MAY 2019 EDITION
Township Approves Municipal Budget With No Tax Increase
Monroe Township Mayor Gerald W. Tamburro signed a 2019 municipal budget with zero increase after a public hearing at last evening’s regular meeting of Monroe Township Council. The annual municipal budget was introduced at the April 1 Township Council meeting.

“I am pleased to have signed our 2019 Township budget that includes zero increase to the municipal tax rate,” said Mayor Gerald W. Tamburro. “This budget is the culmination of a year-long process with fiscally responsible decisions, careful negotiating and thoughtful planning at its core. All of which help to maintain Monroe’s position as the second lowest overall effective tax rate in Middlesex County and contribute to our AA+ bond rating.”

The newly adopted municipal budget reflects productive negotiations related to municipal employee healthcare benefits among the contributing factors for this flat tax rate. The adopted budget maintains the previous year’s tax rate of $47.5 cents per $100 assessed value.

Middlesex County also recently passed a 2019 operating budget that contains no tax rate increase.
Monroe Mayor Voices Concerns about Additional Cranbury Warehouse Development on Monroe Town Line
Mayor Doesn't Want Truck Connections to Residential Roads
Mayor Tamburro is expressing strong concern that additional warehouse development on the Monroe border could add more trucks and tractor trailers to local neighborhood roads and impact residents in Monroe.

To help protect residents from increased truck traffic, poor aesthetics, excessive noise and other concerns, Monroe officials have developed a professional study of an area, which is located between Hightstown - Cranbury Station Road and Halsey Reed Road in the Southwest Corner of Cranbury. The findings were presented in late April to a subcommittee of the Cranbury Planning Board, which is reviewing that township’s master plan.
 
Of great concern is the fact that the 408-acre area that abuts Halsey Reed Road, which is currently farmland, is now zoned for light industrial use, which means that more mega-warehouses could be built on the border of Monroe in Cranbury. Such development would create even more traffic, particularly tractor-trailer traffic, that could access local Monroe streets. 
 
That is why Mayor Tamburro will fight any connection within the local road network in Monroe, thus preventing tractor trailers from Monroe neighborhoods. They include Halsey Reed Road, Ely Road and Old Halsey Reed Road, partially in Monroe.  Early plans of this warehouse site show connections to local Monroe roads.
 
The size and scope of such industrial development would be incompatible with the surrounding area and the adjacent communities of Stratford as well as Renaissance Cranbury Crossing in Monroe. It would also greatly impact the Monroe and Cranbury residents on Old Halsey Reed Road.
Monroe Mayor Gerald Tamburro shares the concerns of Cranbury and Monroe residents over two planned fulfillment centers (site plan seen above) on Halsey Reed Road. (Photo: Change.org)
“It is my sincere hope that our friends in Cranbury realize the potential impact of warehousing on this site,” said Mayor Tamburro. “We consistently hear concerns from residents about the traffic generated on our streets from warehouses in neighboring Cranbury. We lose quality of life, while paying for the expense of road maintenance, to benefit companies that pay taxes to a neighboring community. It is unfair, it is not right, and we will do everything we can to protect Monroe."

Mark Remsa, a consulting planner for Monroe who developed the study, said the property abuts the Stratford housing development in Monroe. A warehouse and associated trucks and employee traffic would negatively affect the quality of life for adjacent residents from Cranbury and Monroe. It is his recommendation that the farmland be used for low-density residential construction, with an agricultural mix, ensuring any potential development enhances the surrounding residential neighborhoods in Monroe and the historical hamlet of Cranbury Station in Cranbury.
 
Remsa notes that approximately 75 percent of the study area comprises wetlands, which is likely why the land remains essentially undeveloped. There are also no sewer lines near the area, which would require any developer to incur considerable expense to construct a labyrinth of infrastructure. 
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Monroe Township Awarded $557K State Transportation Grant
Monroe will receive a $557,200 state grant from the New Jersey Department of Transportation’s (NJDOT) Fiscal Year 2019 Municipal Aid Program for the Schoolhouse Road – Pedestrian and Roadway Improvements project. 

“This grant marks the largest award Monroe Township has received yet from the NJDOT – almost $80,000 more than the previous year and $247,000 more than the 2017 grant,” said Mayor Tamburro.

“We are thankful to our legislators, including Senator Greenstein and Assemblymen DeAngelo and Benson, for their strong advocacy in support of our efforts to secure the necessary funding for this phase of the Schoolhouse Road project,” he said. “We plan to put the funds to good use while ensuring the safety of our roadways for our residents and visitors to Monroe Township.”
A westbound view of Schoolhouse Road facing the train tracks and Forman Ave., slated for improvement with funds from Monroe's largest-ever NJDOT grant. (Photo: Monroe Township)
The funding will be utilized for a Schoolhouse Road improvement project that will mill, repave and reconstruct Schoolhouse Road east of the railroad tracks to the split between Schoolhouse and Spotswood Gravel Hill Roads. This will not include the signaled intersection at Buckelew Avenue which was recently improved by Middlesex County.

“As Chairman of the Assembly Transportation and Independent Authorities Committee, I fought alongside my 14th District legislative colleagues Senator Linda Greenstein and Assemblyman Wayne DeAngelo to ensure the highest award in recent history for Monroe residents,” said Assemblyman Daniel Benson. 

