By Audrey Levine Staff Writer
Ordinance funds Valley Road horn
The Township Committee unanimously Introduced an ordinance Tuesday to appropriate $85,000 to the Quiet Zone Capital Improvement fund for a wayside horn at Roycefield and Valley roads.
Committeewoman Lisa Nisivoccia did not attend the meeting.
The ordinance increases the money held for capital improvements from $1,504,345 to $1,589,345, and has come from developer contributions.
The additional money is proposed to be used for a wayside horn at the Valley Road rail crossing, which would point to the ground and send out a sound that reaches a 10th of the distance of the train’s horn required to sound four times as it crosses roadways.
Mayor Anthony Ferrera said the township is still waiting on approval from Norfolk Southern Rail Line to install the horn.
”But this way we can go forward with the horn when we get the approval,” he said.
Once the wayside horn is prepared, the township can also initiate a quiet zone at the Roycefield Road crossing, similar to those already installed at Beekman and Auten roads.
Public hearing for the ordinance will be held Dec. 23.
Police purchase agreement OK’d
The Township Committee unanimously approved a resolution to authorize Hillsborough to enter into an agreement with the Cranford Police Cooperative Pricing System, from the recommendation of Police Chief Paul Kaminsky.
This system, according to the resolution, will allow the township to work with about 70 other municipalities for the purchases of goods and services.
According to Mayor Anthony Ferrera, this joint service will allow the township to find lower costs when purchasing equipment and other items in bulk.
Software maintenance contract approved
The Township Committee unanimously approved a resolution to authorize a contract with Larimore Associates to provide software maintenance to the police department for 2009.
The contract is for an amount not to exceed $18,279.
Senior center work reduced
The Township Committee unanimously approved a resolution accepted a change order decreasing the amount of money paid to Suburban Building Co., LLC, for the construction of the Senior Citizen Activity Center.
The contract, which had been awarded in June, appropriated $192,400 for the construction of the center. Because the township’s Department of Pubic Works provided the signage for the center, the contract has been decreased by $1,000.
A second change order was approved in the resolution to increase the amount of time to complete the project. This does not affect the dollar amount of the contract.
Police fees increased
The Township Committee unanimously approved a resolution to amend a policy concerning extraneous duty rates charged for police department personnel.
The township’s code currently states the duty rate for Board of Education work is $33 per hour, but will be changed to $40 per hour in this resolution.
In addition, the officers’ overtime rates are currently $3 per hour to cover payroll costs, but will be changed to $13 per hour to cover vehicle and fuel usage as well.
”The fees have not been changed in five years,” Mayor Anthony Ferrera said. “This is more in line with the costs now.”
These changes will take affect Jan. 1.
Workers to pay for extra benefits
The Township Committee unanimously approved a resolution that requires Hillsborough to pay employees certain benefits that were lost when the township switched from a self-funded health benefit program to the State Health Benefits Program (SHBP) in November 2007.
According to the resolution, in the change, some components of employee benefits were lost because of items that were available in the self-funded plan, but not in the SHBP.
Township Clerk Kevin Davis said that the township has decided to continue providing employees with those components that were lost in the change. For example, he said, emergency room trips required a co-pay of $25 under the self-funded plan, but the SHBP requires a payment of $35.
The township will pay the difference.
Mr. Davis said this resolution will only apply to services that employees were already receiving when the change in benefits programs was made. He said this will not have a major effect on the township’s budget.
Final ‘quiet zone’ invoice accepted
The Township Committee unanimously approved a resolution to accept a request from Z Brothers Concrete Contractors Inc. to pay a final invoice for the Quiet Zone Road Improvement project, and accept a maintenance bond.
The bond is in the amount of $13,202.65 from First National Insurance Company of America. The final invoice payment to the construction company is $81,247.15.

