The HOWELL Times
Vol. 20 - No. 48
In This Week’s Edition
MICROMEDIA PUBLICATIONS
JERSEYSHOREONLINE.COM
Demolition Of Derelict Homes Still Underway
BREAKING NEWS @
jerseyshoreonline.com
Community News Pages 7-10
Inside The Law Page 12
Dear Pharmacist Page 13
Classifieds Page 15
–Photo by Mark Bator The structures on the north side of Bergerville Road are of particular concern to the township, as demolishing them could release harmful contaminants into the Manasquan River and water supply. By Mark Bator HOWELL - More than a year after its discussion before the Township Council, Howell’s demolition program is still identifying prop-
erties that can be added to the registry of buildings targeted for removal. At that time, Howell Township Director of Land Use, Matt How-
ard, provided a narrative history on the program and its operation, which was lauded by the then-council members. Howard’s presentation was so well
received that former Councilman John Bonevich proposed tripling the program’s budget on the spot. The program, which (Demo - See Page 3)
Students Take Charge At Board of Education
By Alyssa Riccardi HOWELL – Elementary students had the opportunity to voice their opinions as they took on positions of the Howell Township Board of Education. At a recent meeting, staff and students celebrated Student Board of Education Day. The daylong event doesn’t start
and end at the meeting. Students are first chosen by board members through an essay contest. A total of 15 were chosen, three students from each grade 3 to 5. After being selected, nine of them were chosen to represent board members – one board president and one board vice president. Five
were chosen to be senior administrators, including the superintendent, and one was chosen as board attorney. During the day, the students were broken up into three committees. Those committees were Policy, Operations, and Education. Depending on ideas they wrote about in their essay, the students were
–Photo courtesy Howell Schools Students held meetings for discussion. assigned to a committee. At the meeting, students discussed items that they included in their essay
and had the chance to explain their viewpoint. Some topics consisted of (Charge - See Page 2)
May 6, 2023
Town Budget Will Cause $150 Average Tax Increase
By Stephanie Faughnan HOWELL – Property owners should anticipate a $150 tax increase on the municipal portion of their taxes according to the budget that will be voted on May 9. However, this increase is only a portion of the total tax bill. The average annual tax bill is estimated to rise by $400, including taxes from the Howell and Freehold Regional High School districts, Monmouth County, fire districts, and open space. The local school district collects the most significant proportion of taxes, with nearly 46 percent of the total. Officials said the proposed municipal tax rate for 2023 is $0.336 per $100 of assessed property and that the average household assessment in Howell is $488,979. The budget adopted in 2022 totaled $55,562,000, while 2023’s proposed budget is $59,148,000. The $3,586,000 difference represents a 6.45 percent change. Township Manager Joe Clark said the budget process included discussing needs with various department heads. The goal was to use a conservative approach that also gave residents cost-effective, high-quality services. “We engaged in some horse trading among departments,” Clark shared. “Trading off what we need to do this year versus next.” One of the positives revealed in a recent budget presentation included a summary of the 2022 budget. “We were able to regenerate a significant amount of surplus back into the coffers based on our 2022 performance,” said Chief Financial Officer Louis Palazzo. “Construction permits, as well as some of the fees and permits that we took in, including a lot of the community development related fees and permits, helped regenerate a lot of that.” The 2023 budget will not use the entire $2.7 million surplus, as plans are to keep a healthy reserve. Instead, authorities plan to tap into just $650,000 of the reserves to lessen the proposed tax hike. Increases come from such issues as inflation and contractual obligations with employees. (Budget - See Page 2)
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