Township Council Taxes

Dignitaries participate in the ceremonial groundbreaking of the Franklin Township Youth Center on Aug. 15. A day that Township Councilwoman Kimberly Francois has thought about for years arrived Aug. 15 with the groundbreaking of the Franklin Township Youth Center on Lewis Street. Targeted for the land that once held the Somerset Community Action Program headquarters, the 24,000-square-foot, $9.8 million youth …

Township Manager Robert Vornlocker said he expects to launch a nationwide search to find a person with long law enforcement experience to be the township’s Public Safety Director. The township is expected to launch a nationwide search to fill its newly created Public Safety Director position. The Council created the position Aug. 13 in a unanimous vote to approve amendments …

More than $900,000 worth of vehicles and equipment for the township police department were approved June 25 by the Township Council. The purchases were for a total of 14 vehicles and 59 digital radios. The Council approved the purchase of 12 2020 Ford Interceptor police SUVs – 10 marked and two unmarked – for a total of $387,295.50 and two …

Artist’s rendering of the proposed township youth center. Construction of the long-awaited township youth center project will begin next week, with work starting on the center’s parking lot. That was the word from Township Councilwoman Kimberly Francois (D-At Large) who spoke before the Council approved a $9.8 million contract for the youth center’s construction at the Council’s June 25 meeting. …

A dozen engineering firms received professional service contracts from the Township Council at its May 28 meeting. Each contract is worth up to $300,000. The firms receiving the contracts were: BANC3 Engineering, Inc., 300 Alexander Park, Suite 300, Princeton, NJ 08540 Boswell Engineering, 330 Phillips Ave, Hackensack, NJ 07606 Carroll Engineering of NJ, LLC, 105 Raider Blvd., Ste, 206, Hillsborough, …

A tasty incentive for township residents to report potholes on Franklin streets was announced May 14 by Mayor Phil Kramer. In an effort to repair as many potholes as possible before next winter, Kramer  announced a contest that will feature gift cards to township restaurants. Here’s how it works: residents who see a pothole on a street report it through …

After a false start, the Township Council on April 23 awarded a $157,000 contract to resurface the Naaman Williams pool. The pool was closed last July after a crack was discovered in it. Township Manager Robert Vornlocker said at the April 23 meeting the pool would be open in time for the swimming season. Stardust Pools of East Brunswick was …

An ordinance authorizing $4.4 million for capital projects and equipment purchases – including 10 police cars – was introduced at the April 23 Township Council meeting. The township will issue $4,151,891 in bonds and put a cash down payment of $218,521 to pay for the work and purchases. According to the ordinance, the money has been earmarked for: $1,355,912 for …

An ordinance creating a $1.8 million road reconstruction program was introduced April 23 by the Township Council. The Council will pay for the work with $1,662,500 in bonds and an $87,500 cash down payment. The work will entail milling, paving and resurfacing all or part of the targeted streets. The streets included in the program are: Spruce Street Ellen Street …

The township was able to hold the line on municipal taxes in its proposed 2019 budget, but a mandatory hike in the library tax means an overall increase in local property taxes for township residents this year. The $61,931,338 proposed budget was introduced at the March 26 Township Council meeting. The total represents an uptick in the 2018 spending plan …