Medford’s 2012 municipal budget has received state approval after many public hearings, questions from the state and the April 17 referendum increasing taxes that will allow for continued trash removal from the township.
At a Tuesday, June 5 council meeting, Mayor James “Randy” Pace said Medford would not be making any decisions on trash or sewer, another issue facing the township, until they have all information that is available.
“We still have to do these analyses,” Township Manager Christopher Schultz said.
There is a difference between subscription trash pickup and the township hiring a third party, he explained. With the referendum approved, the township would be the contract administrator if the town decides to go with a third party, rather than the individual residents.
Schultz is currently putting together a bid to analyze the costs, including legacy costs.
“Keep an eye out,” he said, for updates in regards to implementation.
The township plans to go after brush first.
The delay at the state level has pushed back the start date. Bulk trash pick up may not occur until August.
The township is still working on brush rules and parameters moving forward, said Schultz, to be more efficient with limited resources.
However, he emphasized the law does not permit leaves to be placed outside for pickup until September.
Upon approval of the consent agenda resolutions, Councilman Chris Buoni pointed out, “We did just pass the budget,” to the audible relief of many community members.
Lt. Jeffrey Wagner, OEM coordinator, spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting on a resolution to authorize “the Community Wildlife Protection Plan, an action plan for wildlife mitigation in cooperation with the New Jersey Forest Fire Service.”
Wildfires and flooding are the two biggest natural disaster dangers in the town, he said. The resolution allows for long-term management of fire mitigation.
“It does open us up to some funding from the state,” Wagner said.
The OEM is trying to be proactive against forest fires — namely with prescribed burns — to aid in the safety of the community.
Wagner thanked the council for its support and emphasized how fortunate the township is to have positive interaction between the OEM, fire service, police and EMS.
“We’re really fortunate here in Medford to have a great working relationship with everyone,” he said.
Meanwhile, an ordinance was amended to allow the sale of alcohol in a beer garden for the Independence Day fireworks celebration on July 3.
Schultz said the beer garden would be strictly controlled with a limit of four beers per person, closure an hour prior to the fireworks display, police on site and absolutely no underage drinking.
The approval does not open up Freedom Park to a free-for-all, he said, and the ordinance was primarily approved to help bring fireworks back to Medford.
Medford Celebrates! spearheaded that crusade and will host the event in conjunction with Medford Township.
Read more at www.medfordcelebrates.org.
