In The News
Willingboro VFW to hold Black History Month dinner
WILLINGBORO — Residents on Saturday will honor Burlington County's four black mayors during a Black History Month event.
MacArthur delivers late WWII vets' medals to family in Delran
Congressman Tom MacArthur will present seven Army medals of recognition to the family of the late Theodore Paluch, a World War II veteran. Paluch fought in Europe, Africa and the Middle Eastern campaigns. He survived the Malmedy Massacre and Battle of the Bulge.
Singleton wants to revive vetoed pension bill
VOORHEES — Assemblyman Troy Singleton is interested in reviving 2014 legislation requiring a portion of public employee pension contributions to be used to pay down the system's unfunded liabilities rather than as an offset for state and local governments' employer contributions.
COMMENTARY: NJ must avoid Flint-like crisis
The ongoing media coverage of the water fiasco in Flint, Michigan, and the unconscionable conduct of leaders responsible for the disaster have underscored the importance of having access to clean, safe and plentiful water.
7 things to ponder about Gov. Christie
Gov. Chris Christie is back in New Jersey, his presidential prospects dashed, preparing to outline a new state budget in a speech to state lawmakers Tuesday.
Burlington County fire districts in no rush to merge
For years, officials in Beverly and Edgewater Park have talked about possibly consolidating their two fire districts, but they never moved forward with the idea, in part because state law was silent on the issue
NJ Assembly panel advances bill to reduce property taxes, designate state songs
Legislation to reduce New Jersey's notoriously high property taxes was voted out of the Assembly State and Local Government Committee on Monday during the panel's first meeting with Assemblyman Troy Singleton as chairman.
Singleton, D-7th of Palmyra, took over leadership of the committee at the start of the new two-year session, and he used his first meeting to post bills aimed at lightening the state's heavy property tax burden by returning millions of dollars in funds collected from energy companies and utilities, called energy tax receipts, to municipalities, as well as another measure intended to help towns and other local governments save money by using electronic procurement for some biddings, purchases and property sales.
Lawmakers Push to Return Utility Tax Funds to Hard-Pressed Municipalities
When New Jersey plunged into the depths of the last recession nearly a decade ago, funds the state collects for municipal governments from taxes on utility company equipment within their borders were instead kept in Trenton to help balance the state budget.
That diversion of funds helped prevent massive cuts in aid for hospitals, schools, and safety-net programs for the poor.
Policy Summit Examines Solutions To NJ’s Infrastructure Challenges
This past Saturday at the Rutgers University Student Activities Center, the New Jersey Chapter of the New Leaders Council (NLC-New Jersey), held its 2nd Annual Policy Summit focused on “Improving New Jersey’s Infrastructure.
The keynote speaker for the event was former New Jersey
Transportation Commissioner Jamie Fox, who was making his 1st public appearance since leaving the position. Fox talked about the implications of the New Jersey Transportation Trust Fund potentially running out of money at the end of June and real reform at the Port Authority to help New Jersey’s infrastructure. “Crisis presents opportunity,” said Fox.
Property tax relief bill passes N.J. Assembly committee
A bill to restore hundreds of millions of dollars paid by utilities to local governments in New Jersey for property tax relief advanced through a state legislative committee on Monday.
The legislation, (A302), would restore $331 million in cuts to energy tax receipts and Consolidated Municipal Property Tax Relief Aid over five years. But there's a catch: the money must be used to offset local tax levies.