SWEDESBORO TAKES A STAND ON FAIR SCHOOL FUNDING PLAN
Governor Christie will be giving his annual budget address today at 2:00, at which time he will outline his priorities for the upcoming fiscal year. A couple of days after his address our Local and Regional School Districts will be provided with their projected state aid for the 2017-2018 school year. As I hope you are aware, there has been a huge effort by members of our community to demand that our schools are finally fairly funded as mandated by School Funding Reform Act. The projected state aid figures are not the end of the battle for Fair Funding and it is vitally important that we all stay engaged throughout the state’s budget negotiation process up until the final budget is passed in late June. Please go to the Fair Funding Action Committee’s Facebook page and follow the guidance on how your voice can be heard on this issue that is so important for our town.
I am really proud of the Swedesboro Borough Council for standing up in support of Fair Funding for our severely underfunded School Districts. In a unanimous vote, Joanna Gahrs, David Flaherty, George Weeks, Alice O’Blennis, Diane Hale and Sam Casella all emphatically said YES to adopt a Resolution supporting a bi-partisan plan to use the proven School Funding Reform Act formula to allocate funds more equitably to School Districts around the state. Our Districts are receiving less than 50% of what the formula mandates. As an example of what this means to us as taxpayers; if the SFRA was followed over the last 10 years Kingsway Regional would have received $32.9 million in additional state aid. That is almost $33 million that we would not have had to raise in taxes over that time period. This gross unfairness has got to end now, so I was proud to sign the Resolution and send it to Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto and demand that he allows a vote on the plan that has almost unanimous bi-partisan support in the NJ Senate.
In regards to the School Funding Resolution I think Councilman Sam Casella said it best (I paraphrase); “This is not a Democrat or Republican issue, this is about getting the fair funding our School Districts need to provide a quality education for our children and relieving the unfair burden the underfunding places on our taxpayers”. Well said Sam.
Please go to the Fair Funding Action Committee’s Facebook page and sign the petition demanding that we get our fair share. Get educated on the issue and please get involved. We need everyone engaged if we want to get our voices heard in Trenton.
Mayor Tom Fromm
Notice to Bidders – Replacement of Lake Narraticon Steps
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THE BOROUGH OF SWEDESBORO
COUNTY OF GLOUCESTER, NEW JERSEY
NOTICE TO BIDDERS
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that sealed bids will be received by the Borough of Swedesboro and publicly opened and read at the Boroughs’ Municipal Building, 1500 Kings Highway, Swedesboro, New Jersey on Thursday, January 19, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. prevailing time, for the below listed:
Replacement of Lake Narraticon Steps
Complete specifications, instruction to bidders, contract documents and other pertinent information are on file at the Clerks’ office of the Borough and may be obtained at the Borough of Swedesboro Municipal Building located at 1500 Kings Highway, Swedesboro, New Jersey during regular business hours (8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.) there will be no fee for bid specifications.
The right to reject any and all bids or to accept the bid deemed the lowest responsible/responsive bidder to the Borough of Swedesboro and to award contracts accordingly is expressly reserved to the Borough of Swedesboro.
NOTE: Bidders are required to comply with the requirements of N.J.S.A. 10:5-31 and P.L. 1975, c127 (N.J.A.C. 17:27), Affirmative Action Regulations and P.L. 1977 c33 Stockholder Disclosure Certification.
Pursuant to C57, Laws of 2004 a copy of the bidder’s State of New Jersey Business Registration Certificate must be included in the bid.
This contract is subject to the provisions of the New Jersey Public Contracts Law, N.J.S.A. 40A:11-1, et. seq.
Bids will not be received after the time specified for the opening of the bids. Bids received after the hour appointed will be deemed invalid and returned unopened to the bidder. Bids must be enclosed in a sealed envelope bearing the name and address of the bidder and designating the name of the bid on the outside thereof, and addressed to
Borough of Swedesboro,
1500 Kings Highway, Swedesboro,
New Jersey 08085.
Tanya Goodwin, Borough Clerk
Drought Watch: Help Conserve Water
As Swedesboro is among municipalities currently experiencing ‘Drought Watch’ conditions, we are sharing the following information on water conversation with the residents and businesses so we may all do our part to help.
In October, NJDEP Commissioner Bob Martin signed an Administrative Order declaring a drought warning in 14 counties, with drought watch in effect in several others, including Gloucester County.
This designation enables DEP to more closely manage reservoir systems by directing water transfers among systems, controlling releases from reservoirs, and modifying the rate of flow in streams and rivers in order to balance ecological protection and needs of water suppliers.
The goal of the drought warning is to preserve and balance available water supplies in an effort to avert more serious water shortages in the future. The warning also reinforces the need for residents and businesses in impacted counties to conserve water.
“The situation in our reservoir systems is becoming more critical, with some systems dropping to half their capacity or less,” Commissioner Martin said. “Without knowing how much precipitation we are going to get over the fall and winter to replenish our water sources, it is vital that every resident and business step up efforts to voluntarily reduce water use in the hopes of averting a water emergency and mandatory restrictions.”
Here are a few additional tips to save water:
- Don’t let the faucet run while brushing, shaving or washing the dishes.
- Run your washing machines and dishwashers only when full.
- Install water-saving showerheads and faucet aerators.
- Fix leaky faucets.
- Don’t wash your car at home – a car wash uses less water and recycles it, too.
- With the end of the growing season, be sure to turn off automatic lawn and garden sprinkler systems.
For more information on ways to conserve water, visit www.nj.gov/dep/watersupply/conserve.htm.
The online booklet “Blue Guide for Water Conservation” can be found here: https://s3.amazonaws.com/delawareestuary/pdf/blue-guide.pdf .
For further information and current conditions, visit the New Jersey drought information site at http://njdrought.org/ .