Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Ordinance introduced to give $800 to those requiring underground replacement service.
A one-time $800 reimbursement for those who have underground electric replacement service is a vote away from being a reality. The Madison Borough Council voted 6-0 to introduce an ordinance that would give relief to those with underground electric wiring. Councilman Robert Conley said the borough does the same service up to 100 feet free of charge for residents who have above-ground wiring. However, since the borough doesn't have the equipment or materials for the underground equivalent, it has up until now been the full financial responsibility of such residents. Mayor Mary-Anna Holden said the issue keeps coming back, and Conley said it was two years ago when it was first looked into and decided that a reimbursement would be a good idea…
40.77075
-74.43581
/articles/reimbursement-for-underground-electric-replacement-close-to-reality
/locations/303468
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Bagger says governor to address fiscal issues from local governments along with state government in budget.
Gubernatorial chief of staff Rich Bagger is remaining mum as to the specifics of Gov. Chris Christie's soon-to-be-released budget proposal and the impact 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," he 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 were made to fill a $2 …
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Acting chief says reduced services likely; Administrator says borough can't afford 14th member, promotion.
Acting Fire Chief Lou DeRosa pleaded his case to fill a position, make a promotion, and keep overtime in the budget to the Borough Council during its third budget workshop session on Thursday night. DeRosa read a prepared statement to the council on why he felt the department's proposed budget, which was prepared by former Chief Doug Atchison, should stand as opposed to the recommended budget given by Borough Administrator Ray Codey. "The numbers are the numbers but the impact is dramatic on the service end of things, so I want to focus on that because they do have a direct correlation to the numbers," DeRosa said as he began. DeRosa said that a reduction in career personnel–the department is a combination volunteer and career force–would …
40.77075
-74.43581
/articles/derosa-asks-for-larger-fire-budget
/locations/301520
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Bret Schundler discusses surplus freezes, possible reductions in state aid allocations; Madison Public Schools Superintendent in attendance.
Bret Schundler, newly sworn in as New Jersey's Commissioner of Education, defended the cuts in school aid already enacted by the Christie administration and warned educators Monday that more are on the way. Schundler spoke at the Garden State Coalition of Schools meeting at Lawton C. Johnson Summit Middle School Monday night. The topic of conversation was the current financial state of education in New Jersey. Many districts represented received notice recently they would not be getting the remainder of the state aid they were expecting. And most are also expecting state aid cuts for the 2010-2011 budget year. "We all know we're in trouble here–in the state, in the country, in the local districts," said Lynne Strickland, executive director…
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Councilwoman is in the last year of her third term on Borough Council.
Councilwoman Astri Baillie has announced she will not seek re-election in November. Baillie is in the ninth year of her third term serving the borough. "It is gratifying that the main goals I set for each of my three terms on the Council have been achieved and I know I will step down at the end of the year with a positive spirit about what the Council has accomplished," Baillie said in a release. Baillie serves as the council's liaison to the Planning Board, where she was during its meeting on Tuesday night. Members congratulated her on her tenure as word spread throughout the board before the start of its meeting. Baillie, in her release, noted work promoting the adoption of Madison's open space trust fund, which has helped secure …
Friday, February 26, 2010
Bob Vogel, Omland Engineering talk to residents about Woodland and Samson Avenue projects.
Madison engineer Bob Vogel told the Borough Council he is hopeful the firm the borough is working with can finalize its proposal for road construction on Samson Avenue and Woodland Roads after a public meeting they had with residents. The meeting was held on Monday before the regular council meeting, and gave residents a look at the proposal as it stands from Omland Engineering Associates. "Hopefully we have enough right now to finalize the proposal we have right now and get a set of good documents that works for the entire borough," Vogel said after the special meeting. Many residents of Woodland Road have been rallying against possible sidewalks in the reconstruction project for months. The Nov. 9, 2009 council meeting was highlighted by…
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Greenwood Property Group's application for 122 Main St. goes through.
The Madison Planning Board approved the construction of a multi-use construction at 122 Main St., the former site of an Exxon, with board conditions on Tuesday night. Most of the board's meeting was spent on Greenwood Property Group's application to develop the lot on the corner of Greenwood Avenue and Main Street. The board saw designs for a two-floor building with stores below and offices above and heard from Nino Coviello, the group's attorney, and Rocco Iossa, the applicant. Gary W. Dean, a traffic engineer, answered the board's questions about the impact on traffic and possible solutions for easing congestion, such as left lead lights at the intersection of Main Street and Greenwood Avenue. Dean said such a solution would likely help …
40.77075
-74.43581
/articles/planning-board-approves-mixed-use-development-along-main-street
/locations/281296
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
YMCA will provide teen services in Madison.
The Madison Teen Center, which has recently been operating out of the Bayley-Ellard gym, will no longer be a destination for some of the borough's youth. The Borough Council, at its normal meeting on Monday night, voted to terminate the contracts of the part-time director and assistant director of the center. The vote come after the recommendation of Administrator Ray Codey to continue teen services to the borough through the Madison YMCA instead of the teen center. Codey had recently been in talks with other facilities that could offer similar services, and received an offer from the YMCA that he, and the council thereafter, felt would be a better budget choice. Codey said that the borough would save about half of the money it spends on …
40.77075
-74.43581
/articles/council-terminates-teen-center-employee-contracts
/locations/280353
Friday, February 19, 2010
Second budget workshop shows discrepancies in police vehicle replacement schedule, possible need for salary arbitration.
The Madison Borough Council continued to look for a little over a million dollars that it can cut from early estimated budget numbers as representatives from police, public works and the health department spoke at the second of five budget hearings on Thursday. The million dollars is the difference between the 4 percent tax increase allowed by state law and what Chief Financial Officer Robert Kalafut presented at last week's budget workshop. On Thursday, specific numbers were not given out to the public in hand-out form because the council and administrator said the proposed budgets by some departments and the budget suggested by the borough are still unsettled. Administrator Ray Codey said that once the numbers are put into final form …
Friday, February 12, 2010
Madison CFO presents at first budget work session as municipal department budgets still to be discussed.
Madison Chief Financial Officer Robert Kalafut presented numbers on Tuesday night that showed the borough's estimated needed dollar amount to be raised for municipal purposes in 2010 is $1,021,292 above the allowable tax levey. Kalafut used a slideshow to illustrate the numbers through charts in front of the Borough Council and a small public contingent at Bayley-Ellard. One of the main themes of Kalafut's presentation was that each year the borough depletes more and more of its surplus because the amount the borough uses to offset property taxes is greater than the revenue generated. Kalafut estimates the borough will generate $3 million per year in 2010 and 2011, money he will need to have ready to make municipal payments. "Three million…
Thanks for posting more ›