Residents came out to support local fire districts Saturday, passing all budgets, re-electing all incumbents and some new members to boards of fire commissioners.
By Amy Batista, Special Writer
Residents came out to support local fire districts Saturday, passing all budgets, re-electing all incumbents and some new members to boards of fire commissioners.
Elections were held in several of the communities covered by the Register News. Bordentown City’s volunteer fire company does not have a board of commissioners or a fire district election.
According to Battalion Chief Kevin Mullen, the Florence Township Fire Department passed its budget of $2,024,368 by a vote of 137-114. The budget includes $1,504,868 to be raised by taxation.
Charles Bauer received 191 votes, Andrew Popso received 120, and Francis “Rodney” Roberson received 112 to be elected to the board.
The tax rate for the district is 11.8 cents per $100 of assessed value.
Mr. Mullen said the tax rate was 11 cents last year.
The Fire Department also plans to hire up to three more firefighters to have round-the-clock coverage.
”We are looking at hiring additional career firefighters to assist with the volunteers in staffing,” Mr. Mullen said.
This will allow the district to increase coverage to 24 hours per day, seven days per week.
In addition, “We are looking at replacing all of our self-contained breathing apparatus, and that was approved by the voters in 2012,” Mr. Mullen said. “It was a project that we had a special question for, and it was approved so we are just now starting that project.”
The bottles have reached their useful life, which is 15 years, he said.
The district is using $30,000 as a down payment to replace the apparatus.
According to unofficial results, the proposed budget for Bordentown Township Fire District 1 — $754,036 with $55,235 to be raised by taxation — passed 88-24, and incumbents Thomas Dwier, who received 89 votes, and Richard Rosall, who garnered 94 votes, were re-elected to three-year terms.
”The raise (increase in the budget) was due to health insurance costs and normal maintenance and repair costs,” said Tim Kinsley, secretary of the Board of Fire Commissioners.
The tax rate in the fire district — which covers the area north of Ward Avenue — will increase from last year’s 19.8 cents to 20.9 cents per $100 of assessed valuation, Commissioner Kinsley said.
According to unofficial results, the proposed budget for Bordentown Township Fire District 2 — $1,636,626 with $1,539,965 to be raised by taxation — passed 52-19, and incumbent commissioner Fred Freda, who received 60 votes, and Salvatore Schiano, who received 64 votes, were elected to the board.
A special question to raise the amount to be raised by taxation by $65,000 which exceeded the 2 percent cap, was approved 49-24, according to Board of Fire Commissioners secretary Michael Danbury.
The tax rate for the district is 19.6 cents per $100 of assessed value.
”The Board of Fire Commissioners for Fire District 2 in Bordentown Township would like to thank all the voters who came out during the snowstorm to vote for our budget and commissioners,” Mr. Danbury said.
According to unofficial results, the proposed budget for Chesterfield Township Fire District 2 — $247,640 with $199,640 to be raised by taxation — passed 24-5. It was unknown as of press time who was elected as commissioners for Chesterfield Township.