The MANCHESTER Times Vol. 29 - No. 11
In This Week’s Edition
MICROMEDIA PUBLICATIONS
JERSEYSHOREONLINE.COM
Juneteenth:
Manchester Sees 3.8 Cent Tax Increase
A Celebration Of Freedom
BREAKING NEWS @
jerseyshoreonline.com
Community News Pages 10-14
Dr. Izzy Sound News Page 18
Inside The Law Page 21
Classifieds Page 26
Photos By Bob Vosseller (Left) Jordan Morris, 11, of Toms River provides a stirring rendition of Frederick Douglass’ Fourth of July address; (Right) Christina McMurray performs a praise dance; during a Juneteenth observance held inside the Presbyterian Church of Lakehurst. By Bob Vosseller LAKEHURST – Singing, a praise dance, dramatic readings, African American cuisine, poems and a sharing of history was all part of a
Juneteenth observance hosted by the Manchester Democratic Club at the Presby ter ian 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)
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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)
County Creating Homelessness Trust Fund
By Chris Lundy OCEAN COUNTY – After many years of criticism over the way Ocean County handles homelessness, the leaders are creating a trust fund that will pay for temporary housing and
other services. The county will charge a $5 fee on certain documents filed or recorded with the County Clerk’s Office. In 2022, there were more than 130,000 documents,
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(Fund - See Page 5)
June 24, 2023
By Bob Vosseller MANCHESTER – Mayor Robert Arace outlined his first 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.” The mayor said he knew such an increase would not be acceptable to residents and thus, “we knew that with this economic climate in no way can we do that to those facing these price increases. We looked for ways to lower the necessary increase by spending a greater amount out of surplus than initially planned and was able to project additional revenues from our EMS service.” “This enabled us to reduce our tax increase to 3.8 cents, equaling $83 per door per year, 44.6% lower than the initially proposed tax increase,” the mayor added. Mayor Arace explained that in 2022, “the previous administration used our American Rescue Plan (ARP) money, which was a grant provided by the Federal Government for Covid relief, as a supplement to our township’s revenues, and they used it to cover township salaries.” “The issue with this is that they used the money to artificially deflate the tax increase that was necessary to sustain the township, and they did this during an election year. It is highly recommended that the ARP money be used for one-time expenses, such as police vehicles or fire apparatus which the township desperately needs,” the mayor added. (Increase - See Page 16)
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