With such a nice weekend weather-wise, it was difficult to stay indoors. It was a great weekend to do outdoor chores- yard work... and at the same time, see your neighbors- yes, those people you wave to as you drive to and from work. Got my first tick of the year (of the decade too). It's not too early in the season so check yourself, you heard it here first.
Monday, March 15 was the Township Committee special meeting for budget work session. I know I said this before... but I will say it again. We had nearly 100 people at the $305,000 fire district budget hearing... but at our three million dollar plus municipal budget workshop session we only get a handful of public in attendance- there must have been something good on television Monday night...
The Town Committee reviewed the following budgets that were submitted to us: Public Works, Land Use Board, Police Department, Emergency Management / Department of Public Safety. With the help of our Finance Director we were able to slog through the multiple line items and answer many of our questions. We did not approve a budget, we offered input and asked our Finance Director to "plug in the numbers" we suggested; he will follow up with a revised proposed budget and I hope to have another work session to iron things out before we have our formal public hearing. The workshop sessions are public and are announced as such. If you care about how your tax dollars are spend on the municipal level, please attend our meetings. I will also announce on this blog site when hearings are scheduled if they aren't being held on the normally scheduled 2nd and 4th Thursdays of each month.
The Committee also decided to retain our Building Department. Speaking for myself I am glad; the idea was floated to participate in an inter-local service agreement for construction services with another municipality. Our Construction Official came prepared with a proposed budget and restructuring plan with recommendations and reductions to help balance the budget of the Building Department. His efforts, team player attitude, and the services he provides our citizens were enough to convince me that the money saved by outsourcing did not outweigh the advantages of having an in-house building department. The option is always there to outsource, but it is difficult to start from scratch and rebuild a municipal working force and the institutional memory that only comes with time.
I received news that one of the members of our Recreation Commission has resigned. This resignation leaves only 3 members remaining on a 7 member, 2 alternate member commission. Without the required 4 to hold a meeting (a quorum) the commission cannot function in its official capacity. One person has expressed an interest in becoming a member but we need help! If you have any interest in the Recreation Commission contact me and I can tell you all about it. You can also check some of my past blogs where I discussed at length the issues involving the Recreation Commission.
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Thursday, March 18 I attended an “Assistance to Firefighters Grant Workshop” for FY 2010 sponsored by Congressman Rush Holt (12th District- our district) and FEMA. The grants are provided to firefighters and other first responders to obtain equipment, training, and other resources. There are 3 types of grants available: 1) Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG), 2) Fire Prevention and Safety Grants (FP&S), and 3) Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Grants (SAFER). We are looking to compete against other fire departments nationwide for our share of $810 million in grant money- mostly with no strings attached and very minimal local matches. For more information on the grant program check their website at http://www.firegrantsupport.com My next job is to take this information back to the Township Committee and the Fire District and see if we qualify and if we wish to proceed with writing the grant proposal and submitting it to FEMA. I will the public updated on this effort through this blog and my public reports at Township Committee meetings.
-Scott
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