Berkeley At the most recent Township Council meeting, the governing body looked at some concerns that are hurting local veterans and elderly.
They approved a resolution endorsing A-3705 and S-2559. This is the identical bill as it appears in the State Senate and Assembly. If approved, the law would compensate towns for the tax breaks they provide to veterans with disabilities.
Veterans who are 100% handicapped cannot be charged property taxes, according to state law. This implies that many properties in a community like Berkeley, which has a high senior population, are exempt from taxes. Though they want the state to compensate them for the amount of tax income that must be collected from other property owners, officials have long backed this state statute.
The other lawmakers in the 9th District, Assemblymen Brian Rumpf and Gregory Myhre, along with former mayor and current senator Carmen Amato, sponsored this bill.
According to Councilman James Byrnes, his physician will not be replaced at the Toms River Veterans Administration clinic. The physician is moving to a different, higher-paying clinic. It seems that geographic location determines the salary. Wealthier regions have higher wages.
In order to prevent clinics from bidding against one another for personnel and to ensure that residents of lower-income areas have more options for treatment, he wants a resolution to promote equitable compensation for all districts. He discussed enlisting the assistance of Congressmen Jefferson Van Drew and Chris Smith, who represent different parts of Berkeley.
According to Byrnes, a veteran shouldn’t have to receive care based on where they live.
A resolution requesting the state to include Class I and Class II officers in the pension system is something he has stated he wants to see. While attempting to assist the community, they could sustain injuries on the job.
Retired police officers Thomas Grosse and Michael Signorile, both councilmen, discussed how these police lessons are not covered by the pension system but that they will investigate.
Additionally, a resolution acknowledging World Elder Abuse Awareness Day was approved by the Township Council. This could take many different forms, such as scams or staff members at senior care facilities injuring residents.
Scammers, as we all know, always target the elderly. “Said Mayor John Bacchione.” If someone phones you, don’t send them money.
According to Bacchione, the senior directory of Ocean County Senior Services is now accessible online. Berkeley residents can, however, come to town hall and have it printed off if they would like to do so but are unable to do it themselves.
Co.ocean.nj.us//WebContentFiles//OnlineDirectory.pdf is the URL of the online directory.
Additionally, the Township Council passed a resolution against offshore oil and gas leasing, specifically against the 11th national outer continental shelf oil and gas leasing program’s inclusion of additional offshore oil and gas leasing off the coast of additional Jersey.
According to Councilwoman Sophia Gingrich, she, township engineer John LeCompte, and two locals went to the senior community’s lakes on June 11 to inspect the culverts. The town has been awarded a $2.3 million grant to address the culverts’ indicated need for repair.
The majority of the issues are caused by the inability to regulate the water levels.
