Author: haddonfieldtoday
School Board to discuss opening procedures
Two new policies covering procedures necessary for the opening of schools for the 2020-21 school year will be discussed and potentially approved during two meetings of the Board of Education, on Thursday, August 28 and Thursday, September 3.
Each meeting will begin at 7pm and may be attended virtually on the School District’s YouTube channel … HERE.
Time will be provided for comments and questions from members of the public.
Two new COVID-19 cases
The Camden County Department of Health reported today that two Haddonfield residents — a male in his 50s and a female in her 30s — have contracted the coronavirus, COVID-19. This brings the total number of confirmed cases for Haddonfield to 82, with six fatalities.
In Camden County, the total number of cases stands at 9,488, with 552 deaths. For New Jersey, 188,427 cases with 14,097 confirmed deaths and an additional 1,829 probable deaths.
The transmission rate in New Jersey — 1.06 — remains above the key threshold of 1.0. (A transmission rate of 1.0 means that, on average, each new case will produce one additional new case. When the transmission rate falls below 1,0, it’s a good sign. When it rises above 1.0, it’s cause for concern.)
Statistics for Haddonfield, Camden County, and New Jersey are updated on Haddonfield[dot]Today each week day.
Conversation on affordable housing
The Borough Commissioners will host a conversation on affordable housing and what it means in our community on Monday, August 24, 2020 at 7pm.
To register on Zoom in advance, go HERE.
Meeting ID: 825 1860 9356
Passcode: 029134
Unclaimed bicycles up for bid
The Borough will conduct an auction of abandoned, unclaimed bicycles on Saturday, October 17.
The auction will take place at the Public Works facility, 555 Centre Street.
Items to be auctioned may be inspected from 8am, for one hour. The auction will begin at 9am.
Commissioners introduce 2020 budget
During their regular meeting on August 17, 2020, the Borough commissioners introduced the municipal budget for 2020.
The budget proposes total expenditure of $19,181,684.00, of which $12,232,816 will be raised through property taxes. The proposed local purpose tax rate is 0.5284 cents per $100 of assessed property valuation.
For the owner of a property assessed at the borough average of $ 488,481, local purpose taxes will be $2,581, an increase of $26 over last year’s taxes.
Two other examples:
- Property value = $ 244,241. Taxes = $ 1,291. Increase = $14.
- Property value = $ 732,722. Taxes = $ 3,872. Increase = $40.
Local purpose (municipal) taxes represent a little over 17% of the total property tax bill.
Apart from employee salaries, benefits, and pension payments ($8,634,733), which make up 47% of the budget, the largest expenditures include stormwater improvements ($2,995,000) and the Borough’s annual road program ($2,240,000).
The Budget Recapitulation document is available HERE.
A public hearing on the budget will be held during the Commissioners’ regular meeting on Tuesday, September 22, 2020, after which the Commissioners may vote to adopt.
Commissioners to meet
The Borough commissioners will hold a regular work session on Monday, August 17 at 4pm.
To attend virtually, register in advance HERE. Access the agenda HERE.
They will hold a regular meeting on Monday, August 17 at 7pm. The agenda will include the annual municipal budget.
To attend virtually, register in advance HERE. Access the agenda HERE.
Villa Rosa to close
The owners of Villa Rosa Italian Restaurant at 51 Kings Highway East announced on Friday (August 14) that they will close their business on Sunday.
The restaurant operated at the top end of Kings Highway, adjacent to the Speedline, for several decades, before moving to its present location two years ago.
“After 33 years of serving our amazing communities,” the owners wrote on their Facebook site on Friday afternoon, “we are saddened to announce that tomorrow, Saturday August 15, will be our last day in business.
“Due to the long-lasting impacts of COVID-19, we have made the difficult decision to permanently close. This Pandemic has really hit our business hard, and as hard as we tried to stay afloat, some things just aren’t meant to be. Thank you to all of our guests for your loyalty & for keeping us in business for so many years. You have all become family to us! We will miss you all! But it’s time to search for new horizons & see what the future has in store for us. We appreciate everyone’s support during these hard times.”
Fans of the restaurant responded in droves, with the result that the restaurant ran out of dough to make pizza. “We want to thank EVERYONE who came out today or called in to show your support! We’re sorry if we couldn’t take care of all of you today; we got slammed with orders, BUT we will be open all day Saturday from 11am-11pm.” the owners wrote on Facebook.
One fan – Alex Kadar – set up a GoFundMe site, with a goal of raising $100,000.
READ MORE: “Last Bites: Haddonfield Bids Farewell to Villa Rosa After 32 Years” by Matt Skoufalos for NJPen.com
COVID-19: New state rules for closing schools
The NJ Department of Health released new rules today (August 13) for closing schools in response to positive tests among students and/or teachers.
The 19-page document includes the following:
- When one or two people (students and/or teachers) are diagnosed with the coronavirus, all who had close contact with them could be required to stay at home for 14 days.
- If two people (students and/or teachers) in different classrooms test positive, the entire school could be closed.
Access “COVID-19 Public Health Recommendations for Local Health Departments for K-12 Schools” HERE.