Taxes at Work

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 …

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 …

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 …

(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, …

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 …

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 …

RATE INCREASE EXPLAINED – FTSA executive director Joe Danielsen explains the need for a 10 percent rate hike in this year’s budget at the October 3 Sewerage Authority Commission meeting. Customers of the Franklin Township Sewerage Authority will notice a slight increase in their quarterly bills as a 10 percent rate hike takes effect in November. The rate hike was …

A contract worth more than $65,000 for fitness equipment for Naaman Williams Park was awarded September 12 by the Township Council. The company that will supply and install the equipment is MRC of Spring Lake. Among the equipment being purchased is a captain’s chair for $4,692, recumbent cycle for $6,658, vault bar ($619) and push-up ($1,150) stations, cardio walker for …

CDBG GRANTS – Deborah Mitchell, administrator of the Township’s Community Development Block Grant program, discusses this year’s program at the Township Council meeting. An application for more than $348,000 in federal Community Development Block Grant money was approved July 11 by the Township Council. The program, overseen by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, is designed to help …