Dear Neighbors,

Welcome to the latest edition of the Mount Laurel First E-News letter.

If you have news that you think should be included in my next E-News letter, please send me the information at JimKeenan@MountLaurelFirst.com
Remember that this E-News letter is dedicated to Mount Laurel news.


Township Council:  I have been chosen by my fellow Council Members to serve as Mayor for 2010.  Below are some of my concerns for this year as stated at our January 4, 2010 reorganization meeting: 

2009 WAS A TREACHEROUS YEAR FOR THE TOWNSHIP BECAUSE OF THE ADDITIONAL 1421 SUBSIDIZED HOUSING UNITS THAT WERE ADDED TO OUR TOWNSHIPS QUOTA BY THE NEW JERSEY COUNCIL ON AFFORDABLE HOUSING.  I WOULD LIKE TO POINT OUT THAT THESE ADDITIONAL UNITS ARE BEING ADDED TO THE 839 UNITS THAT THE TOWNSHIP HAD ALREADY COMMITTED TO; AT A TIME WHEN THE TOWNSHIP IS OVER 90% DEVELOPED.  I WOULD LIKE TO STATE THAT WHILE THE TOWNSHIP ABSOLUTELY WELCOMES EVERYONE TO OUR COMMUNITY, THE COUNCIL ON AFFORDABLE HOUSING WOULD NOT ONLY HAVE MOUNT LAUREL RECEIVE AN ADDITIONAL 1421 UNITS; THE REGULATIONS OF THAT STATE AGENCY WOULD HAVE YOU AND I AND ALL TAXPAYERS IN OUR TOWNSHIP PAY APPROXIMATELY $227 MILLION DOLLARS AS OUR SHARE OF THE COST OF IMPLEMENTING THOSE UNITS.  LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE TOWNSHIP’S 2009 TOTAL BUDGET WAS $37 Million Dollars.  OUR TAXPAYERS SIMPLY CANNOT AFFORD TO SPEND AN ADDITIONAL 227 MILLION DOLLARS OVER AND ABOVE THE COST OF SUPPORTING THE NECESSARY WORK THAT THIS TOWNSHIP PERFORMS ON A DAILY BASIS. THIS COUNCIL WILL CONTINUE TO WORK HARD TO REDUCE THAT COAH NUMBER AND THE FINANCIAL IMPACT THAT IT MAY CAUSE.

A SOMEWHAT RELATED ISSUE IS THE ONE ABOUT THE RAMBLEWOOD GOLF COURSE.  AS YOU ALL KNOW, WE HAVE RECENTLY WON A GREAT VICTORY IN HAVING THE COURT SUSTAIN MOUNT LAUREL TOWNSHIP’S ZONING OF THE GOLF COURSE IN A MANNER THAT PRECLUDES THE DEVELOPMENT OF HOUSING UNITS ON THE GOLF COURSE.  IT WAS A THREE YEAR BATTLE DURING WHICH THE TOWNSHIP PERSEVERED AND WON.  UNFORTUNATELY, THESE THINGS ARE SEEMINGLY NEVER RESOLVED ON A PERMANENT BASIS.  NOW, THE OWNER OF THE GOLF COURSE HAS SUBMITTED A PLAN TO THE COURT THAT CONTAINS 822 DENSELY PACKED UNITS ON THE RED AND WHITE COURSE.  I DO BELIEVE I SPEAK FOR EVERY MEMBER OF THE GOVERNING BODY BY SAYING THAT THE TOWNSHIP WILL NOT STAND BY OR AGREE TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF THOSE RED AND WHITE COURSES IN RAMBLEWOOD.  CLEARLY, THIS A CHALLENGE TO THE COMMUNITY, AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO FIGHT THAT CHALLENGE. 

THE ECONOMY REMAINS A GRAVE CONCERN FOR THIS COUNCIL AND WE MUST BE PREPARED FOR ADDITIONAL CUTS IN STATE AID ALONG WITH REDUCED REVENUES.  THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY IS EXPERIENCING BUDGET SHORTFALLS ESTIMATED TO BE AROUND 8 BILLION DOLLARS AND THE NEW GOVERNOR ELECT MAY DECLARE A FINANCIAL STATE OF EMERGENCY.  YOU MAY HAVE READ IN THE PAPERS RECENTLY THAT THE STATE DECIDED THAT IT WAS UNABLE TO GIVE TO MUNICIPALITIES THE STATE AID THAT IT HAD PREVIOUS COMMITTED TO THEM.  IN THE LAST TWO YEARS WE HAVE EXPERIENCED CUTS IN STATE AID AMOUNTING TO OVER $500K AND WE NEED TO BE CONCERNED THAT THE STATE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO SEND US THE ALREADY REDUCED NUMBER THEY HAD COMMITTED TO US THIS PAST JUNE.  WE DON’T KNOW WHAT THE STATE WILL GIVE TO US THIS YEAR.  MAYBE NOTHING?  WHO KNOWS?
WE WILL USE THE TOOLS PROVIDED TO US BY LAW TO MINIMIZE THE IMPACT OF THE TOWNSHIP’S LOCAL PURPOSE TAX UPON ALL TAXPAYERS.  WE ALSO CAN ASK THE FIRE DISTRICT AND THE SCHOOL BOARDS THAT TAX MOUNT LAUREL RESIDENTS TO DO THE SAME IF THEY HAVE THE POWER TO DO SO.

