Thursday, May 16, 2013
Owner of a home assessed near the township average will see an increase of between $40 and $50 on their municipal tax bill.
Municipal taxes are on the rise after the Township Council voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a budget that carries a 2.5 cent tax increase. The spending plan raises the tax rate from 72-cents to 74.5-cents per $100 of assessed valuation. The new rate would bring an annual municipal tax increase of about $47 for homes assessed at the township average of $188,400. The budget cuts spending by about $115,000, as total spending since 2008 has been slashed by nearly $1.5 million. However, the net decrease in the township ratable base, weighing revenue from new businesses versus the loss of revenue from tax appeals, came in at a loss of about $8 million. "Originally I said I wouldn't support a budget unless it had a reduction in spending, and …
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Owner of a home assessed at the township average would see a bump of about $40.
South Brunswick taxpayers can expect to see an increase in their municipal taxes after the township puts the finishing touches on this year's budget. The Township Council will vote at their next meeting to adopt a budget that carries a tax increase of about 2.5-cents, which would raise the tax rate from about 72-cents to about 74.5-cents per $100 of assessed valuation. The new rate would bring an annual municipal tax increase of approximately $40 for homes assessed at the township average of $188,400. "We are still working on it, but I'm satisfied with 2.5-cents," said Mayor Frank Gambatese. "If everything goes okay, then we will adopt it at our next meeting." Under the mandated 2-percent tax cap, the township was permitted to raise taxes …
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Ordinance will prevent solicitors from visiting residences that register with the township.
Following a number of complaints concerning visits from door-to-door salesmen in recent years, South Brunswick will soon allow residents to prevent further knocks on their door from some of the unwanted visitors. At Tuesday's Township Council meeting, the council approved an ordinance for the creation of a "do not knock" list, whereby residents may register with the township to have their address placed on a list of homes peddlers and solicitors are forbidden to visit. "This has been a concern to a lot of folks around town," said Deputy Mayor Chris Killmurray. "It's a quality of life issue and a safety issue." The ordinance applies only to those who are seeking to sell goods and services, but does not apply to census workers, door-to-door…
Monday, April 1, 2013
Township officials estimate new turf baseball fields at Rowland Park should be open for play in 2014.
A project to add two turf baseball fields to Rowland Park could be completed by this Fall, however township officials said the fields are expected to begin play next year. At last week's meeting, the Township Council approved the $760,000 project project unanimously during a second reading of the ordinance. No residents spoke about the project during the public portion of the hearing. The township will go out to bond for $361,000 from the Open Space Trust Fund, while Middlesex County will match South Brunswick's contribution from county open space funds. "We've had experience with this from the turf soccer and lacrosse field on Culver Road at Tall Timbers Park," said Public Affairs Coordinator Ron Schmalz last month. "These fields allow …
Monday, March 18, 2013
Door-to-door solicitors barred from visiting residences passed dusk.
South Brunswick is taking aim at an annoyance reported by numerous residents throughout the township recently. At last week's meeting, the Township Council passed an ordinance that restricts solicitors from knocking on doors passed dusk. The township is also considering the creation of a "do not knock" registry, which would allow residents to sign up with the township clerk to opt out from any door-to-door solicitors. Under such a measure, when a person registers with the township to conduct door-to-door solicitation, they would then be given a list of addresses where they would not be allowed to visit. "I don't have a problem with restricting (solicitors) to dusk," said Deputy Mayor Chris Killmurray during the meeting. "The no-knock list …
Thursday, March 14, 2013
South Brunswick officials said they will continue to look for areas to cut before budget is passed.
The South Brunswick Township Council voted to introduce a budget Tuesday night that would raise the municipal tax rate by 3-cents. If adopted as it stands, the tax rate would increase from 72.1-cents to about 75-cents per $100 of assessed valuation. The increase was whittled down from when the budget was initially presented last month, with a spending plan that would've carried a 5-cent tax rate bump. The municipal budget, which had to be formally introduced by March 15 or the first meeting thereafter, is still expected to undergo changes in the weeks ahead. "I'm satisfied with a 3-cents increase," said Mayor Frank Gambatese. "Would we like to come in at zero? Sure. But we don't want to sacrifice services that people really enjoy just to …
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
South Brunswick officials tell Central Jersey Transportation Forum that traffic problem along Route 1 can only be solved by adding a third lane.
The sight is a familiar one for drivers along the Route 1 corridor. They're moving along just fine until they hit South Brunswick and the bottleneck begins as the road goes from three lanes to two. With little movement in nearly 30 years of waiting for the state to expand Route 1 in South Brunswick to three lanes, officials from the Central Jersey Transportation Forum visited the Township Council last week to discuss a long term strategy to alleviate traffic woes. "My biggest problem has always been that there is not enough pressure put on the state to really take care of the main issue, which is traffic along the corridor," said Mayor Frank Gambatese. "South Brunswick is the problem. This is where the bottleneck happens. So until they …
Friday, March 8, 2013
South Brunswick looking to ban door-to-door salesman from knocking on doors passed sunset.
After ongoing complaints from residents about door-to-door solicitors visiting homes at night, the township is moving forward with a ban on solicitation during the evening hours. At Tuesday's Township Council meeting, an ordinance was discussed that would prohibit vendors and solicitors from knocking on doors passed 7 p.m. or dusk, whichever comes first. "If your wife is home alone and somebody comes knocking on the door at 9 or 10 o'clock at night, that can be frightening," said Mayor Frank Gambatese. "(The new restrictions) would be a good thing for the town." Councilman Joseph Camarota also put forward an idea for the township to create a "do not knock" registry that would prohibit vendors from visiting any address on the list. Township…
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Solar powered warning signs at crosswalks targeted for multiple locations with high pedestrian traffic.
South Brunswick Township has applied for federal grant funds to install solar power crosswalk warning signs at various locations that experience a high level of pedestrian traffic. On Tuesday evening for the second time in the last five days, a pedestrian walking across a major roadway was struck by a motorist in South Brunswick. Prior to these incidents, the township had already been working to secure funds that would add an additional layer of protection on roads that are less well lit than the major roadways on which the pedestrians were struck. Through a Federal Highway Safety Grant, the township is hoping to place signs that offer an enhanced warning to motorists that pedestrians may be crossing the road. The main location where …
Monday, February 25, 2013
Cost of project to be split between township and county from open space funds.
South Brunswick and Middlesex County will be splitting the cost of adding two more turf baseball fields to Rowland Park from open space funds. At last week's Township Council meeting, a resolution was passed to go out to bond for the $760,000 project, with South Brunswick covering $361,000 from the Open Space Trust Fund. "We've had experience with this from the turf soccer and lacrosse field on Culver Road at Tall Timbers Park," said Public Affairs Coordinator Ron Schmalz. "These fields allow for continuous play, water is easily drained and they're very low maintenance. It's been a huge success and that's why we went for two more fields." In 2011, the council passed a bond ordinance for $432,250 for a turf baseball field and a multi-use …
Eric
11:00 pm on Sunday, May 19, 2013
Tugwalla...how right you are! and in this case, the foxes are watching the part time wolf. more ›