Taxes

The “how to” of the township entering into an energy aggregation contract was explained to the Township Council at its March 24 meeting. Gary Finger, an ombudsman from the state Board of Public Utilities, explained the process by which the township would contract for energy supplies for all township residents. Towns have had the authority to enter in the contracts …

The proposed 2014 budget that will be presented to the Township Council next month includes a slight tax increase and money for street repaving and a controversial sidewalk construction plan. Whether that $750,000 allocation for sidewalks on streets near Franklin Middle School survives in the budget that is finally adopted by the council remains to be seen. Mayor Brian Levine …

Voices got a little loud at the March 20 Board of Education meeting when a Township Councilman and the board president engaged in a heated discussion about a meeting between among members of both bodies. Councilman Phil Kramer (D-Ward 3) used the board meeting’s public portion to tell members that a meeting he has requested with its facilities committee has …

A 40-year educational veteran – and veteran of a very public dust-up with Gov. Chris Christie – was named interim schools Superintendent March 20 by the Board of Education. LeRoy Seitz will take over the helm on March 29, the day after current interim Superintendent Eveny Pagan leaves the district for another job. Seitz, of Long Branch, will be paid …

Teacher and paraprofessional layoffs and a slight property tax increase are in the offing under a $142 million preliminary 2014-2015 school year operating budget approved March 19 by the Board of Education. Those layoffs could be mitigated by outsourcing the district’s substitute teachers, the board was told. Interim schools Superintendent Eveny Pagan told the board that the layoffs of the …

This year’s rash of heavy snow storms has forced the township to so far spend about 2.5 times the average in snow removal costs. This year’s cost is about $310,000, said township manager Bob Vornlocker. The yearly average, he said, is about $125,000. The extra money will come from the township’s snow trust fund, into which unused snow removal money …

Purchases worth $53,950 and a number of professional and service contracts were awarded by the Township Council at the March 11 meeting. The council approved the $44,000 purchase of technical support for land development software from Spatial Data Logic of Somerset through Feb. 28, 2015. The software is used by a number of township departments, including building, land use, code …

The Board of Education paid its attorney nearly $20,000 for legal work connected with negotiating with the former schools Superintendent to leave his position before his contract ran out. Add that to the approximately $55,000 payout given to former Superintendent Edward Seto, and the total bill to have him leave before the end of June comes to about $75,000. There’s …

With nearly $4 million guaranteed for the proposed $85 million school referendum eyed for September, the Board of Education Feb. 27 approved applications for more than $79.7 million in additional state aid for the projects. The board also formally rescinded applications for $57.5 million in grant applications that were not awarded. Those projects were included in the new applications. District …

The Franklin Township school district will receive about $13.2 million in state aid in the 2014-2015 school year, a 1.2 percent increase over this year’s aid. State aid to the district was flat for the 2013-2014 school year, coming in at the same $12,991,848 as in the 2012-2013 school year. The district saw a $1.4 million bump – nearly 12 …