Celebrate NJ 350th

Just when you thought you had it all planned and mapped out for this weekend Along comes that BizEturtle finding you more interesting and fun events to attend. Here are 2 for this weekend and more

Celebrate New Jersey’s 350th Anniversary at the Monmouth County Library

Great author talks and family fun programs as the Monmouth County Library marks New Jersey’s 350th Anniversary.

NJ Historical Commission Panel
New Jersey: A History of The Garden State
Saturday May 17 at 2 PM
Library Headquarters, 125 Symmes Drive, Manalapan 07726
732-431-7220 x7222
The New Jersey Historical Commission, in Partnership with the
Monmouth County Library, is pleased to present a panel featuring the authors of the recent book, New Jersey: A History of the Garden State.
Join some of New Jersey’s leading archaeologists, political, social, and economic historians as they provide new perspectives on how the
Garden State evolved. New Jersey: A History of the Garden State
presents a fresh, comprehensive overview of New Jersey’s history from the prehistoric era to the present.
Featured speakers include Maxine Lurie (professor emerita of history at Seton Hall University), Paul Israel (director of The Edison Papers, Rutgers University), Larry Greene (professor of history at Seton Hall University), and Brian Greenberg (the Jules Plangere Jr. Chair in American Social History at MonmouthUniversity).
This program is free and open to all but registration is strongly recommended. Register online, over the phone at 732-431-7220 Ext 7222, or in-person at the Reference Desk.

Family Fun Saturday – Happy Birthday New Jersey!
11 AM to 2:30 PM
Saturday, May 17
Eastern Branch, 1001 Route 35, Shrewsbury 07702
1-866-941-8188
Join us in celebrating our state’s 350th birthday. For all ages!
11 AM – 11:45 AM – Storyteller Gerald Fierst will take you on an enjoyable “time machine” journey from when the early Lenape people lived here to present day New Jersey
12 PM – Enjoy a piece of birthday cake! Please let us know if your child has any allergies.
12:30 – 2:15 PM – Come create a Lenape coil clay pot with Debbie Hadley of WILD Jersey. Please register at library or call 1-866-941-8188 for this program. Choose one time:
Session one: 12:30 – 1:15 PM. OR
Session two: 1:30 – 2:15 PM.

Telling HerStories: Bridge Builder in Petticoats
Thursday, May 22 at 6:30 PM
Howell Township Library, 318 Old Tavern Road, Howell 07731
732-938-2300
Come learn about Emily Warren Roebling and her role in building the BrooklynBridge at a special Howell Township Library family program. Carol Levin of Telling HerStories will appear in costume as Emily Warren Roebling and tell her story. The presentation will include a lantern slide show.

The Jewish Newport on the Jersey Shore:
The History of the German Jews of Monmouth County
Wednesday, May 28 at 2 PM
Eastern Branch, 1001 Route 35, Shrewsbury 07702
1-866-941-8188
Presented by the Jewish Heritage Museum of Monmouth County.
The first permanent Jewish communities in Monmouth County were established by German-Jewish immigrants arriving in the mid-1800s.
By the end of the Civil War, sizeable numbers of these businessmen and their families were well established in and around Keyport, Red Bank, Long Branch and Freehold. Jewish hoteliers and other tradesmen catering to summer visitors were also a visible presence along the Atlantic coastline.

• Tweet

Be Kind to Animals

On Friday May 2 from  3:30 PM  –  4:30 PM

It Is Cool To Be Kind to Animals
Visit with a Dog or Cat Pet Therapist!
Learn about Pet Care, Shelter Programs and Respect and
Compassion for Animals!

At the Long Branch Free Public Library

A Humane Education Program for the Whole Family

Presented by the Monmouth County SPCA
This Program is Free, but A Donation of Dog or Cat items is Requested

Location: 328 Broadway, Long Branch, NJ 07740

• Tweet

Earth Day & Arbor Day

It looks like a great week ahead. Earth day is on Tuesday, April 22nd
and Friday, the 25th is Arbor Day.
Monmouth County is celebrating all over.

It all starts on Monday, the 21st  with two EARTH DAY STORY & CRAFT events. Be sure to Register and get there by 4:15 PM to either the
Holmdel Township Library, RSVP: 732-946-4118 or
to the Marlboro Library, RSVP: 732-536-9406

Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

Middletown Mayor Addresses Library Concerns

Middletown Mayor Tony Fiore sent the following message to the approximately 6000 Middletown residents who have subscribed to the township’s website and electronic communication program.  The Mayor’s message about the library is also posted on the Middletown website.

