Edgewater Park to lose another good resident

I received this message Sunday and have removed the senders name from the address bar

The Edgewater Park Reporter

----- Forwarded Message ----
From: J.B.
To: "edgewaterparkreporter@yahoo.com" <edgewaterparkreporter@yahoo.com>
Sent: Sunday, July 27, 2008 10:08:01 PM
Subject: 

Just wanted to comment on your site for Edgewater Park. Being a resident here for almost ten years myself, my husband born and raised here. We are a 1 income household. It is tough in this day and age to do it but we have done it with struggles and sacrifices so I can be a stay at home Mom and raise my own children. But due to the economy these days and the price of our taxes we can not  and will not be residents of this town for too much longer or state. We will be heading south where my husband can make more money than what he is making here in this state and have a bigger home with less taxes than what we pay here in this town. Not to mention the school district here has much to be desired. Doing some research I found that our school rates a 4 on a national level  as opposed to where we will be moving is an 8. Well on that note, I only wish I had stumbled across your site sooner.

Welcome Home Spc Steven Buck, Edgewater Park thanks you for you service

Saturday, July 26th 2008 Spc Steven Buck, Army, 37th Calvary returned home from a 15 month tour in Iraq. Steven is 20 years old and graduated from Burlington City High School where he attended ROTC for 4 years.

Steven was welcomed by his parents at the Trenton Rail Station and escorted to Edgewater Park by the Warriors Watch Riders and the NJ State Police. Yellow ribbons were hung along Stevens return route along Woodlane Rd and E. Franklin Ave to his home. The Beverly, Burlington City Fire Companies formed a welcome arch with their ladder trucks at the intersection of Monroe and E. Franklin Ave., with our nations flag donated by the Willingboro Fire Company hung from the arch. 

Steven's escort turning onto E. Franklin Ave. from Woodlane Rd.

Steven rode on the back of one of the Warriors Watch Riders motorcycle from the Trenton Train Station to Edgewater Park.

Members of the Warriors Watch Riders Motorcycle Club. 

This group also protects Servicemen and Women's families, from the Wacko Church Group that goes to the Serviceman's  funerals to shout obnoxious statements at the families.   

Steven with his Mom, Robin Arnold

Steven thanking the members of Beverly, Burlington City and Willingboro Fire Companies.

Steven receiving a "Proclamation of Thanks", from Burlington County Freeholder Stacy Jorden on behalf of the Residents of Burlington County and the Burlington County Board of Chosen Freeholders

Beverly American Legion Post Commander Ed Gitto welcoming Steven with a gift of a free one year American Legion membership  

As you can see by Steven's expression, he was speechless with the greeting he received from everyone.

This is a group picture of the Yellow Ribbon Club Members, were responsible for this outpouring of welcoming support for Steven. This Club performs this function for any returning serviceman and servicewoman, at the request of the family. They can be contacted at their Web Site www.yellowribbonclub.org. Please visit their Web Site and help them with their effort to see that every returning Service person receives a grand welcome home, and a show of appreciation for their service to our country.

We thank the members of the Yellow Ribbon Club for this service.  

Edgewater Park, you did a splendid job with Steven's welcome as well as the Beverly, Burlington City, Willingboro Fire Companies and all of the family, friends and neighbors who worked hard to see his welcome was splendid and that Steven knew we appreciated his service and to give our thanks. 

Chuck Ryder

Thank you Chuck for this wonderful story and pictures. I also will add a link for the Yellow Ribbon Club Web page. 

I would like to add that the show of support for this welcome was overwhelming from the Residents and friends, I was very disappointed that our local press did not bother to report on this welcome. I think they should be ashamed for their lack of coverage. If this was a negative story about a member of our armed forces I have no doubt it would have been a page 1 story.

Welcome home Spc Steven Buck and thank you for your service to our country.

The Edgewater Park Reporter

Edgewater Park Sewerage Authority Menage-a-Trois

My My we have quite a story written in the July Beverly Bee by the Sewer Authority Chairmen, Dave LeVay.

Chairman Dave states that the Sewerage Authority has relocated its office from the Municipal Building to the shopping center at the corner of Cooper and Green St. across from "The Farm". 

Chairman Dave gives the new expanded business hours of 9 AM till 4:30 PM, Monday through Friday and the reason for this was to provide better service to the residents and businesses.

Chairman Dave states this move was done because the township decided not to renew the Authorities lease that was due to expire at the end of the year. 

Chairman Dave has misinformed the readers on this point. The township committee and mayor sent the Authority an eviction notice, and a copy of that notice was published on this blog, giving the Authority till August 30, 2008 to vacate. The following is a link to a copy of that and other letters concerning the eviction- http://www.lpenj.org/OGTF/EPSA.pdf.

Chairman Dave goes on to explain the personal changes that have taken place with the Sewer Authority. As a resident and sewer tax payer, I found it interesting that Chairman Dave doesn't explain why it took three people, a Menage-a-Trois, to replace two employees. 

Chairman Dave goes to great lengths to explain how all of the additional expenses for moving, new employees, additional hours for payroll, additional cost for the employee benefits, additional utility cost, additional rent, additional legal cost and potential new equipment, are not going to affect the current sewerage rates. 

Chairman Dave is right on this point, because what he didn't tell you is that the rates have been set for this year (2008), and it is next year that the rates will see the affects of all this new spending. 

