By Dave Fried
The month of June is all about recreation, and few municipalities do it better than Robbinsville Township.
On Saturday June 7, Community Festival and its fabulous array of vendors, activities, music, food, prize alley and more will begin at 2 p.m., followed by a spectacular fireworks display at Community Park. Corporate sponsors such as Investors Bank, Fulton Bank, David Bradley Chocolatier and Hamilton Honda have stepped up with sizable donations.
Our staff, led by recreation director Joe Barker, has done another terrific job preparing for the event. Admission is free. The rain date is Sunday, June 8.
The following Sunday, June 15, is the third annual Robbinsville Municipal Alliance for the Prevention of Substance Abuse Father’s Day Fishing Derby at West Town Center Lake. Registration at the gazebo begins at 7 a.m. and prizes once again will be awarded in various age categories, including largest fish and most fish caught.
The R-MAPSA Fishing Derby is one of the truly special events on our calendar, as it allows families to celebrate Dad by enjoying a technology-free morning with the kids at the lake.
The summer concert season, featuring “The Ernie White Duo,’’ “Tangled’’ and “Limited Slip’’ is also just around the corner!
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Just a few words about our budget, which was formally introduced at the May 8 council meeting, with the public hearing set for June 12.
In the face of continued hikes in school district and Mercer County taxes, our proposed municipal budget of $21.3 million is essentially flat for 2014. However, the amount of tax revenue will fluctuate due to reassessments of select properties in town to assure that those residents are paying a proportionate amount of tax.
We are spending $400,000 less than our budgeted amount in 2013, and our debt load will be reduced by over $995,000 over the next 12 months. We also have kept the economy moving forward by hiring good people and proposing raises to some of our deserving staff members. This is a good, responsible budget that reduces spending overall, trims debt and rewards employees that have done a very good job assuring that Robbinsville remains a very desirable place to live, work and play.
Finally, best of luck to all of the residents who applied for the handful of employment opportunities offered by Amazon.com at its Robbinsville fulfillment center, which is scheduled to open next month. Amazon has begun inviting job seekers that made it through the application stage to its upcoming hiring events in the area, but please keep in mind these Amazon events are not open job fairs, and only those applicants sent confirmation emails are eligible to attend.
Enjoy the start of summer!
Dave Fried is the Mayor of Robbinsville.
