Our Montville

Dumb as we want to be - American "energy policy"

It is great to see that we finally have some national unity on energy policy. Unfortunately, the unifying idea  is so ridiculous, so unworthy of the people aspiring to lead our nation, it takes your breath away. Hillary Clinton has decided to line up with John McCain in pushing to suspend the federal excise tax on gasoline, 18.4 cents a gallon, for this summer’s travel season. This is not an energy policy. This is money laundering: we borrow money from China and ship it to Saudi Arabia and take a little cut for ourselves as it goes through our gas tanks.   See New York Times.  Discuss on OurMontville blog.            Hat tip:  Dennis

Montville upgraded to top financial rating!

Township Committee commitment to lowering debt pays off -  A long-term commitment to reducing municipal debt while using solid financial performance and a strong property tax base supported by high wealth and income levels have propelled Montville to the upper echelon of bond ratings issued by New York-based Standard & Poor's. 

The new rating brings Montville into exclusive company in the Garden State -- only 13 government entities among more than 1,100 in New Jersey have the AAA rating, said Christopher Mortell, senior marketing manager for Standard & Poor's.  See Daily Record.

According to Deputy mayor Jim Sandham, who heads the long term financial planning committee which was revitalized when Art Daughtry took office in 2005: "The raising of Montville’s bond rating by S&P can only mean good things for Montville and our residents.  We already received a lower interest rate on the $10 million of bonds we financed this week, which equates to interest savings of over $25,000 per year or over $400,000 over the life of this bond issuance.  And the timing is fortuitous as we are looking to re-finance previously issued bonds to further reduce our interest expense."

Quarterly Real Estate Taxes are Due!

Remember to pay your property taxes before May 10 to avoid late charges and interest.  You may use a Visa or MasterCard (why not get frequent flier miles?) when paying in person.  Be sure to bring a copy of your tax bill with you. 

The tax office is at 195 Changebridge Road and is open from 9-4.

Video of 4/22/08 Montville Township Committee Meeting

Discuss on OurMontville blog.

Rob Lefkowitz discusses Montville's spending

Summary of 3/25/08 TC Meeting This meeting can be viewed at http://blip.tv/file/786659. Sorry for the shaky camera for the first minute. The meeting started off on what appeared to be a positive development. While there were no copies of the budget provided for members of the audience, there was a notebook computer hooked up to a projector, which I assumed would be used to allow the audience to follow along with the TC as they reviewed the town's budget. Unfortunately, the projector was not used for this part of the meeting. Instead it was used later to show the projects that landscapers had donated to demark the entrances to the town. What a shame that we had equipment present that would have provided for a more open government, but chose not to use it.  Discuss on OurMontville.com blog.

Planning Board minutes from 2-28-08

Download 22808_planning_board.doc

Video of February 26 Township Committee Meeting

Courtesy of Rob Lefkowitz:

The 02/26/08 TC meeting has been uploaded.  The link is http://blip.tv/file/702718/ .  Last week's meeting was viewed over 45 times, so at least there is some interest.

The meeting began with a discussion of the budget.  Unfortunately, the meeting was not conducted on the dais, so the participants were not really audible on the video that I took.  I, therefore, didn't post that part of the meeting.  I will be attempting to get a copy of the budget for your readers if I can find the time.         Discuss on OurMontville.com blog.

Wonder why?

It snowed last Tuesday. So, the state, as is its custom, paid 700 private sector snow plow drivers the agreed to rate of $120 per hour to plow state highways. But because last Tuesday was Lincoln's Birthday, a state holiday, the drivers got another $13 an hour in holiday, or overtime, pay. These were not even state workers.

See Don't like the deal? Then quit county job.  Hat tip: Fred Snowflack

Video of February 12 Township Committee Meeting

Courtesy of Rob Lefkowitz:

"I've uploaded the latest TC Meeting.  I thought that I'd provide a bit of a summary, as well as my own personal rant to see if anyone else is as troubled as I am with some aspects of the meeting.  We don't get much attendance at these meetings, but perhaps people will want to chat about it.  Here goes:

The Township Committee met on February 12, 2008.  You can find the at video http://montvillemeetings.blip.tv For those without the time to review the video, here are some items that may be of interest and my commentary.  I apologize if my interpretation of 'interest' differs from yours - these are not intended to be meeting minutes, nor are they complete. 

Discuss on OurMontville.com blog.

Video of Township Committee Meetings

Robert Lefkowitz has generously provided videotapes of Montville Township Committee meetings. 

The January 22 meeting is available in two parts:  Part One and Part Two.