Juneteenth: A Celebration Of Freedom Manchester Sees 3.8 Cent Tax Increase

By Bob Vosseller

MANCHESTER – Mayor Robert Arace outlined his fi rst municipal spending plan during the latest Township Council meeting noting that it had its share of challenges.

The mayor said from an inflationary standpoint, the township was faced with several challenges including healthcare with a 22.4% increase and gasoline with a 20% increase. “Prices are very much on the rise and not only do we experience that on a personal level, we experience on a municipal level,” the mayor said. “We are looking at a series of state mandated increases that we have to account for.”

He explained the budget includes the minimum allowable tax increase to the taxpayers.

“Initially, when we were developing the budget for 2023 and assessing the additional revenue needed to keep critical services in the township running, we faced a 7-cent tax increase, which would have equaled a $150 increase per door in the community.”

By Bob Vosseller LAKEHURST –

Juneteenth observance hosted by the Manchester Democratic Club at the Presbyterian Church of Lakehurst.

The event opened with a warm welcome

Senior Liaison Office To Open In Whiting

By Bob Vosseller MANCHESTER

– The grand opening of the Mayor’s Senior Liaison Office will be held at 11 a.m. on June 30. The office is located at 82 Lacey Road in the Whiting section of the township.

Mayor Robert Arace said, “this will be a great addition to our offices as it is a step to provide our seniors with better access to the administration.”

The new administration office is based in the Whiting EMS building and will house administrative representatives such as Confidential Aide and Senior Liaison Judy Noonan.

Noonan told The Manchester Times, “I am here for the people and to help with their questions

(Senior - See Page 4) by Christina Edwards, who reviewed the history of Juneteenth. She set the scene on “June 19, 1865 in Galveston Texas, a Confederate state and there is no

Union Army presence. We are years after the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment has already been passed.”

(Freedom - See Page 4)