Taxes

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 …

The Township Council on January 23 approved a contract with senior department heads that will extend through the end of 2025. The contract, with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, covers senior department heads and is retroactive to January 1, 2021. Township Manager Robert Vornlocker said that negotiations on a new contract were sidelined mainly because of …

(Photo: East Millstone UMC.) An ordinance that would allow the purchase of property in East Millstone for open space preservation was introduced by the Township Council on January 23. The ordinance would allocate $261,500 from the Township’s Open Space Trust Fund to buy the property at 4 Elm Street. The property is owned by the East Millstone United Methodist Church, …

Township schools will receive more than $175,000 in aid to be used for construction and other capital needs of school buildings. The district’s $175,572 allocation from the state Department of Education is the second-highest in Somerset County. Only Bridgewater-Raritan Regional’s $194,138 is more. The aid is part of a $75 million state school aid package announced January 23 by Gov. …

Contracts for new police cars and cleanup services were approved November 28 by the Township Council. The Council approved a contract worth $319,709.60 with Nielson Ford of Morristown for seven Ford Police Interceptors. The Council also approved a contract worth $150,000 with Panfietti Construction of Phillipsburgh for property cleanup as needed. The contract is effective through November 2025, and cannot …

A long-term tax abatement plan for a township low-income senior citizen apartment building was approved by the Township Council recently. The Payment in Lieu of Taxes, or PILOT, program was deemed necessary by the Council to aid in the rehabilitation of the Wilentz Senior Residence at the Wilf Campus for Senior Living on DeMott Lane. The Council approved on second …

BRIDGE TO CLOSE – The pedestrian walkway on the Landing Lane Bridge will remain open during the month-long construction project. The Landing Lane Bridge will be closed in both directions for approximately a month starting December 4 for priority repairs to the retaining wall. Work will be conducted around-the-clock to expedite the construction, according to a press release from the …