Dear Township Residents:

I felt it was necessary for me to respond to the recent flurry of comments and emails regarding the Middletown Township Library. It is unfortunate that some have chosen to engage in the spread of completely false information with regard to the Township Committee’s request of the Middletown Library Board. So let me set the record straight.

First let me make it very clear that neither I nor any member of the Township Committee has ever suggested or proposed closing any library facility in the Township. We would simply not do such a thing.

The situation the Township finds itself in is not unlike that being faced by towns throughout New Jersey. With revenues sharply down due to the economic downturn we remain in and with state-mandated costs ever on the rise, we are now faced with an extraordinary fiscal challenge. This includes the potential for the layoff of a number of employees and even possibly police. Be assured that we do all we can to avoid layoffs and we take the matter very seriously.

The Library budget is different from the Township budget in that state law specifies how much must be allocated to the library each year, whether it is needed to operate the library or not. The result of this is that the library now has a surplus of $1.2 million. While some portion of this surplus is needed for ongoing support of library programs and initiatives, the vast majority is not needed for continued operations. I personally met about two weeks ago with the Library Director and the Board Chairman and asked that they bring back to the library board a request to transfer approximately $700,000.00 – $800,000.00 of their surplus to the Township’s budget. This would be used to offset layoffs and to help fund the continuation of many vital Township services and help to offset the impact of over $4 million in tax appeals.

The Township Committee is fully aware that the library board cannot be forced to do this. However we are asking that they work with us in a unified effort to help all of the residents and taxpayers of the Township. I would note that the Township Sewerage Authority dedicated a portion of its surplus to the Township last year and we anticipate them doing the same again this year.

Many people have expressed concern that the Township Committee is seeking to transfer operation of the library to the Monmouth County Library System. Let me be clear that the Township Committee has taken no action to do this. Such a move would be an absolute last resort, but without the transfer of some of the library surplus it may become a fiscal necessity. Not an option, a necessity. Should this action have to occur, the library would not close, it would simply move under the umbrella of the county and the staff would become county employees rather than be Township employees. Again, we do not want to make this move. We would like to see our library continue as the great Township facility it is. Our hope is that we can work with the Library Board as a team with the best interests of the Township as the goal.

Sincerely,
Anthony P. Fiore, Mayor

• Tweet

Middletown Files Layoff Plan

Mayor Fiore Hopeful That Some Police Jobs Can Be Save Through Union Concessions And Tapping The Library’s $1.2 Million Surplus

MIDDLETOWN – The Township Committee has directed the Township Administrator to file a layoff plan with the State Civil Service Commission to address significant and continuing declines in municipal revenue and to conform with the 2% cap levy law.

“Recent budget analysis prepared by the Township’s Chief Financial Officer have made it readily apparent that the Township is left with no option but to immediately begin the process of initiating another round of significant layoffs,” said Middletown Mayor Tony Fiore.  “We are hopeful that some police jobs can be saved through reasonable concessions by the Township’s collective bargaining units and with assistance from the Middletown Library’s $1.2 million surplus.”

“Committeeman Kevin Settembrino, the Committee’s representative on the Middletown Library’s independent board, has specifically requested that it authorize payment of $898,000 of the Library’s $1.2 million surplus that will have no impact on the Library’s operations so that additional police layoffs can be averted,” continued Fiore.  “Nobody can be immune from cuts in this current economic climate, but we must first focus on essential core government services such as providing police protection and maintaining municipal roadways.”

Budget & Layoff Facts

 The layoff plan was filed with the State Civil Service Commission on Friday, February 11, 2011 with notice to the affected employees and unions, proposing the elimination of 26 total positions, as follows:

 Department of Parks & Recreation (13 positions), which eliminates every position but for the Director essentially eliminating the Department.  Most of these positions cannot be saved absent an extraordinary change in projected municipal revenues and major concessions.

• Police Department (10 positions) with demotions proposed too. The $898,000 requested from the Library’s $1.2 million surplus to avert further police layoffs represents the amount of the municipal budget that pays the debt service for the library renovation project, $565,000, plus the amount of contribution mandated by statute that will decrease due to changes in the Townships overall valuation resulting from the reassessment totaling $333,000 in 2012.

§ Building Office (1 position).

§ Department of Finance (1 position).

§ The Municipal Court (1 position).

 The projected effective date of the Layoff Plan is Friday, April 29, 2011.

• Despite more than $3 million of reductions in budget appropriations, revenues have decreased approximately $7.4 million, leaving an estimated budget shortfall of $4.4 million.
• The largest source of revenue loss continues to be from tax appeals that represent a total of approximately $4.9 million, which is one of the principal reasons why the Township is currently completing a Township-wide reassessment.
• The Township eliminated 40 positions last year through layoffs, retirements and resignations.

• Tweet