A myriad of community events planned for this summer

Fried

The time for our Recreation Division to shine is upon us, highlighted by our Community Day Festival on June 10 at Community Park.

There will be plenty of food, live music all day, our acclaimed “Prize Alley,’’ activities and games for the kids, amazing vendors, a host of non-profit organizations to learn about and of course fireworks beginning at approximately 9 p.m. In addition, the 7th annual Joe Barker Volunteer Star Award. Barker served as recreation director for seven years until he passed away in 2018 after a valiant battle with colon cancer. Previous winners of the award include Jared Miller (2018: Black Friday Fun Run/Special Olympics); Dave Doran (2019: RIHA); John Ward and Bill Lesniak; (2020: Meals on Wheels), Cindy Rosen (2021: Be Kind/ Rotary/Project Linus) and John Finnegan (2022; Robbinsville Clean Team).

Make Father’s Day weekend even more special with the CARE Father’s Day Weekend Fishing Derby on June 17 at the Town Center Lake Gazebo. Registration begins at 7:30 a.m., with fishing from 8-11 a.m. No license is required.

The first “Wheels & Reels Outdoor Movie Night” of 2023 featuring Minions: The Rise of Gru will take place July 21 at 8:30 p.m. on the big screen at Community Park. The cost is $5 per car.

Recreation Summer Camp begins June 26 and runs through Aug. 11. Our Summer Concert Series kicks off July 11 with “The Suspects” and runs each Tuesday through DJ Reggie on Aug. 15. Bring your lawn chair, blankets and snacks while enjoying some of the best bands in the area at the gazebo beginning at 7 p.m.

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Just a few words about our budget, which was formally introduced at the May 11 Council meeting with the public hearing and vote scheduled for June 8.

In the face of inflation levels not seen since the 1970s, our presented budget of $26.6 million includes a proposed increase of approximately $144 per household in 2023 – only the second municipal increase in over a decade.

Municipal taxes make up only 20% of a resident’s overall tax bill. Schools account for 56%, Mercer County absorbs 21%, while the Mercer County library and Mercer County Open Space combined for 3%.

No one hates raising taxes more than me. Remember, I live here, too, and we did everything we could to minimize the burden. However, our taxpayers are still getting tremendous value for their money. The quality of our services has not and will not suffer. Home values are still up, as are sales of existing homes – and there are few of those available. The investments we want to make this year will have a significant impact on future budgets.

Thank you to everyone that donated and participated in our 2023 State of Robbinsville Township/Pay it Forward to benefit the McLaughlin Family at The Stone Terrace

By John Henry’s on May 16.

This is always my favorite event of the year, and we could not do it without each and every one of you. Thank you so much for making it possible to raise a new record of $65,000, bringing our total since 2015 to over $450,000!

Dave Fried is the mayor of Robbinsville Township

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