School Board Gets Peek At 2016-17 Budget, Slight Tax Rate Increase Probable
The 2016-17 school district budget won’t be firmed up for another month, but preliminary figures show it will trigger a small uptick in the school tax rate. Interim district business manager James H. Strimple Jr. told the Board of Education at its Feb. 25 meeting that the amount to be raised in taxes in calendar year […]
Updated: Township Council Introduces $59.5 Million Budget, Tax Rate Remains Flat
Updates: April 12: The council unanimously approved the amendment and the 2016 budget. March 22: Three revisions in the proposed budget forced the public hearing to be re-scheduled to the Council’s April 12 meeting. The changes reduce the overall budget by $50,000, to $59,488,016. In his budget address, Mayor Phil Kramer said the tax impact […]
School District In Line For More Than $15 Million In State School Aid For 2016-17 School Year
The township school district in 2016-17 will receive the highest amount of Pre-K state aid and the second-highest increase in its K-12 state aid in Somerset County, according to figures recently released by the state Department of Education. The district will receive $13,283,157 in K-12 aid, a $129,569 increase from the 2015-16 school year’s total of $13,153,588, […]
Council Discusses Using Open Space Funds To Pay For Park Workers’ Salary And Benefits
Building on an action it took in the 2015 budget, the Township Council is discussing using more Open Space Trust Fund money to pay for township workers who maintain township parks. The issue arose at the Feb. 16 budget hearing, the second and final such hearing the council has held on the 2016 budget. At issue […]
More Than $12 Million Asked For In Capital Improvement Plans For 2016 Budget
More than $12 million in capital improvement and equipment expenses were presented to the Township Council Feb. 16 during its second budget session. The total includes nearly $5 million in projects and equipment, another roughly $5 million in Open Space Trust Fund expenses – including $3.6 million for the design and construction of Phase 1 […]
Tempers Erupt Over Sidewalks At Township Council Budget Hearing
Tempers flared at the Township Council’s second budget hearing Feb. 16 after one councilman said he’d been “hoodwinked” by his colleagues over sidewalk installation in his ward. Township Councilman Carl R.A. Wright (D-Ward 4) said he was “kinda miffed” that none of the $750,000 included in the 2015 budget plan and earmarked for sidewalk installation […]
Township Council Takes First Step Toward Youth Center
The Township Council Feb. 9 took the first step in creating a youth center when it introduced an ordinance permitting the acquisition of a Lewis Street property. The property is located at 429 Lewis Street, which was the home of the Somerset Community Action Program before it moved to Hamilton Street. The ordinance, which will have […]
PD Chief Roberts: Police Department Needs A Captain
The police department needs a captain to help with the rejuvenation of the Hamilton Street business district, among other things, the Township Council was told Feb. 8. Police Chief Lawrence Roberts told the council during its first 2016 budget hearing that unlike neighboring police departments, Franklin’s has no captains. The captain’s salary would be $155,000, […]
Updated: Fire Commissioners’ Payment Increase Up For Vote At February Council Meeting
Update: The proposed increases were approved by the council at the Feb. 9 meeting. Original Story: Proposed payment increases for some of the township’s fire commissioners are up for a vote at the Township Council’s February 9 meeting. Commissioners in Fire Districts 1 and 2 are asking for increases for commissioners and the commission’s clerk, […]
Township Council Approves More Than $13 Million In Spending
More than $13 million in spending over the course of the year was approved Jan. 26 by the Township Council. The bulk of the authorization – more than $9.9 million – was for the township’s health plans: $6.5 million to Horizon Blue Cross/Blue Shield of NJ for medical insurance, $3.1 million to Horizon Blue Cross/Blue […]