WE HAVE TO BE AWARE THAT MANY HOMES IN MOUNT LAUREL TOWNSHIP WENT UP FOR FORECLOSURE IN 2009.  WE HAVE TO BE AWARE THAT OCCUPANCY AT THE TOWNSHIP’S 25 OR SO HOTELS AND THE OCCUPANCY OF MANY OF THE TOWNSHIP’S INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES ARE WAY DOWN.  THESE FACTS WILL LIKELY HAVE A DIRECT IMPACT UPON THE VALUES OF THOSE PROPERTIES.  WE HAVE TO BE AWARE THAT PRIOR TO 2009, THE TOWNSHIP NEVER HAD MORE THAN 25 TAX APPEALS IN ONE YEAR BUT THAT IN 2009 WE HAD OVER 50.  WE MUST EXPECT AN INCREASE IN APPEALS IN 2010.  THESE APPEALS COULD WELL REQUIRE A CHANGE IN THE ASSESSMENT OF THOSE PROPERTIES, YIELDING LESS TAX DOLLARS FROM THE TOWNSHIP’S NON-RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES. THIS, COMBINED WITH THE POSSIBILITY OF REFUNDS OF TAXES THAT WERE PAID IN RELIANCE UPON THE ORIGINAL ASSESSMENTS, COULD PUT THE TOWNSHIP INTO FURTHER FINANCIAL CRISIS IN 2010.

I WANT TO CONCLUDE BY THANKING THE TOWNSHIP MANAGER AND HER STAFF, ALL DEPT HEADS, THE CLERKS OFFICE, THE POLICE, EMS, PUBLIC WORKS, DEPARTMENT OF RECREATION – ALL THEIR PERSONNEL AND STAFF – AND ALL THE VOLUNTEERS OF THE COMMUNITY FOR THEIR HARD WORK AND DEDICATION TO MOUNT LAUREL.

Mount Laurel Fire Department:  On Saturday, February 20, 2010, the Mount Laurel Fire Department will hold a special election to approve their spending plan for this calendar year. As a registered voter in your community, you have the right to vote on that spending plan and elect officials to the position of Fire Commissioner. The Mount Laurel Fire Department opens all three of it's fire stations as polling sites for our resident's to exercise their right to vote. This year's election includes the need for a Budget approval AND a Referendum approval. Please visit: www.firefightersforasafemountlaurel.com for budget information, voting locations by voting district, and educational material related to the fire service.

Mount Laurel Softball:  Registration for girl's softball is now available online at www.mtlaurelsoftball.com
The league is for Mount Laurel girls currently in kindergarten through 10th grade. Registration will be running until February 28, 2010. After that date registrations will only be accepted if there is still space available, and a $25 late fee will be applied. For those who don't wish to sign-up online, an in-person registration will be held at the Mount Laurel courthouse on Feb 20th from 12PM to 2PM. Additional registration information is available on their website. Additional questions can be directed to mtlaurelsoftball@comcast.net. The league thanks all of our players, parents, sponsors and fans for their continued support.

Nixle in Mount Laurel:  The Township has joined the Nixle Community.  Nixle is a Community Information Service dedicated to helping you stay connected to the information that matters most to you.  It is FREE to join. Just go to www.nixle.com and register for email or text messaging notifications when the township posts alerts to Nixle for broadcast to members in the Mount Laurel community.  The township currently will post messages from the Mount Laurel Office of Emergency Management and will post soon, alerts from the Police Department and the Manager's Office.  For answers to some of your questions, go to: http://www.nixle.com/consumer_faqs.html
Please help make this service a success for Mount Laurel.  Tell your friends and neighbors to join.  This is another way to stay connected to Mount Laurel and learn quickly what is going on.

Report Graffiti:  The township is committed to cleaning up any graffiti around town, so please let me know if you see any.  To report graffiti in Mount Laurel simply click on this link: Report Graffiti and tell me the location and the cross streets nearby.  If the link above does not work, simply email me at my Council email address of JimKeenan08054@gmail.com and put the word "Graffiti" in the subject line and I will forward your report to the Township Manager to alert the proper departments to note the incident and then remove it from Mount Laurel.

Report a Pothole:  To report a pothole in Mount Laurel simply click on this link; Report a Pothole and tell me the name of the street that the pothole is located on and the closest intersection.  If the link does not work, simply email me at my Council email address of JimKeenan08054@gmail.com and put the word "Pothole" in the subject line and I will forward your report to the Township Manager to alert the Public Works Department.  Thank you for your assistance in this matter. 
 

Thank you for your support.

Sincerely,