EDUCATOR RECEIVES AWARD AT RED CARPET EVENT

Town Tax Rate To Increase 2%

By Bob Vosseller

JACKSON – Town- ship Council members approved and praised this year’s municipal spending plan represents a 2% rise in the municipal tax rate this year.

For the average homeowner whose home is assessed at $330,688, the increase in taxes will be $3.31. “If your home is accessed at two times that amount it would be $6.62 cents,” Business Administrator Terence Wall said during the budget’s introduction last month.

Wall provided a PowerPoint presentation before the governing body during its introduction and noted that in 2022 the municipal tax levy was $34,641,046.55. The amount to be raised through taxation this year is $35,333,731.02.

“With the hard work of all the department heads and the staff members, we work to ensure that we are conservative on how every single dollar of taxpayer funds are invested and how we conservatively calculate the revenues that are coming in so we have fiscally responsible budgets to ensure that Jackson Township is always the best place to live, work and raise a family,” Wall said.

The council voted unanimously to (Tax - See Page 4)

Vosseller

JACKSON – A township educator felt like she was accepting an Oscar when she walked a recent red-carpet gala in California receiving the Milken Educator during a gala event in Santa Monica, Ca. Award and $25,000 in cash.

Shaina Brenner, who teaches second grade at Elms Elementary School, received the award and check from Lowell and Mike Milk- en as the New Jersey 2022 Milken Educator Award recipient at a special gathering in Santa Monica, Ca.

Thanks to Brenner, Elms Elementary School is a greener place as she helped lead the school’s Green Team, and through that role, spearheaded a new school-wide recycling initiative, acquiring recycling bins for every (Award - See Page 18)

National Day Of Prayer Observed In Plumsted

By Bob Vosseller

PLUMSTED – Township spiritual leaders, residents and public officials came out on a Thursday afternoon to observe a time-honored tradition, the National Day of Prayer.

There was a familiar face absent this year, Ronald Dancer, a longtime former mayor and 12 th District Assemblyman, who died last

July. He was remembered however during the event.

Barbara Diblin, who once again coordinated this year’s event, included the proclamation as part of the day’s program. It was read aloud as a prayer by the audience. Dancer wrote the proclamation in 1992.

This marked the 31st observance of the National Day of Prayer in Plumst-

Students Honored As Unsung Heroes

By Stephanie Faughnan TOMS RIVER

– ed. The service hosted by Diblin featured several patriotic songs such as “God Bless America”

“The Star-Spangled Banner” and “America the Beautiful.”

“The National Day of Prayer tradition predates the founding of the USA,” Diblin said. She introduced several speakers including retired U.S. Air Force Chief Master (Prayer - See Page 9)

Ocean County’s top law enforcement office honored 28 elementary and high school students as unsung heroes during a special ceremony earlier this month. While some students were recognized for their resilience in the face of adversity and challenges, others were distinguished for going the extra mile to assist other people.

At the onset of introducing the honorees, Ocean County Prosecu- tor Bradley D. Billhimer expressed his fondness for the Unsung Hero Student Recognition Awards. Billhimer said he was personally inspired by the students and suggested motivating others might be another achievement worthy of celebration.

The Ocean County Prosecutor’s office has made a conscious effort to work with the schools to promote positive behavior among young people. The aim is to create a supportive environment that empowers students and helps them avoid (Heroes - See Page 5) approve the budget. No members of the public commented on it.

“You guys did a great job again,” Council President Martin Flemming remarked.

Councilwoman Jennifer Kuhn said, “I want to thank the mayor and administration for coming up with yet another successful budget plan and always looking out for the taxpayers of Jackson and allocating monies properly.”

“I’d like to thank the mayor, Mr. Wall and the two ladies sitting in the back row (Chief Financial Officer Sharon Pinkava and Assistant Municipal Treasurer Patricia Schwark) from the finance department for putting together an unbelievable budget,” Councilman Scott Sargent said.

Council Vice President Steven Chisholm added, “I’d like to echo their congratulations. It is another outstanding budget especially in these economic times keeping everything in check and trying to keep our taxes at a stable rate.”

“Only raising our taxes by $3. What costs $3 these days, not even Starbuck’s coffee at this point. Fantastic job by the entire finance team and administration. Thank you, mayor, for that,” Chisholm said.

“Thank you to our township administration for your due diligence on another fiscally responsible budget on a Herculean task with the town’s finances especially in these uncertain financial times,” Councilman Nino Borrelli said.

Borrelli added, “would I have liked to see the municipal tax rate stay as is or get cut, sure and it would also make for a great headline but understand we have to be practical especially for the very difficult economic environment that we are in with the cost of everything going up dramatically.”

“The times we are in are beyond our local government’s control but our township professionals have done a really good job in keeping the municipal tax rate to a minimum while raising the amount of services across the board for Jackson residents,” he added.

Borrelli noted the township’s method of paying for major projects like road improvements without having to bond or borrow. “Our town has an excellent bond rating, AA, so we are in a strong financial position.”

A bond rating is like a credit score but for a town.

Township miscellaneous revenue exceeded the budget totals by $2,428,225.95 in 2022. That was due to increases in fees from permits such as construction, and interests on investments. The unanticipated revenue was $1,064,567.23 which included funds from the solar farm lease ($120,000), tower rental, off duty surcharge tax collection and rental registration.

Wall also said that public safety was the community’s number one priority and was reflected in the budget through police, fire, emergency services and road improvement projects.

The budget is available for a detailed review on the township website at jacksontwpnj.net