Taxes

An amended $71.8 million 2024 budget was passed by the Township Council at its May 28 meeting. The amended budget includes nearly $1.7 million in additional anticipated revenue, including about $1.5 million in state Department of Community Affairs money for Franklin Youth Center programs. Figures released by the Township in April showed that under the budget, the owner of a …

BUDGET EXPLAINER – Board of Education Business Administrator Stephen Fried explains the tax implications of the Board’s FY 2025 budget, approved at the April 25 meeting. The Board of Education on April 25 approved its $194.1 million FY 2025 general fund budget, which carries a small school portion tax increase. The newly minted budget is roughly $7 million more than …

RATE HIKE EXPLAINED – Mayor Phil Kramer explained the necessity of a water rate hike at the April 23 Township Council meeting. Water rates would increase nearly 17 percent under an ordinance amendment introduced at the Township Council’s April 23 meeting. The Township would also charge a water meter fee ranging from $4 to $257.25 per quarter, depending on the …

NUMBERS MAN – Township Manager Robert Vornlocker broke down the 2024 municipal budget at the April 9 Township Council meeting. Skyrocketing mandated costs are behind a small municipal portion tax increase included in the Township Council’s 2024 budget. Final numbers weren’t available at the April 9 Township Council meeting when the budget was introduced, but the bottom line is the …

TALKING NUMBERS – Schools Superintendent John Ravally reviews the preliminary 2024-25 school district budget at the March 20 Board of Education meeting. A steep cut in state aid and a multi-million dollar increase in charter school tuition presented stiff challenges, but school district officials said the proposed 2024-25 budget should only result in a minor increase in the school portion …

BUDGET TALKS – The Township Council held its second budget hearing of the year, a three-hour affair – on March 19. A hike in township water utility rates may be in the offing. If it comes to pass, the rate hike would be the second such increase in two years. A discussion about the water utility budget during the March …

BUDGET PROCESS BEGINS – The Township Council met virtually March 11 to begin the annual budget hearing process. Township property owners can expect a tax increase this year that’s larger than hikes in the past several years, Mayor Phil Kramer said during the Township Council’s March 11 budget virtual hearing. One of the bigger factors in the increase is the …

School district officials are looking into ways to compensate for the approximately 2 percent cut in state aid for Fiscal Year 2025. The district will receive $21,119,162 in state K-12 aid, a reduction of $386,982 from last year’s figure. A district spokeswoman said the amount cut represents about 6 percent of the equalization aid given to Franklin by the state. …

The three volunteer fire departments that comprise Fire District 2 will benefit from a $75,000 grant the District received through a federal program. The District was one of 353 firefighting organizations that received $20 million under the American Rescue Plan Firefighter Grant program. The departments under the Fire District 2 umbrella are Franklin Park, Griggstown and Little Rocky Hill fire …

EXPLAINING THE PLAN – Schools Superintendent John Ravally explains the plan to use the former Middlebush School as a pre-school center to offer universal, free, pre-school to District children. The Board of Education on February 22 took the first step in reclaiming the former Middlebush School building as a school. The Board agreed to give district administrators the authority to …