Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Two hearings will be held prior to the introduction of the final budget in April.
GOVERNMENT|20 hours ago
Union County's Board of Chosen Freeholders will hold its first public hearing on the 2010 Executive Budget next Thursday. The hearing, which will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. in the Freeholder's Meeting Room in Elizabeth, is the first of two opportunities for the public to voice their opinions on the budget. "We will continue to explore cost savings and reductions in the budget line by line," Freeholder Fiscal Comittee Chairman Al Mirabella said in a news release. "During this tough time, we're going to have to continue to make sacrifices as many of our residents are doing." The Freeholders will hold a second budget hearing from 4 to 7 p.m. on March 25. Following the March 18 budget hearing, there is a Freeholder agenda setting meeting …
Town officials are looking for the best way to upgrade the township's decade-old computer systems.
Town officials are asking information technology experts in Cranford to chime in on the best way to upgrade the township's decade-old computer systems. Mayor Mark Smith identified upgrading the actual infrastructure of the network as the biggest priority. Other focuses will include additional back-up services, securing a data center and disaster recovery. The approximate cost for the network upgrade based on an assessment from Miles Technologies is $133,000. The back-up services and the data center would cost an additional $33,000 and $9,000 respectively. The consensus of the committee was to get some more IT experts to examine and verify the results of the assessment. "We welcome comments from people in the IT field to give us your input…
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Township Administrator
8 Springfield Ave
/articles/committee-seeks-feedback-on-proposed-it-upgrades
21152
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Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Rich Bagger says the governor will address fiscal issues from local governments and state government in his budget.
Gubernatorial chief of staff Rich Bagger is remaining mum about the specifics of Gov. Chris Christie's soon-to-be-released budget proposal and the impact it will have on local governments and school districts. Bagger said the budget, which Christie is due to announce on March 16, is still being worked on, including sections regarding state aid to municipalities and school districts. He said cuts are being made to the budget across the board in order to address the multi-billion dollar budget deficit facing the state. "Every part of the state budget is under scrutiny," Bagger said. Christie last month cut $475 million in state aid to school districts for the remainder of the current state budget year, which ends on June 30. The cuts, which …
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Hunterdon County businessman is one of two to challenge congressman in Republican primary.
In a theme common to political challengers nationwide this year, Hunterdon County businessman David Larsen said his frustration with Washington is what is behind his Republican primary challenge to U.S. Rep. Leonard Lance (R-Hunterdon County). Larsen, the owner of a family window and doors business, said government spending, along with decisions in such areas as climate change and health care have gotten him into the race. He also notes a desire of the need to have turnover in the House to move out what he describes as professional politicians, a category where he placed Lance. "I am fed up with the out of control government," Larsen said. "They are spending like drunken sailors." Larsen has centered much of his platform on federal …
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Cranford's police chief defends salaries and number of police officers during budget process.
Cranford's police chief presented a flat, but for salary costs, budget to the Township Committee on Monday. He advised against cutting his staff, suggesting instead to look for savings in county-funded programs. Police Chief Eric Mason said apart from salaries and wages, the 2010 budget remained the same in regards to operating costs. "The overall operating budget has remained flat," Mason said. "I have no control over the salary and wage portion of the budget, that's done by collective bargaining." The current budget proposal does not yet reflect the loss of one police officer and one communications officer. Thomas J. Grady, director of finance, said the numbers have not been updated yet, but the loss of the two positions will reduce the …
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Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Congressman kicks off campaign before small crowd at train station.
Before a small crowd of supporters gathered in the snow, U.S. Rep. Leonard Lance (R-Hunterdon County) kicked off his bid for a second term Tuesday afternoon at the Westfield train station. Centering on his theme of being a fiscal conservative and his authorship of a state fiscal law from his tenure in the state Senate, Lance said he wanted to be sent back to Washington to continue his working on fiscal issues. The announcement comes a day after the second Republican, Westfield resident Bruce Baker, announced a primary challenge to Lance from the conservative wing of the party. Lance, who served 18 years in the state legislature representing Hunterdon County, is considered a moderate Republican. "I run for reelection to the Congress because…
Monday, February 15, 2010
Cranford has already spent 40 percent of its snow budget for 2010.
Only six weeks into the 20-week snow season and Cranford has spent 40 percent of its snow budget. More snow costs could mean more department budget cuts or tax hikes. Significant winter storms in mid-December, January and last week have total town snow counts over 20 inches, with another three to six inches expected Monday night. Cranford has already spent an estimated $21,940 for salt, including the delivery made in anticipation of tonight's snowfall, $1,184 for liquid calcium, and $1,390 for calcium chloride pellets. The total spent to date, not counting overtime pay, is approximately $24,500. "This is approximately 40 percent of the budget that we requested for 2010, and we are only six weeks into the plus or minus 20 weeks potential …
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Cranford Public Works Department
8 Springfield Ave
/articles/snow-costs-on-the-rise-despite-budget-crunch
44701
/locations/274283
Friday, February 12, 2010
Christie's move calls into question developers' suits seeking two high-density housing complexes in Cranford.
Gov. Chris Christie signed an executive order Tuesday suspending all actions of the Council on Affordable Housing for 90 days, a move that calls into question whether a judge can eventually order that high-density housing complexes be built on Birchwood Avenue and at 555 South Ave. "I'm very pleased that the governor took that action," Mayor Mark Smith said of the order, which sets up a task force that will report back to the governor in 90 days. "I think the five-person task force is a good group to look at the points most people have about COAH in the last several years." Citing Cranford's lack of a Housing Element and Fair Share Plan—which was not submitted to COAH until after the lawsuits were filed—two developers filed "builder's …
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Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Cranford works to make the township more environment-friendly through promotion, education and the search for funding.
Cranford residents will see more eco-minded flyers, speakers, and hopefully, more green-dedicated funding by the end of the year. Nelson Ditmar, chair of the Cranford Environmental Commission, laid out his goals for 2010 at a February 9 township meeting. Some goals are farther along than others, but Dittmar feels–and the township committee largely agrees–that the environmental commission is on the right track. A big goal, Sustainable Jersey certification, would present the town with the chance to trumpet its environmental credentials, while also placing the town at the front of the line for certain environmental grants should the need arise. Cranford currently has 30 of 150 total points, but a lecture series, plans for a community garden …
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
The next budget meeting will be held January 9 after the official township meeting.
The Cranford Township Committee met with department heads on Monday to negotiate a way to keep the 2010 budget from weighing down taxpayer wallets while sustaining town services. This budget term looks to be a tough one with town officials expecting less state aid than previous years.Commissioners asked representatives from the engineering, public works, fire, construction code, planning and zoning departments to suggest cost-cutting areas within their own budgets. The department heads provided more reasons not to cut their expenses than solutions to Cranford's budget problems. "We've got to be able to perform a function," said Richard Marsden, town engineer. "There is a base cost we need, and I feel like I'm fighting the base cost." …
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