On the same day Montclair released a report touting the town’s accomplishments with a “zero per cent increase” in municipal taxes for 2005, there's the news that the Board of Education is proposing a budget that will slug taxpayers with a 7.05 percent increase.

Today’s Montclair Times and Star Ledger have glowing reports on the job town manager, Joe Harnett has done during his second year in office.

Among the accomplishments listed in the 21 page report are 67 new fire hydrants, two miles of new black top, new logo emblazoned stationary stationery, the Crescent Parking Deck and a not so successful goose poop management program.

Yesterday, Mayor Ed Remsen said he was pleased with the report.
"I'm pretty impressed," Remsen said. "Joe's doing a great job. He's focusing on a lot of areas. I think when you take what the council is driving and what the manager is doing, we're getting a lot done, frankly."

And incredibly, the problem of the missing $577,000 from the town’s water utility has magically been resolved:

“ The deficit of the town's water utility has been plugged,  Harnett told the Star Ledger,  meaning no cash outlay of $500,000 will be needed to shore up the utility this year.
"We'll be a half-million dollars ahead," he said of the water utility's spreadsheet.”

Meanwhile, the  Montclair Board of Education is proposing a $98.5 million budget for school year 2006-2007 which  -- if passed next Monday  -- will mean an average tax increase of $531, the Montclair Times reports.

March 2, 2006 in Current Affairs | Permalink