Chairman Dave also explains that the move was

 provided for by surplus funds in the budget. What Chairman Dave didn't tell you was that the Auditor stated in his verbal comments, made while presenting his 2007 audit report to the Authority Members at the Authorities  2008 budget meeting, that the Authority lost money during the 2007 operating year, and based on the expected increases in operating expenses for 2008, the Authority should consider increasing the sewer tax to offset those increased cost. The Auditor's comments were made prior to the unplanned additional cost associated with the move, additional employees and legal cost Chairman Dave spoke about in his article. 

Chairman Dave and the Authority are about to do to the Edgewater Park sewer tax payers, what the Township Committee did to the Edgewater Park taxpayers over the past 4 years. Chairman Dave and the Authority, will deplete the surplus for day to day expenses and then increase the sewer taxes next year to cover the additional operating expenses for this year.

Did you also see were Chairman Dave and the Authority also want the Sewer Authority Rate Payers to also pay to expand sewers to areas of Edgewater Park that do not have sewer now? This is a great deal for Developers, so now they can build residential high density housing on land that was supposed to be preserved for farmland or open space, and who now will not need to pay for that expenses, and we the Sewer Tax Payers get to pick up the tab. 

Remember Chairman Dave was also Chairman of the Planning Board that gave 50% reductions in buffer zones between the Commercial Development on Rt 130 and the residential housing in Orchard Estates. What a great Sewer Chairman and Lap-Dog for Mayor Judy and Committee. 

I can't wait for the August Edition of the Bee.

The Edgewater Park Reporter 

Edgewater Park Committee Embarrassed

I hope you all were able to read the story in the BCT today 7/10/08 by Lauri Sheibley; Beverly maintains tax rate.

The state cut Beverly's aid by $90,535.00 dollars. Beverly's budget for this year is $3,038,054.82. Edgewater Park's state aid was cut $192,584.00, and since the township committee has not divulged its 2008 budget as of this date, I cannot compare the 2008 budgets of both towns to see if the % of state aid cuts are the same for both towns.

Maybe we should merge with Beverly since their elected officials and professionals have done a much better job with their budget this year. 

How is it that Beverly can maintain its services to the residents and not raise taxes, when Beverly City is subject to the same cost increases as Edgewater Park.

I say we send our Township Committee and the Administrator to Beverly and take lessons on how to manage a budget when times are tough financially.

When Tom Pullion comes knocking on your door or calls you asking for your vote to reelect him to Township Committee, ask him why he has done such a lousy job with overseeing the township's finances. Ask him to explain why he has voted to raise taxes by so much. 

I am picking on Tom because, he is the Township Committeeman in charge of finances and he is running for re-election this year. 

Somebody on Township Committee has to take action and get control of the Administrator and spending, or we will all have to move because we can't afford to pay the taxes to live here. As a senior, my income is fixed and I do not get the % increases in my Social Security or my pension, that can keep up with the large tax increases we have seen in this town during the past five years.

Please read the BCT article, I have provided a link if you recycled your paper today or don't read the BCT.    

The Edgewater Park Reporter  

Edgewater Park Tax Greetings

NEWS FLASH July 9, 2008; I have noticed that several people have commented on the State Web Site Posted State Aid Reports. I am attaching the links to the 2008 and 2007 State Aid Reports for Edgewater Park- Edgewater Park Reporter.

http://www.state.nj.us/dca/lgs/muniaid/08_aid/08sosa/312_ssa_2008.pdf

http://www.state.nj.us/dca/lgs/muniaid/07_aid/07sosa/312_ssa_2007.pdf

Well, I am back from a needed R&R. I am sorry about the pause in Blog Postings but I was able to read the Blog comments and found them very interesting.

The first thing I did when I got back was to go to the Post Office to get my mail and my July Copy of the Beverly Bee, and what did I find but an envelope with greetings from Edgewater Park Township. It was the "ESTIMATED TAX NOTICE 2008 3RD QTR TAX DUE:".

I almost choked when I saw the amount. It is more than 8.5% higher then my 2007 taxes.

I checked with my sources to see if the 2008 Township Budget was introduced, and found out that, no it has not.

I looked more carefully at the TAX NOTICE, and found it contains what I think is conflicting information.

First, at the top of the notice it states; "Estimate

d Tax Bills are considered the same as Regular Tax Bills in regard to all provisions affecting Tax Bills, including interest and the use of the Bill for calculating Escrow Requirements by Mortgage Services." On the bottom of the notice are 4 coupons with information printed on Coupon 3 only, that list an amount due August 1, 2008, but then states at the bottom of Coupon 3, in big red letters; "THIS IS NOT A BILL - FOR ADVICE ONLY".

Confusing?

I then read the July Edgewater Park Propaganda Section of the Bee.

I see that our Mayor is working hard with her July article, to try and justify the irresponsible spending of money on her new office, the new furniture, new carpeting, new painting and best of all, a new file room for legal documents. She also states that, "there are no funds in the budget for any new furnishings" and that "Your current township committee is determined to represent you by governing responsibly". Gee has anyone seen a 2008 township budget yet???? Beverly published theirs.

I will have to check on how much legal billing we taxpayers are paying for and and why.

I bet the Township Clerk is still way behind on the publishing of township meeting minutes and she needs a new file room?

Maybe we need the new File Room because the Clerk can't find documents on her own desk and looses them all the time, that she needs to make two copies of everything, one for her to loose and one for the File Room for her back-up.

I want to ask just one question?

How many of you taxpayers that read this Blog, have adjusted your spending this year on non-essential items due to the economic conditions?

I daresay, that unless you are rich enough, you have made adjustments in your families spending this year. Well the the Mayor and township committee have not! They are taking you for granted and think most of us are dumb enough to continue to believe the Mayor's statements.

I will be following up with additional Posts concerning items I have observed since returning to town.

The Edgewater Park Reporter