Monday, May 13, 2013
County residents can gather information pertaining to hazard mitigation and provide input on Tuesday, May 14 from 3 to 7 p.m.
The Ocean County Office of Emergency Management will be developing a plan to address a variety of potential hazards and is seeking public input at a Tuesday, May 14 meeting. “It’s very important to get public participation in developing our Multi-Jurisdictional All Hazards Mitigation Plan,” said Acting Sheriff William Sommeling, who serves as the county’s Emergency Management Coordinator. The plan will include a risk assessment and a hazard mitigation strategy. It will identify projects that can reduce damages from natural, man-made and technological hazards. “With Superstorm Sandy fresh in everyone’s mind we want our citizens, elected officials and emergency responders to help develop the plan that is best for Ocean County,” Sommeling …
Loans are meant to help stabilize decrease tax bases following Superstorm Sandy.
Stafford Township has been awarded $5 million in federal loan money to help stabilize a significant ratables base decrease caused by Superstorm Sandy's devastation. The Federal Emergency Management Agency loans are among the first issued in the Community Disaster Loan Program and were made to the township itself and Toms River's Municipal Utility Authority and Fire District No. 1, according to Gov. Chris Christie's office. "The Community Disaster Loan Program provides a vital source of assistance that will help our local governments maintain essential services," said Gov. Chris Christie in a statement Monday. "The program also helps prevent unsustainable increases in property tax and utility rates that would impede New Jersey’s recovery …
Senate bill 2601 would also allow the county to exercise the power of eminent domain in order to erect dunes to protect lands, property and facilities near the beaches
The Ocean County Freeholders oppose a Senate bill that, if approved, would permit counties to take over the operation of beaches within its jurisdiction. A resolution stating that Ocean County would be “actively impacted” by this legislation was unanimously passed at a Freeholders meeting May 1. “If Ocean County were to take over and maintain the 44 miles of just oceanfront beaches in Ocean County, it would not only be cost prohibitive but would also require taxpayers who don’t use the beaches to pay for them,” Freeholder Joseph H. Vicari said. The bill (S2601, A3891), sponsored by Sen. Bob Smith and Assemblywoman L. Grace Spencer, would authorize any county of the fifth or six class — Atlantic, Monmouth, Ocean and Cape May — to assume …
Christie rebate cuts cause 22.4 percent increase in net property taxes that hits those making less than $150,000.
Net property taxes in New Jersey rose 22.4 percent in Gov. Chris Christie's first three years in office, compared to just 6 percent in Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine's last three years in office, a New Jersey Spotlight analysis shows. Christie, who has made attacks on “Corzine Democrats” a centerpiece of his reelection campaign, has been touting his record of holding down overall property tax increases. But when Christie’s rebate reductions are factored in, his property tax record is not so clear-cut. While Corzine doubled average property tax rebates from 2006 to 2009 and provided rebates to families earning as much as $250,000, Christie sharply cut the size of rebate payments and limited eligibility for non-seniors to those earning $75,000 …
'Triple whammy' for Shore residents, Menendez says on U.S. Senate floor
U.S. Senator Bob Menendez threw Shore residents a virtual lifeline Thursday, delivering an address on the Senate floor where he urged colleagues to support an amendment to federal legislation that would stop flood insurance rate hikes, at least in the short term. Menendez (D-N.J.) spoke in favor of an amendment to the Water Resources Development Act which would stop flood insurance premiums from rising until FEMA completes its study on the affordability of premiums of the National Flood Insurance Program. Shore homeowners face annual flood insurance premiums of up to $31,000 a year if they do not raise their homes at a significant cost. Many homeowners who were never previously located in flood zones now find themselves being listed as …
Thursday, May 9, 2013
"Discrepancies" were found in some of the charges submitted by AshBritt, the debris removal firm contracted by the state after Superstorm Sandy
AshBritt, Inc., the firm hired by the state to haul debris after Superstorm Sandy, benefited from an “ambiguous” contract that resulted in at least tens of thousands in extra charges, according to a report released on Wednesday. Ocean County Administrator Carl Block handed the Freeholders a thick report at Wednesday’s pre-board meeting. The report, done by state-hired monitor The Louis Berger Group, Inc., reviews the mileage billed to Ocean County by AshBritt. “The director contacted me after some articles had been written about the clean up efforts,” Block said. Freeholder Director John P. Kelly had asked for a report to be done breaking down the process of debris hauling as well as the charges in relation to distance. “Discrepancies” had…
Website overhaul also soon to be unveiled.
Barnegat Township officials say they are in the process of getting bids for local cable access companies to televise the often-lively regular Township Committee meetings, which are held on alternative Mondays throughout the month. Questioned by a resident Monday about where the bid process stood, Committeewoman Elaine Taylor said there are an array of packages that are being offered by a number of different companies, and she is currently reviewing them all to get the most out of the bid process. She declined to give exact amounts of the bids, noting that they would have to be voted on during a meeting before any could be accepted. Meanwhile, resident Morris Flory attended the meeting and made his own video of the meeting, which has been …
66-year-old woman is reported to be in stable condition
A woman suffering from heart failure aboard a cruise ship was rescued early Thursday by U.S. Coast Guard officials while the vessel was 20 miles off Toms River's shore. Personnel aboard the Splendor, a 952-foot Carnival cruise ship, contacted Coast Guard watchstanders in New York at about 12:40 a.m. Thursday and reported a 66-year-old woman aboard was experiencing heart failure, according to a news release. A rescue crew aboard an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter from the Coast Guard Air Station Atlantic City was dispatched to the cruise ship to rescue the woman, who was not immediately identified by authorities. The Coast Guard helicopter crew was able to hoist the woman and a nurse aboard and transport them to Jersey Shore University Medical …
Island Beach will not be included in Army Corps of Engineers' dune and beach replenishment program
South Seaside Park resident Donald Whiteman's family has lived on the barrier island section of Berkeley Township for seven decades. And they know a washout from a storm when they see one, going all the way back to the Hurricane of 1938, he has said at more than one Berkeley Township Council meeting. Whiteman again urged township officials at the May 5 meeting to pressure the state Department of Environmental Protection to include Island Beach in the Army Corps of Engineers dune and beach replenishment program. "Residents in South Seaside Park who stayed during the storm recognized there was more than one breach," he said. "Island Beach had about five washouts." Whiteman was one of those who rode out the storm. He noticed problems at the …
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
More than 13 miles of roadway will be repaired
The county will be embarking on improvement projects for 11 county roads in the upcoming weeks. “As part of our annual overlay program, we will be starting work shortly on safety improvements including stormwater drainage work, new paving and reconstruction on several roads throughout Ocean County,” said Ocean County Freeholder Director John P. Kelly, Director of Law and Public Safety. More than 13 miles of roadway will be repaired when complete, he said. The Board of Freeholders will be awards a contract to Earle Asphalt Company, which is based out of Farmingdale, in the amount of $2 million to reconstruct portions of seven roadways. “This work will get under way in the next few weeks and while there may be some inconvenience to motorists…
Mark
11:33 am on Tuesday, May 14, 2013
The County has a Office of Emergency Management, and each individual Town & borough has its own Office of Emergency Management and everyone points the finger at each other when things get screwed up as they did during Sandy. There should be one single OEM in the County and one individual (probably the County Sheriff) should be held accountable! But then again accountability is a dirt word in … more ›