Township Council

Township Councilwoman Crystal Pruitt kicked off a Council discussion about racial equality at the June 9 Township Council meeting. The issue of racial equality and equity was discussed by Township Council members during the June 9 Council meeting. This was the Council’s first meeting since two racial equality and anti-police brutality marches were held in the township. Some Council members …

The Township Council on June 9 passed a resolution condemning the murder of Minneapolis resident George Floyd. Floyd was killed when a former Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes. The former cop has been hit with several charges, including 2nd Degree Murder. Three other former cops involved in the incident are also facing charges in …

Business and property owners in the Hamilton Street Business District will not be charged an assessment this year, thanks to action taken April 28 by the Township Council. Business and property owners in the Hamilton Street Business District will not have to pay an additional assessment this year, thanks to action taken by the Township Council on April 28. The …

Township Councilman Ted Chase displays a reusable bag that could be substituted for single-use paper or plastic bags. A township ban on single-use plastic and paper bags, Styrofoam food containers and single-use straws – Somerset County’s first, if enacted – was the subject of a more than two-hour discussion at the January 28 Township Council meeting. At the heart of …

A New Brunswick attorney who is under a state ethics investigation for comments he made to a defendant while serving as Franklin Township’s presiding Municipal Court judge was not reappointed to that position at the January 6 Township Council reorganization. The Council chose to not reappoint Hector Rodriguez, who had served as the Municipal Court presiding judge since 2014. Instead, …

Township Councilman Charles Onyejiaka, right, is given the Oath of Office for Deputy Mayor by state Assemblyman Joe Danielsen at the Jan. 6 Council reorganization meeting. Township Councilman Charles Onyejiaka made history January 6 when he became the first West African to be voted in as Deputy Mayor. Onyejiaka (D-Ward 3), has been a member of the Council since 2016, …

Township Councilman Rajiv Prasad was feted for his 13 years on the Council Dec. 10 by the same Council members who voted to censure him a year earlier. The Township Council chamber was awash in love for Councilman Rajiv Prasad on December 10 as friends and Council colleagues honored him for his 13 years on the governing body. Prasad decided …

Township Manager Robert Vornlocker said he and township attorney Lou Rainone are reviewing information on the FTPD’s use of “union time” paid leave to see if any of it was granted inappropriately. In the wake of allegations of “substantial mismanagement” by the township police department’s former top brass, officials are determining which FTPD officers may have inappropriately used a benefit …

Township Manager Robert Vornlocker discusses the ordinance amendment that would create a Public Safety Director’s position overseeing the police department. An ordinance amendment that would replace the Franklin Township Police Chief’s position with a Public Safety Director was unanimously introduced at the July 9 Township Council meeting. The change comes at a time when the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office has …

The heads of the two unions representing township police officers say they were blindsided by the Township Council’s move to eliminate the Police Chief and Deputy Chief positions in favor of a Public Safety Director. The two union presidents say their members would prefer the department stay under a Chief/Deputy Chief command structure. The Council is expected to introduce an …