By Andrew Martins, Managing Editor
Voters in the Hopewell Valley area recently headed to the polls to vote in their municipality’s respective fire elections, deciding everything from new commissioners to budgets for operations in 2017., Elections were held on Saturday in Hopewell Township, Hopewell Borough and Pennington Borough., The following sections outline the results of the 2017 fire elections in each community, along with information on proposed referendum questions and fire commissioner races., Hopewell Township, A more than $3.8 million fire budget for Hopewell Township was approved by voters last weekend, with 172 votes cast in favor of the spending plan and 107 votes against., This year’s budget marks a nearly $78,000 increase compared to figures from last year’s budget., Officials attributed “an increase in administration and payroll costs” as a major factor to the uptick in spending this year, as well as the promotion of a fire official, association membership fees and other related costs., According to information provided by the fire district, just over $3.4 million of the budget would be paid for by property taxes, marking an $87,000 increase. As a result, this year’s tax rate will go up to .086 cents per $100 of assessed property valuation., Officials said the fire district opted to use $265,000 of its Unrestricted Fund Balance, otherwise known as a surplus, to reduce the tax rate., Despite the increase in its tax rate, the district reported to the state that the tax rate stayed under the state-mandated two-percent property tax levy cap., Two three-year terms on the board of fire commissioners were also up for grabs in the election, with Erick Burd and incumbent Don Kintzel taking 170 votes and 141 votes, respectively. Joseph Lenarski, a fell short of earning a return to the board with 137 votes., Hopewell Borough, A $555,485 fire budget for 2017 was approved in a small voter turnout on Saturday, as 26 votes were cast for its approval and three voted against its passage., According to information from the borough’s fire district, just under $352,000 of the budget covers the litany of operational and administrative costs associated with running the fire district., The remaining costs stem from an annual debt service payment of $28,585, a $90,000 line item for capital appropriations and $85,000 for Length of Service Award Program (LOSAP) appropriations., In order to support the newly approved budget, residents will kick in $195,394 in property taxes. The remaining revenues will come from $359,090 in municipal assistance and a $1,001 supplemental fire service grant., As a result of its passage, the 2017 fire budget for Hopewell Borough will have an estimated tax rate of .060 cents per $100 of assessed property valuation., As for the fire commissioners race, both Greg Davies and Melvin Myers were elected with 28 votes each., Pennington, Voters in Pennington came out in small numbers to vote in an unanimous decision to approve the $575,187 fire budget for 2017., In total, residents voted in favor of the spending plan, while none opposed., The budget carries with it a $204,412 tax levy with an estimated tax rate of .041 cents per $100 of assessed property valuation., The borough’s fire operations will largely be supported by an interlocal service agreement with Hopewell Township that will provide $274,775 in funding., The borough is also moving to use $68,000 of its restricted fund balance, as well as $28,000 of its unrestricted fund balance, to cover the fire district’s remaining costs., Four positions on the board of fire commissioners were also up for a vote this year, with all four candidates successfully earning a seat., Brian Hofacker and Mark Blackwell were elected with 18 votes each, while William Meytrott and Robert Di Falco were elected with 17 votes each.
