May, 2011

May 9: Township Committee Special Budget Work Session
This meeting was a very unique meeting of the Township Committee. We needed the work session in order to introduce the budget amendment at the May 12 meeting. Either the Finance Subcommittee could have met, formed the amendments and brought them to the full Committee for review, or the Committee could meet and form the amendments in a public venue and discuss the budget at the work session. I chose to have the budget work session so the public can have a chance to observe and comment on the way we amended the budget. Every line item was announced and either approved as presented or amended; our accountant and Finance Director were on hand to offer us advice and to record our decisions. Ron Matthews and Bill Colantano deserve recognition for working with us and for turning around the changes we made into the amended budget in short time.


May 11: Land Use Board
As Mayor, I am a voting member of the Land Use Board, and on May 11 the Board began public hearings on the Garden State Growers property. The hearing addressed storm water management issues and site specific agricultural practices. The public was given ample time prior to and during the Applicant’s testimony to comment and view the plans. After several hours of testimony and public comment, the hearing was carried to June 8, 2011. For those who wish to view the plans or hydraulic studies, contact our Township Clerk.


May 12: Township Committee Regular Meeting
We accepted resignations effective June 30 from our Director of Finance Ron Matthews, his assistant Joan Tigar, and our Chief Municipal Finance Officer Michael Balogh. We are actively advertising for a replacement CFO and are willing to go the shared services route.

We introduced and approved the 2011 Amended Municipal Budget and scheduled the public hearing for May 26. The budget for 2011 is $2,732,362.92.

The Committee agreed to a Memorandum of Agreement between the Township and the Franklin Police Department. The concessions made by our officers helped us bridge the budget gap for 2011. A lot work by both the Committee and the officers resulted in cooperation and communication in a way that allowed such an agreement to transpire. Our police department budget remains a very large ticket item and I look forward to working with the police- and each of our departments for that matter- on working together for ways to decrease expenses and increase revenue, if appropriate.

We approved Resolution 2011-33 establishing employee benefits cost sharing plan. Non-union employees are now paying back 10% of their health insurance cost and 20% for family; these contributions will continue to increase up to 30% for individual health insurance and 100% of family cost by 2015. New employees will be contributing 30% of individual and 100%.

School Budget: In April, voters rejected the proposed tax levy of $4.9 million to support the school’s $5.06 million operating budget by 315 votes to 260. Defeated school budgets go before the Township Committee- we can decrease the budget, approve it as presented, or increase the budget. After the budget was defeated, our school subcommittee met with the school officials and went over their budget line by line. Prior to the school budget vote, I met with school officials and familiarized myself with the budget. Given the amount we cut from the 2010 budget (about $450,000), and this year’s budget reflected a two percent increase ($90,000), the Committee unanimously agreed to approve the budget as presented by the Board of Education. This was not a vote I took lightly: on one hand you respect the majority of voters, and on the other you need to do what is best for the community. Through my communication with residents and reading the comments on nj.com, I have observed and experienced just about the same amount of “thanks” and “anger” from residents for voting the way I did. Of our approximate 2,200 registered voters, I am bit disappointed that only 570 (26%) voted on the school budget- we’re talking about two thirds of your property tax bill, folks. Gov. Christie wants to move the school board elections to the November general elections- now that is something I bet we can all agree on. The Hunterdon Democrat covered our Committee’s decision here:
http://www.nj.com/hunterdon-county-democrat/index.ssf/2011/05/franklin_twp_committee_votes_t.html


May 21: Ribbon Cutting at the Silver Oak Learning Center
My son Ryan and I attended a ribbon cutting ceremony for the Silver Oak Learning Center (formerly KnowledgePoints) located at 62 Walmart Plaza (second level). President and owner Jim Helriegel gave Ryan and me a tour of the facility. Please visit Jim and I am sure he will be more than happy to show you how he and his staff teach children to be lifelong learners. http://www.silveroaklearningcenters.com/. Jim can be reached at jim.helriegel@silveroaklc.com


May 23: Environmental Commission meeting
When I first moved into town in 2002 I joined the Environmental Commission. While I am not a member of the Environmental Commission anymore, I do enjoy attending their meetings and working with the members. We have some volunteers ready to fill the membership vacancies. The Commission discussed the status of the solar ordinance, and tree ordinance. The Commission is looking into applying to become a sustainable municipality. Sustainable New Jersey is a certification program for municipalities in New Jersey that want to go green, save money, and take steps to sustain their quality of life over the long term ( http://www.sustainablejersey.com ). Participating in the program costs the municipality nothing and it is good for the environment. The Commission will be providing the Committee with some information on the program and will be requesting a resolution from us supporting the program. I look forward to receiving the information and deliberating the subject with the rest of the Committee.


May 24: My Visit to the Franklin Township Elementary School
Since becoming Mayor in January I made it a point to visit our students once a month- one grade each month. This month I visited our 4th and 5th grade classes. Unlike the earlier grades, I just can’t get away with reading some stories and answering a few questions. Fourth and fifth graders are much more of a challenge and it demonstrated to me just how much a child learns and progresses in the first few years of their lives. I am looking forward to participating in the school awards ceremony in June.


