A light agenda at Haddonfield’s board of commissioners’ latest public session yielded the passage of a resolution regarding an amendment to the temporary operating budget for 2020.
With a unanimous vote, commissioners approved a holdover budget in the amount of $5,358,838.09. The amended amount includes nearly $2 million in additional appropriated funds.
The largest amount of unclassified appropriations were $550,000 for the purchase of land, as well as $500,000 for a Green Acres Grant for the still-pending, but fast-approaching land swap between the borough and the board of education. An additional $1,500 Foundation Grant related to a Valentine’s Day event at the “Open Heart” sculpture at Kings Court was also included.
“Since the borough’s municipal budget won’t be introduced for several weeks and not finalized for another month or so, we have a temporary budget to fund operations for the first few months of the year,” said Commissioner for Revenue and Finance Jeffrey Kasko.
The amended budget was passed to provide for the period between Feb. 10 and the official adoption of the borough’s yearly budget at a future public session in the spring.
Commissioners also issued a proclamation recognizing the 100th anniversary of the State of New Jersey’s ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment — on Feb. 9, 1920 — which awarded women the right to vote.
“Whereas the centennial offers an opportunity to commemorate a milestone of democracy, that the right of citizens of the United States to vote should not be denied or abridged by the Federal or State government on account of gender,” read language in the edict.
“Therefore, be it resolved by the Haddonfield Board of Commissioners, in honor of the 100th anniversary … have decreed that Borough Hall will be lit in purple, one of the colors of the New Jersey suffrage movement, for the month of March 2020, and we encourage our residents to celebrate this historic milestone.”
In other news:
- Commissioners approved seven residents for various municipal board positions: Steve Sweet, Frank Troy, William Shanahan, Britany Bonetti and Richard Wells to the Zoning Board of Adjustment for terms expiring May 31; Jennie McElhone and Kristen Poliafico to the Historic Preservation Commission as alternates for terms ending May 31, 2020 and May 31, 2021, respectively.
- The board also unanimously voted to authorize a shared-services agreement with the Camden County Department of Health and Human Services for Project SAVE, which is a voluntary substance-abuse treatment referral and intervention program for non-violent drug offenders. Term of the agreement will be for three years, ending on Dec. 31, 2022.
- Commissioners rejected three bids totaling $791,500 from Standard Pipe Services for video inspections of borough stormwater system pipes.
