Mayor's Update - February 10, 2021

[fyi]

Mayor's Update - February 10, 2021

Hi Everyone! I hope you’re enjoying the recent snowfall; the town looks beautiful when the snow is falling. Thank you to our amazing Public Works team who have kept the streets plowed and the crosswalks clear as more and more snow fell and created large piles!

A few news items and updates:

At the January 30 Budget Meeting, the Township Committee agreed to prepare a 2021 budget that will keep Cranbury municipal taxes flat – no increase over the 2020 rate. Cranbury municipal taxes comprise about 22% of your property tax bill (the balance being the school and county taxes). In 2020 we consumed more surplus than we replenished, and 2021 is on track to be the same. The majority of the Township Committee members believe it’s important to keep taxes flat for as long as possible, and we re-assess the tax rate each year. The fiscal health of the township remains strong, with the lake dredging planned for this fall, and a new library building construction project to break ground soon.

Socially-Distanced Scavenger Hunt – complete by February 14! The Cranbury Education Foundation and Cranbury PTO are doing a socially-distanced Scavenger Hunt, where you can explore Cranbury and have fun at the same time. See the flyer for details and entry form.

De-Mystifying Local Government - February 22. Are you curious about how Cranbury government works, and how it fits together with the county, state and school board? At the February 22 (7:00 p.m.) Township Committee meeting, I will give a presentation that answers basic questions about our local government.

Cranbury Brook Preserve (a.k.a. West Property) – please remember to keep your dog(s) leashed and pick up after them. There have a been a few incidents of non-leashed dogs bothering residents and leashed dogs. Also, please remember to pick up after your dog – it’s not OK to leave dog waste on the trails and in the woods.

Street Light Outages – If you see a street light that has burned out, please use this form to report it – it’s the quickest way to get it reported and fixed.

https://www.cranburytownship.org/department-public-works/pages/street-light-outage

Mayor’s Wellness Campaign – Third Wednesdays! The Board of Health, with support from the Recreation Commission, will be holding a series of wellness sessions. Please look out for these, coming soon on the third Wednesday of each month.

License your Dog or Cat for 2021! Late fees will apply, but please complete the dog applicaiton or cat application and pay the license fee to avoid a citation.

COVID-19 vaccines. Please continue to check The New Jersey COVID vaccine site for more information, or call 1-855-568-0545. Please continue to follow CDC guidelines for COVID-19, so we can all be together after this is over.

https://covid19.nj.gov/index.html

Yours for Cranbury,

Michael Ferrante, Mayor
Cranbury Township

https://www.cranburytownship.org/home/news/mayors-update-february-10-2021

[anon-40r0]

He mentions surplus. But what is the budget and the actual surplus level? It sounds like they are keeping the tax rate flat to build a surplus when they could be lowering taxes.