Taxes

Update: Township Mayor Phil Kramer said he was not informed of the deal, and that he heard about it through friends after the Township Council meeting. “As far as not being included in the initial statement I couldn’t care less,” he said in an email. “My goal is to get the bridge fixed and nothing else.” “Now however, is not …

Two road construction projects in different parts of the township promise to snarl traffic for a while. Work planned for a section of DeMott Lane is expected to last into September, while another project on Route 27 in Franklin Park is slated for the weekend of Aug. 26-29. Both projects will result in road closures. The route 27 project is …

Saying “enough is enough,” officials from the township and surrounding towns went public the morning of Aug. 19 in their effort to restore funding for the replacement of the Route 518 bridge at Canal Road. But that rush-hour protest, as well as other bridge-related lobbying efforts directed at Gov. Chris Christie’s administration, has so far been fruitless. Work on the …

A Port Monmouth construction company will supply the township with a concession stand for Middlebush Park. The Township Council awarded the $412,939 contract July 12 to Whirl Construction. The company’s web site says that it has been “a leader in park and playground construction since 1982.” The bid came in under budget; the council had budgeted $450,000 for the structure. …

Franklin Township schools stand to receive significantly more state aid if Gov. Chris Christie’s plan to revamp school funding becomes law. Although exact figures are not yet available, the district could see somewhere between a 200 percent and 300 percent increase in the amount of state aid it receives. Further, a web site created by the governor’s office calculates that the …

Updated: The council voted to award Falak Construction the contract at its June 14 meting. Original Story: The Township Council on June 14 is expected to award an $87,000 contract to build three cricket pitches in township parks. Falak Construction of North Brunswick was the lowest of two bidders on the project, according to a memo written by township senior engineer Maureen Sturgeon. …

A 15-year district veteran has been named its new director of athletics. Ken Margolin, who for the past year has been the Franklin High School vice principal, was unanimously named to the post by the Board of Education at its May 26 meeting. Margolin has also served as the school’s dean of students and for 10 years was employed in …

A purchase that township officials said will impact Franklin for decades to come was approved May 24 by the Township Council. The council voted to award a contract worth $80,608 to Hopewell-based 4Ward Planning for a market study of the Hamilton Street business district and the Corporate Business zone near Interstate 287. It’s hoped that the study will result in …

Update: The Board of Education adopted the 2016-17 budget at its April 28 meeting. Original Story: Upward revisions in the assessed valuation of township property has nearly halved the tax increase originally called for in the 2016-17 Board of Education budget. The proposed $163.2 million budget, which was sent for review to the Somerset County Superintendent of Schools on March 22, …

At the prompting of Mayor Phillip Kramer, the Library Board of Trustees is researching the cost of recording and televising its monthly meetings. The trustees meet in the library’s Historical Records room. Kramer, who has long been a proponent of public bodies televising their meetings, said the trustees could meet in the Township Council chamber, which is already set up for the …