The Alternative Press

FRANKLIN BOROUGH, NJ - The Franklin Borough Council met on Feb. 26 for its council meeting. The borough's 100^th anniversary celebration was the first item of discussion. Judy Williams, who is in charge of the event, spoke to the council about a marker which will be at Franklin Pond.

Franklin Pond is the proposed location of the event. This is due to the fact that the pond is where the furnace is located. Franklin started as a mining town. The marker is planned to overlook the pond and contain a 100 word message detailing the history of Franklin as a town. The proposed cost of the marker would be about $2,200. The borough plans to pay half of that, the rest will be collected as donations.

The council then discussed the possible hire of a new police officer, upon the officer's passing of a background check, and graduation from police academy. They also talked about a rate increase from JCP&L.

The council discussed how low tax collection would impact the 2013 budget.

“When people don't pay their taxes, no matter what the reason, we know it's hard times,” said James Kilduff, the borough administrator. “The slack must be taken up by everyone else.”

The topic of the lack of volunteers on the first aid squad was another subject among the council members. They are considering either paying people to do it, outsourcing jobs to a company, or a combination of both.

The meeting was then opened to the public. This was filled with various comments and suggestions from citizens ranging from big businesses, to the way the town looks to people passing through to due to the empty buildings that are unsightly. One citizen even suggested laying off the school superintendent to end the tax burden.

The council approved Resolution 2013-20 authorizing releasing a cash bond worth $500 for James Vallila, JCV Construction, a developer. They also approved the adoption of ordinance #1-2013 which authorized a lease agreement between the borough and Northwest New Jersey Community Action Program, INC. This ordinance deals with a portion of property at George Labance Lane owned by the municipality. NORWESCAP is seeking to rent a vacant office space at that property where Franklin Senior Center is located.

The council approved Resolution 2013-21, which deals with Tonnage Grant Application, to assist in funding recycling services in that town. This grant is from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

The council also approved a Commodity Resale agreement with Hardyston Township. This agreement states that Franklin emergency vehicles can refuel at Hardyston fueling stations, because Franklin has no fueling stations of their own.

The council also discussed the budget schedule for the 2013 budget. They also discussed resolution 2013-22, the transfer of appropriation reserves. This means the town was transferring $4,000 in order to fix an error, which will not effect the 2013 budget in any way.

They also discussed a proposal for tax reassessment services. Two members of the county tax board were there to discuss the reassessment, which has been ordered for the borough. Councilman Nick Giordano said he thinks that the issue is commercial businesses, not private home owners.

There was a last minute item added. There is a problem in one of the wells in the borough. There is an emergency contract with the contractor who fixed the other well recently to fix the second well.

The next borough council meeting will take place on March 12.

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