May 25: Land Use Board Work Session
Our work session consisted of discussing a farmland preservation plan and farmland master plan element. We also discussed the basis for our current zoning, the status of the solar ordinance, and reviewing the need for a long range strategic township plan.

May 26: Township Committee Work Session Meeting
The Committee unanimously adopted resolution 2011-43 approving the 2011 amended municipal budget. Over the last 4 months the Committee has diligently reviewed the budget by line item, and every consideration has been given to keep the tax impact at minimal level. Given current economic conditions and with state aid remaining flat, the Committee explored partnering with neighboring municipalities for police services, building department services, and municipal court services. Even though we are allowed to raise the appropriation by two percent, there will be no municipal tax increase. The State of New Jersey controls the increases in insurance and pension cost, which was the biggest jump in our budget. Non-union employees are now paying back 10% of their health insurance cost and 20% for family; these contributions will continue to increase up to 30% for individual health insurance and 100% of family cost by 2015. New employees will be contributing 30% of individual and 100% of family cost from the get go. Every municipality in this State has a tough challenge ahead of them. We are proud of the fact that we are not cutting any services to the Township residents. The Hunterdon Democrat covered our budget vote in this article:
http://www.nj.com/hunterdon-county-democrat/index.ssf/2011/05/franklin_twp_sets_public_heari.html

In an effort to reduce costs, the Committee is considering eliminating the position of Public Safety Director. Many supporters of our Public Safety Director came to this meeting to express their support and to tell us of his contributions to the community. As I told residents that night, you are never, ever wasting your time participating in the democratic process- and what appeared to be a “done deal” by those present, turned into a reprieve (approved by the Committee 4-1) giving the Committee two weeks to focus on the responsibilities of Public Safety Director, and to revisit some fiscal negotiations with our employee that were not clear when first concluded by members of the Committee. The Hunterdon Democrat covered this topic in this article:
http://www.nj.com/hunterdon-county-democrat/index.ssf/2011/05/franklin_township_officials_ap.html

We approved ordinance 2011-05 which amended our construction fees. The Township had not revised construction fees in several years and some categories were much lower than our neighboring municipalities and the state minimum requirements. While it is never a joyous occasion to increase user fees, it was necessary to do so.


May 30: Memorial Day Service
While I did not serve in our nation’s military, my father served with the Coast Guard in Viet Nam, my grandfather with the Navy Seabees in World War II, and my great-grandfather with the Army in World War I.

Our service honored five township residents who died fighting during World War II: Orrin Boice, Fred Dissler, Andrew Hodulik, Robert Leusenring and Porter Little.

Elementary School essay winners Anna Piparo read aloud her essay on pioneer aviator Jacqueline Cochran ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacqueline_Cochran ), and Frank Jannuzzi read his essay on Deborah Sampson ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deborah_Sampson )who impersonated a man and served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.

Following the essays, Operation Desert Shield / Desert Storm Persian Gulf War veteran Candace Padover spoke about her experiences growing up in a military family and serving our country during a time of war.

After the ceremony I took a few minutes to view the monument dedicated to our five township residents who gave themselves for our country. I drive by this monument nearly every day, and on my school visits I’ve stopped by to read the monument, but today was special; I would love to know who these men were but the page of history is quickly turning on those still alive to remember. The Hunterdon Democrat covered the Service and the article can be viewed here: http://www.nj.com/hunterdon-county-democrat/index.ssf/2011/05/at_franklin_township_school_re.html

March & April 2011

A good friend of mine likes to say "time flies like an arrow, and fruit flies like a banana".

Right.

I can't speak for the fruit flies but I can say that March and April zoomed by faster than green grass through a goose. The last two months the Township Committee, and our employees have been working on the 2011 municipal budget. We introduced the budget on March 23 and scheduled the public hearing for April 28. However, we are amending the budget to the point where it will not resemble the original budget- so we re-introduce it on May 12, and have a public hearing on May 24. Apologies to our constituents who have been very patient with us during this process... measure twice, cut once. I look forward to seeing those who have attended each of our budget meetings; their comments have been a valuable asset to me.

The future of our police department has been the focus of this year's budget. The Committee requested proposals from three adjoining municipalities to see how they would provide Franklin with the same police coverage we enjoy today. After reviewing our options, the Committee chose to retain our police department for this budget year. The devil is in the details and I know our Finance Subcommittee, our CFO, and accountant will be busy the next two weeks working out the numbers for public consumption.

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In other news, our school budget was defeated by the voters this week and they voted George Burdick, Kenneth Weiss, and Christine Creilly to the Board of Education. Congratulations to George, Ken, and Christine and thank you for your dedication to our school. With regards to the school budget, I have asked our school subcommittee (Steve Tarshis and Vigdis Austad) to meet with school representatives and go over the budget from top left to bottom right. The school subcommittee will provide the full Committee with a recommendation and we will decide whether or not to support that recommendation. As always, input from the public is wanted and appreciated. By state law we need to have a school budget in place by May 19 so stay tuned.

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Community Day is June 4 and boy we could use one! Try to stop by the firehouse between 4 and 9 pm... get to know your fellow residents, and have some fun.