …
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Township Committee next will consider whether to go along with Planning Board's partial endorsement of plan.
Eighteen months of hearings on Millington Quarry's plan for "rehabilitating" its property on Stonehouse Road to become usable residential property after quarrying ceases ended on Tuesday night with the Planning Board's partial endorsement for the proposal. The plan calls for the creation of a 50-acre lake and a meadow area that someday could be turned into a residential neighborhood. The next step is for the quarry plan to go before the Bernards Township Committee, where the governing body can go along with the Planning Board's recommendation, reject the plan or set its own conditions. Township Mayor Carolyn Gaziano, who also has sat on the Planning Board since the hearings began in November 2011, said she wasn't sure when the plan would …
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Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Bernards Township Committee approves ordinance that appropriates funding for road repairs, technology improvements, more.
Without borrowing money, the Bernards Township Committee has voted to set aside $2,524,400 for multiple major investments around the township, including $1.465 million to resurface 13 roads, $310,000 to patch roads, and repair drainage and guardrails, more than $300,000 to fix up town hall and more. In providing further information on the total proposed $35.14 million for 2013, the township's Chief Financial Officer, Terri Johnson, said that this appropriation provides some of what likely is going to be a continuing need to update the township's "aging infrastructure." Johnson added at Tuesday's committee meeting that the township also is planning other capital investments this year, including $295,000 to install a generator that will keep…
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Thursday, April 18, 2013
Officials say some residents may realize they are encroaching on sewer or environmental easements.
With its spread out terrain and meandering brooks — not to mention underground sewer lines — Bernards Township is filled with property "easements" that prohibit owners from building or otherwise encroaching on land set aside for a purpose. But township officials have been grappling with ways to prevent property owners from knowingly, or sometimes unknowingly, violating easement agreements. "This has been an ongoing issue," Bernards Township Committeeman John Malay said at last week's Township Committee meeting. The Township Committee is looking at drafting an ordinance to enforce easements — which can be located on private property near areas such as streams, parkland or sewer lines. But Malay cautioned last week, "We need to draft an …
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Some reimbursement has arrived, more expected, Township Administrator says after 2013 municipal budget introduction.
"Superstorm" Sandy was more than just a devastating weather event that shut down the Somerset Hills for a week, or more in some spots. It also was a major expense for local towns with costs even now showing up in municipal budgets being introduced in Bernards Township and nearby. Bernards Township Administrator Bruce McArthur has several times estimated that Sandy and its aftermath cost the municipality about $600,000. He repeated that figure on Tuesday night, when the Township Committee voted to introduce a $35.14-million budget for this year that is scheduled to come up for a final vote and public hearing on May 14. In the immediate aftermath of the storm's arrival on Oct. 29, Bernards Township declared a $250,000 emergency, McArthur …
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Increase will add $31 more onto average tax bill if budget is approved on March 14.
Sticking to their pledge of not seeking to borrow money for short- or long-term investments, the Township Committee on Tuesday introduced a $35.14 million municipal budget for 2013 that raises municipal taxes by 1.99 percent, under the 2 percent state cap on budget spending, according to township figures. The budget would add another $31 in municipal taxes onto an average township home assessed at $587,000 if given final approval following a scheduled May 14 public hearing, said Terri Johnson, the township's CFO. Overall, since the Bernards Township Library's assessment dropped by about $40,000 from 2012, the proposed increase in the municipal tax levy would be slightly over 1.5 percent, Johnson said at Tuesday's meeting. Rather than …
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Monday, March 25, 2013
But many residents say school buses should be routed through the municipal complex.
The Bernards Township Committee and township Board of Education are at the point of considering a special task force's recommendation on how to solve the morning traffic problem at Ridge High School. That recommendation will be finalized at next Wednesday's meeting of the task force, and then forwarded to the school board and township committee at their meetings, respectively, on April 8 and 9. The task force has made a preliminary recommendation, referred to as Option 9, to widen the driveway off South Finley Avenue by the Board of Health office for use by buses, which would drop off students by the Performing Arts Center. That would allow parents to use the main entrance at Lake Road and South Finley, and drop off students either at the …
Karen B
8:38 am on Thursday, April 25, 2013
Yes there is plenty of government money available. It just seems to end up in the pockets if lobbyists like Halliburton not where it can do some good like feeding hungry children and improving poor inner city schools more ›