Zoning Board of Adjustment Approves Application by Lowe's
On June 3, 2009, at the regular meeting of the Zoning Board of Adjustment, a Use Application and Site Plan was approved on the existing GI Auto site (Old Bloomfield Ave. & Route 46 West) for the future development of a Lowe's Home Improvement Store (137,933 square feet) and Garden Center (31,179 square feet). As part of this approval, the Board also approved an additional retail building (48,000 square feet) that will be limited to three tenants. In an effort to ensure smart development, the Board has imposed numerous conditions that will require the developers to obtain approvals from other local committees and boards, as well as many County, State, and Federal agencies. Preliminary estimates anticipate that if all outstanding approvals are received, the project will take two to three years to complete after all conditions have been met.
The Township has approved a Sewer Rate increase that will be effective with billings going out on/after April 1, 2009. It was necessary for Montville to revamp the sewer rate structure to meet increases in the sewer budget that are discussed below. In conjunction with the Long Term Financial Planning Committee, a rate structure was developed that encompassed a multi-year revenue projection in order to accommodate sewer expense increases over the next four (4) years. The sewer rate ordinance was adopted on March 10, 2009. The ordinance will be implemented over two (2) years to spread the economic impact to sewer customers over a longer period of time. The need to implement these changes are the result of a number of factors.
The rate increase is necessitated by an increase in the debt of the sewer utility to finance sewer capital projects that were necessary to the expansion of the sewer system throughout the Township. 90% of the Township has sanitary sewers.
Sewer customers will now be billed for sewer based upon water use. The concept here is that the more water utilized, the more sewer is utilized, and that higher users should pay their fair share. Single family home sewer charges will be based upon winter water use because of the wide disparity between winter and summer water usage. The reason winter water usage is used is to not penalize conventional summer water use that normally does not impact the sanitary sewer system. Examples of such uses are watering lawns and gardens, filling swimming pools and washing cars. Non-residential and multi-family residential customers will be billed on year-round water use.
Prior years initial connection fees, that were a result of new residential and commercial developments in town, contributed to a stable sewer rate. The slowdown in development, and the fact that the Township is virtually built-out, means that we can no longer rely on these connection fee revenues, which means a greater reliance on user fees.
Electric utility rates are not only impacting the sewer operation generally, but they are contributing to severe increases in treatment costs.
Lower usage customers will actually see a decrease in their sewer bill. High usage customers may see a significant increase in their quarterly bill. Customers without a water meter will continue to be billed a flat fee, based upon the new rate structures average usage. Income-qualified Senior Citizens will continue to receive a discount. In addition water conservation will result in a double benefit of not only a lower water bill, but also a lower sewer bill.
Sewer customers with specific questions about the new billing methodology should contact the Department of Public Works, Water and Sewer Division at 973-331-3330.
On Tuesday, May 28, 2009 the Montville Township Committee held the public hearing on the 2009 budget. The budget is scheduled for adoption at the June 9, 2009 meeting. A summary of the introduced budget is available electronically -2009 Budget. The entire document is available for public inspection in the Township Clerks Office.
This was a difficult budget year, due to the fact that the Township Committee had to wrestle with large financial issues beyond the Township’s control. The budget, as introduced, provides for a 3.49% increase in the municipal tax levy; however, much of that levy increase was due to State imposed pension bill increases combined with reductions in State Aid. The Township worked diligently to economize across the board in other areas to make up for the State-mandated costs to minimize the financial impact to taxpayers, while continuing to provide the high level of service that residents expect from their municipal government. In order to keep the levy increase at a reasonable level in these tough economic times, the Township found it necessary to implement reductions in workforce, resulting in a plan to layoff six (6) personnel.
This increase equates to an approximate $57 annual tax increase to the average assessed home ($332,800) in the Township of Montville.
