At a May 9 board of commissioners work session, Borough Administrator Sharon McCullough announced that Haddonfield is eligible for a free upgrade to its website that will include a newsletter feature, better calendar functions and the option to submit forms directly to the site.
“The redesign comes at no cost to us, and the annual cost will be staying relatively the same,” McCullough said.
She estimates the redesign will take place over the next four months, with the website ready by the fall. The administrator also shared that one year after Commissioner Frank Troy tasked her with finding an app for the borough, she found one at a reasonable price. The fall release will enable the app to link to the redesigned website.
While no actions were taken, the commissioners also discussed an upcoming budget that includes an increase in the tax rate of 2.48 cents, up from last year’s rate of 0.5377, a 4.6- percent increase. Commissioner Kevin Roche attributed that to increased costs, salary increases and inflation.
For the average assessed home of $760,000, borough residents can expect an increase of about $127 for the year. More information about the financial plan will be shared at the May 23 commissioners’ meeting.
The board also discussed American Recovery Plan funds that the borough planned to spend on a $600,000 repair and rebuilding of the stormwater outfall on Atlantic Avenue, with $500,000 to rewire borough hall so it can become more digital and offer a hybrid model. Members also discussed purchasing new equipment for the public works department, such as a new dump truck, chipper and leafer truck.
McCullough noted that the cost of a new leafer truck had significantly increased over the past couple of years because its current model is no longer manufactured. The alternative would be to buy a smaller one, but that would cost time and gas money.
Other budget items discussed included the cost of outsourcing takedowns of trees stalked from February to the end of April this year that couldn’t be taken down by borough employees because they lacked the right equipment.
