JAMESBURG: Borough to help with foreclosures

By Maria Prato-Gaines, Staff Writer
   JAMESBURG — With signs of a lulled economy and foreclosures on the rise, borough officials have decided to form a Homeowner Relations Committee.
   Mayor Anthony LaMantia appointed Councilwoman Brenda Deans to chair the committee at the Jan. 7 reorganization meeting.
   The committee will serve a dual purpose, she said, both to aid struggling homeowners and to educate others who may be unfamiliar with the many aspects that accompany buying a home or are just new buyers.
   ”We’re here to help residents in every aspect we can,” said Mayor LaMantia.
   Ms. Deans said she is meeting with local bankers and financial institutions in an effort to organize a future forum that will be open to the public.
   Although the details are still in the works, and there is no set date for the forum, Ms. Deans said she hopes to have a table and booth set up for homeowners to walk around and ask questions or pick up pamphlets from the experts in the field.
   ”The sooner we do it the better, because people are losing their homes now,” she said. “I feel their pain and see what they are going through.”
   Other appointments and changes were made at the reorganization meeting include Barbara Carpenter elected as the new council president, Councilman Otto Kostbar appointed chairman of the Committee on Finance and Budgeting and Councilman Brian Grimes appointed as chairman of the Street Festival Committee.