Monday, June 20, 2011
Councilman could run as write-in candidate.
Madison voters will have one less candidate to choose from in the Borough Council general election in November. Morris County Clerk Joan Bramhall following a hearing last week disallowed the nominating petitions submitted by Independent candidate Sam Cerciello. The Madison Republican Committee had asked for the hearing, disputing the validity of some of the petition signatures. In an interview with Patch, Cerciello admitted that his petitions had been altered with Wite-Out after he decided to drop out of the mayoral race to run again for council. But he insisted all the signatures were valid. Cerciello, a registered Republican who owns his own contracting business, is backing Democrat Robert Conley in the mayoral race against GOP incumbent…
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
The Landtek Group gets long-discussed project for Madison Recreation Complex after 4-2 vote.
The Madison Borough Council on Monday night voted 4-2 to award the construction contract for two synthetic turf sports fields—the first phase of the long-discussed Madison Recreation Complex—to The Landtek Group of Amityville, N.Y. The decisive vote, in which council members Robert Conley and Sam Cerciello dissented, ended years of emotional debate and delay amid staunch opposition by a small but vocal minority in the community who criticized everything from the project's cost and planning to its impact on the environment and possible effects on the health of people who would use it. The vote was punctuated by approving applause by the large crowd in the council chamber. Groundbreaking could take place within the next few weeks. The fields…
Monday, May 23, 2011
Discussion includes funding for pool parking lot.
The Madison Borough Council has a full agenda for tonight’s 8 p.m. meeting at Hartley Dodge Memorial Municipal Building. Heading the to-do list is the awarding of a contract to The Landtek Group of Amityville, N.Y., to construct two synthetic turf fields as part of the first phase of development of the Madison Recreation Complex. The multiuse fields are designed to host one full-size and one Little League or softball diamond, and can also be configured for soccer, lacrosse and other field sports. Parking, bleachers and night lighting are included in the plan, sited on 10 acres known as The Pit adjacent to Madison High School, and part of the so-called 49 Acres annexed earlier this year from Florham Park. Also on the agenda are …
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
How to pay the question amid declining revenues and shrinking surpluses.
Members of the Borough Council got their first look at a proposed three-year capital plan for needed infrastructure projects and improvements Monday night at Hartley Dodge Memorial. The cost for sewers, roads and other projects totals close to $5 million while through 2013 while, for the first time, insufficient funding is expected to drive the year-end capital fund balance into negative territory. The prospective plan, which was put together by council member Robert Conley, includes road reconstruction and improvements, storm water and sanitary sewer projects, as well as equipment purchases for the police and fire departments, among other items. Capital projects are estimated at $1.653 million in 2011, $1.955 million in 2012, and $1.235 …
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Downtown business vacancy rate drops to under 3%, borough tests new electrical meters.
While Monday night's borough council meeting at Hartley Dodge Memorial focused on amendments to the 2011 municipal budget, there was other, noteworthy news from around the borough. Here's a roundup: 49 Acres Gets Bigger: Council members approved an ordinance officially annexing the land acquired from Florham Park that up to now has been known as the 49 Acres. In the process, the parcel has grown to 61.3 acres, including extra Board of Education property that lies in Florham Park, in front of the 49 acres. It is not new land, but was always part of the 49 Acres [acquisition], meaning the property did not add to the cost of the acquisition, said borough attorney Joseph Mezzacca. Vacancy Rate Falls: New businesses opening in Madison have …
Borough council to formally adopt 2011 spending plan April 25.
The Madison Borough Council on Monday night adopted a resolution approving an amended 2011 municipal budget that includes a tax hike of 3.48 percent from the prior-year budget. The resolution amends a budget presented to the council by borough chief financial officer Robert Kalafut on March 14. The spending plan will be formally adopted and sent on to the state at the next scheduled council meeting April 25. The amended budget sets total spending at $24,451,901 million, up from $24,438,695 in the March 14 budget. Taxes total $11,976,513, revised downward from $13,178,688. The amendment breaks out a separate listing for the library tax levy as required by the state of $1,197,291 which was previously included in the total tax levy, which has…
Monday, April 11, 2011
Ahead of June 7 primary, Conley giving up council seat to challenge Holden's mayoral reelection bid.
Republicans Martin Barbato, a former Madison councilman, and Robert Landrigan submitted their petitions for councilmember positions to Borough Clerk Elizabeth Osborne for the June 7 primary election. They were joined by incumbent Mayor Mary-Anna Holden, who filed to run for reelection. For the Democrats, Robert McDowell, who ran unsuccessfully for council in 2010, and former two-term council member Carmela Vitale, filed for council seats. Current council member Robert Conley is leaving the panel to run for mayor. The deadline for Republican and Democratic candidates to file petitions was 4 p.m. Monday. The candidates will challenge in November's general election for the seats of Conley and Sam Cerciello, whose three-year terms expire at …
Friday, April 8, 2011
Borough council aims to head off tax increase.
The Madison Borough Council continued to wrestle with urgent issues at a special budget meeting Thursday night: Dirty diapers or detective novels? Potholes or power subsidies? Treadmills or transmissions? The hearing at Hartley Dodge Memorial brought into sharp focus how increasingly dear potential reductions in municipal spending have become. The borough must adopt a final budget for 2010-11 by April 26. Borough Chief Financial Officer Robert Kalafut reviewed the most recent budget proposal originally presented to the council March 14. It proposes total spending of $24,438,696, a reduction of 1.31% from the previous year. Property taxes would increase 3.51%, to $13,178,688. Kalafut noted that the budget was hit by a 30% reduction in the …
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Decision comes after redistricting shifts Madison to Democrats' 27th District.
Madison Borough Council member and Republican Jeannie Tsukamoto has withdrawn her name for consideration as a candidate for the state assembly. Her decision comes after redistricting shifted Madison from the GOP-controlled 21st District to the 27th District represented by Democratic State Sen. Richard Codey of Roseland, Assemblyman John McKeon (D-West Orange) and Assemblywoman Mila Jasey (D-South Orange). "I am honored to be considered as an Assembly candidate in our new district. I would like to continue to devote myself in serving Madison during these challenging times and have decided to decline the opportunity at this time," Tsukamoto said in a statement, in response to a question from Patch. A former borough council president, …
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Councilman cites dissatisfaction with GOP.
Madison councilman Sam Cerciello has declared his intention to run for mayor as an independent. Cerciello has served on the Borough Council since November, 2009 as a member of the Republican party. His current term expires at the end of this year. He is the third candidate to enter the mayoral race, joining Republican incumbent Mary-Anna Holden and Democrat Robert Conley. In a brief phone interview, Cerciello acknowledged growing differences with fellow Republican council members contributed to his decision, as well as an increasingly testy relationship with Holden. "I have become disappointed in my fellow Republicans," he said. "I have been a member of the GOP party all my life, but like any group of people, there are good and bad. I'm a …
Elephantintheroom
4:50 pm on Monday, June 20, 2011
Wow...if this quote from Conley isn't incredibly revealing! "I was certainly surprised at the opinion of the Chair of the Madison Republican Committee accusing Sam of “city” politics," he said. "I’ve known Sam for a long time and I don’t think that there was any intention of deception with the petitions, he was just trying to do what he thought was the right thing." Um, whiting out petitions? Not… more ›