“This grant money is an important investment in the safety of our local roadways and an improvement in our local transportation system,” he said. “I will continue to advocate for the funding of transportation projects in Monroe Township and all municipalities in the 14th District.”

NJDOT’s Municipal Aid Program is a very competitive program intended to provide municipalities with transportation-based grants to supplement their transportation programs. 
 
Each fiscal year, the NJDOT issues a solicitation announcement to municipalities inviting them to apply for funding for their specific project needs. Projects are presented to a screening committee comprised of municipal engineers and NJDOT staff appointed by the Commissioner. The committee evaluates the projects presented and makes recommendations to the Commissioner of Transportation for consideration and approval.
 
This year, the Department reports receiving 681 applications requesting more than $377.9 million but awarded $161.2 million.
Mayor Tamburro Voices Support for New Law that Increases Penalties for “Energy Slamming”
Mayor Tamburro is expressing appreciation to Sen. Linda Greenstein and Assemblyman Dan Benson for sponsoring a new law that increases civil penalties for energy slamming practices.

Tamburro said senior citizens are often the target of this scam, in which companies change consumers’ electric power or gas supplier without their knowledge or consent.

Signed by Gov. Phil Murphy, the law (A1683/S1990) protects New Jersey consumers from the illegal practice of energy slamming. Penalties will increase from $10,000 for the first offense, and not more than $25,000 for the second and each subsequent offense, to $20,000 for the first offense, and not more than $50,000 for the second and each subsequent offense.

“We are sick and tired of these bad actors who engage in energy slamming, preying upon Monroe residents that are simply trying to pay their utility bills and keep their expenses low,” Tamburro said. “This legislation protects us from deceptive and misleading companies that scam consumers out of their hard-earned money.”

Tamburro said that two state lawmakers representing Monroe – Greenstein and Benson – are standing between consumers and illegal, predatory providers.

“We can’t guarantee that no one will break the law, but we can make sure they are properly dissuaded from attempting to in the first place and properly punished if they ever do,” the mayor said.

Greenstein said companies that illegally acquire information about consumers and then go door-to-door with the intent to defraud them on their energy bills must be met with severe consequences.

“Fraud is a serious offense and this law will make perpetrators of energy slamming rethink their nefarious methods,” she said.

Seniors, especially, are often victimized by “slamming.” The significant penalties established by this law are strong deterrents to energy scammers.

“Residents should always be kept informed when any change on their energy bill takes place, especially if it results in a higher monthly payment,” Benson said. “Raising penalties is a deterrent for these types of unfair, unscrupulous practices.”

In the past year, certain third-party energy suppliers took advantage of an unusually cold winter to change consumers’ energy suppliers without their knowledge or consent, the mayor said, adding that energy slamming is anti-consumerism at its best and impacts Monroe families in a way that hurts them the most: their budgets.

“Any ratepayer is susceptible to slamming, but for seniors on a fixed income or families struggling to make ends meet, it is a threat to their financial security,” Tamburro said. “I am thankful that Senator Greenstein and Assemblyman Benson are increasing penalties to a level that will make deceitful marketers think twice about ripping off the people of Monroe.”
Join "Clean Sweep Monroe" on Saturday, May 18!
Monroe Township is launching the “Clean Sweep Monroe” litter clean-up initiative to tidy up Township roadways, parks and open space where improperly discarded trash and debris collect. 

“Monroe Township is a beautiful location to live, work and play with its variety of parks, trails, open space and historical landmarks. We take great pride in our community,” said Mayor Tamburro. “This kick-off event will help spruce-up those areas where debris has accumulated through the winter months and ongoing clean-up activities will sweep throughout the Township through the remainder of the year.”

The year-long initiative will begin with a Township-wide litter patrol event to be held on Saturday, May 18 from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. at the Monroe Township Community Center, 120 Monmouth Road. 

Pre-registered volunteers will gather at the Community Center at 9 a.m. for check-in and then will be bused to one of ten locations where they will collect and dispose of accumulated litter. 

All volunteers will then be transported back to the Community Center at 12 p.m. where they will be treated to a free barbecue lunch. 

While there, participants are encouraged to tour the Township’s Enviromobile, gather educational information from eco-friendly organizations and pick up a free tree seedling from members of Monroe Township’s Shade Tree Commission as part of the New Jersey Tree Recovery campaign.          

“We must all work together to keep our community clean,” Mayor Tamburro said. “I implore each resident, business owner, student and visitor to Monroe to use proper receptacles and to discard any litter they may encounter.”     

Every community member is invited to participate in the kick-off event and are asked to register in advance. Organizations and businesses also are welcome to register a team or donate supplies. Please contact Clean Communities Coordinator, Joe Slomian at 732-656-4575.

In addition to the spring litter clean-up day, non-profit and community-service groups have the opportunity to help with litter clean-up efforts throughout the year and earn as much as $500 in mini-grants for their organization. Interested organizations can register for litter patrol parties at Township approved sites throughout the year. Contact the Department of Public Works for additional information.
The Clean Sweep Monroe initiative is supported by the New Jersey Clean Communities Council, Inc. (NJCCC), the 501c3 nonprofit that works closely with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the New Jersey Department of Treasury to administer the Clean Communities program.
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