Township Council

The police department needs a captain to help with the rejuvenation of the Hamilton Street business district, among other things, the Township Council was told Feb. 8. Police Chief Lawrence Roberts told the council during its first 2016 budget hearing that unlike neighboring police departments, Franklin’s has no captains. The captain’s salary would be $155,000, said township manager Robert Vornlocker. …

Update: The proposed increases were approved by the council at the Feb. 9 meeting. Original Story: Proposed payment increases for some of the township’s fire commissioners are up for a vote at the Township Council’s February 9 meeting. Commissioners in Fire Districts 1 and 2 are asking for increases for commissioners and the commission’s clerk, respectively. There are no proposed …

More than $13 million in spending over the course of the year was approved Jan. 26 by the Township Council. The bulk of the authorization – more than $9.9 million – was for the township’s health plans: $6.5 million to Horizon Blue Cross/Blue Shield of NJ for medical insurance, $3.1 million to Horizon Blue Cross/Blue Shield of NJ for prescription …

Bids for the planned sound system in Middlebush Park were rejected Jan. 12 by the Township Council because the volume level specifications were found to be too low. Township Manager Robert Vornlocker said that he brought concerns about the volume, raised by Mayor Phillip Kramer, to Eric Zwerling of Rutgers University, a nationally known sound expert. Zwerling, Vornlocker said, agreed …

Purchases of $1,895,541.50 in goods and services were approved Sept. 8 by the Township Council. The council approved the $39,520 purchase of eight pole-mounted security cameras from Secure Future Tech Solutions of Warwick RI. The cameras, targeted for the Hamilton Street business district, feature wireless connectivity. The council also voted to purchase a 22-door by 24-foot steel pavilion for Consovoy …

Update: The bonding ordinances were approved at the May 26 council meeting. The Township Council at its May 12 meeting introduced three bonding ordinances worth $3.5 million for construction projects and equipment purchases and a $450,000 capital ordinance for equipment purchases. The $450,000 capital ordinance is targeted for two construction vehicles, one  fire prevention pick-up truck, one marked police car, four …

Update: The bond ordinance was approved at the May 26 council meeting. Thirty nine township streets would be repaved this year under a $2.5 million bond ordinance introduced at the May 12 Township Council meeting. Streets included in the program are: Berkley Place, Berry Street, Canal, Camner, Center Street, Chester Street, Clarke Street, DeKalb Street, Drake Street, Dunham Street, Ellen Street, …

The Township Council on April 14 approved purchases totaling $193,440. Beyer Brothers of Fairvew won contracts for two GMC half-ton pickup trucks, for a total of $73,440. The vehicles are for the township’s fire safety department. One vehicle was included in the 2014 capital budget, but was never ordered. According to a memo from John Hauss, head of fire prevention, …

The Township Council on April 14 extended leases it holds with a township resident on several pieces of farmland. The leases were renewed with George Manioudakis. The first parcel is 25 tillable acres on a 78-acre lot at South Middlebush and Suydam roads. The one-year lease is for $35 a tillable acre, or $1,325. The lease was originally awarded in 2012. …

The Township Council April 14 gave its final blessing to a $57.2 million spending plan for 2015. The budget is powered by a $37,388,103 tax levy, up about $1.1 million from the 2014 tax levy. That translates to a 3 percent tax hike, which means the owner of a residential property assessed at the township’s average – $306,000 – will …