We originally reported this story in October 2009, and found out the resolution today (via the Trentonian). Apparently the township spent $9,000 of our tax money to settle with John Holliday, LA police officer and former Playgirl model to not be a police officer in Robbinsville. According to njcivilsettlements.blogspot.com, “None of Holliday’s allegations have been proven or disproven in court. The settlement agreement resolution expressly states that the $9,000 payment does not constitute an admission of wrongdoing by Robbinsville or any of its officials. All that is known for sure is that Robbinsville or its insurer, for whatever reason, decided that it would rather pay Holliday $9,000 than take the matter to trial. Perhaps the defendants’ decision to settle was done to save further legal expense and the costs of trying what were in fact exaggerated or meritless claims. Or, perhaps the claims were true and the defendants wanted to avoid being embarrassed at trial. This is the problem when cases settle before trial–it is impossible to know the truth of what really happened.”

The court document are viewable at http://www.scribd.com/mobile/documents/48639233

A new traffic light will soon be added to the intersection of Pond Road and Route 526 (a.k.a Robbinsville-Edinburg Road).

Despite a realignment a few years go, accidents still occur on the problematic spot. “The intersection has been the scene of 12 collisions that have injured eight people since 2006, including a motorcyclist who was struck by a car last October when he attempted to cross the county highway to get from Pond Road to Beechwood Drive. Crashes have continued to occur there despite the realignment of the intersection a few years ago to help reduce blind spots.”

So Who’s Paying For This?

“Under the agreement announced by Mayor Fried and Mercer County Executive Brian Hughes, the township will purchase the traffic signal and pay for the installation of the underground wiring. County road department workers will install the signal itself and the county will be responsible for future maintenance. Township Engineer Tim McGough said a rough cost estimate for the signal and equipment would be $60,000 and $75,000. The underground wiring work is expected to cost the township about $14,000, he said.”

The traffic light is expected to be completed by late spring 2011.

Source: centraljersey.com

Well folks it’s been a few months since my last update and I apologize for the delay. I’ve been busy with other projects (including my own life) and to be honest, there hasn’t been a load of other news going on since my last post. However, I’m here now to bring everyone up to speed.

In the last news post I reported how the referendum to build a new school was shot down by voters, primarily because we’re being taxed to death and can’t afford to pay anymore. However that doesn’t seem to stop our illustrious town council from continuing to try to squeeze blood from a stone. After the referendum was shot down, the proposed school budget was also voted down. Yet another sign the residents of Robbinsville simply don’t have the money to afford further increases in taxes. But this hasn’t deterred our Mayor and the town council from forging ahead and increasing our taxes yet again this year. According to centraljersey.com, on June 17 the town council approved an $18.8 million budget with only Councilman David Boyne voting in dissent. Boyne believes that the average tax increase of $465, is higher than it needs to be.

Next up, a wonderful waste of money which will cost the residents of Robbinsville $250,000. According to the Trentonian and nj.com, Robbinsville must pay $250,000 of a $500,000 settlement to an ex-public works Superintendent due to a wrongful termination lawsuit. Yes, apparently George Field won a wrongful termination lawsuit against the township, Mayor Fried, and former Business Administrator Mary Caffrey for $500,000 which the town council approved last week. Apparently in 2003 Field had bladder surgery and then in 2005 he notified Fried and Caffrey that he’d need additional surgery. He later received a call informing him of his termination because he did not follow orders. The half million dollar settlement will be paid partly by the Municipal Excess Joint Liability Insurance Fund ($250,000 half-share of the settlement), and it will also advance the township’s share of $250,000 since the township “is not able to pay at this point in time, with the specific understanding that the Township shall repay the $250,000 to the MEL in five annual installments of $50,000. Would anyone like to venture a guess as to who will have to repay that $250,000?? Here’s a hint: it’s not Mayor Fried or Mary Caffrey.

Finally, a bit of an infrastructure update. While nothing has officially been set in motion, there is a push to develop a roadway to connect route 33 to route 130 along the border of Robbinsville and Hamilton. “After sitting dormant for years, plans for the bypass road were revived last year, when former DOT commissioner Stephen Dilts visited the area and “agreed to financially support the bypass project,” according to a spokeswoman at the time. About a month ago, engineers from Hamilton, Robbinsville and the state met to talk about alignments and any rights of way that would be acquired for the bypass, Hamilton business administrator John Ricci said. Some of the rights of way will be donated by developers, Hamilton and Robbinsville officials said.”  Ricci said while the project could start in 2011, there is “no indication” as to when it would be built. For the state to find funding for it is a “big obstacle,” he said.Source: nj.com

So there you have it. Robbinsville residents can’t win. We vote down budgets because we simply can’t afford the extra taxes, yet the town council increases taxes anyway and engages in lawsuits that costs us hundreds of thousands of dollars. If anyone knows of any positive news, please email it to us because it seems that all I ever hear about is how it’s getting harder and harder to live here.

In it’s infinite wisdom, the town council is planing to ask the county for a reduction of the speed limit on Route 526 from 45 mph to 35 mph. If this sounds at all familiar to you it should, they tried the same thing years ago and failed. At the January 14the meeting, the council unanimously approved a resolution to send a letter to the county requesting the speed limit be reduced.

For those of you that are unfamiliar with this stretch of road, it connects West Windsor to Route 33.  Councilwoman Christine Ciaccio said that West Windosor’s 35 mph speed limit factored into the decision to try again. “This is important because in West Windsor, it’s already 35 mph” Ms. Ciaccio said at the meeting. “It’s become a bad road for bicycles and kids that are just out walking.”

The council is hoping the addition of Robbinsville High School will help sway the county, a factor that did not exist the last time they attempted this.

Source: centraljersey.com

While the township continues to sit in the dark without any Food Network or HGTV, Mayor Fried and the township have taken it upon themselves to sue the Mercer County Tax Board “for ordering Robbinsville to perform its 2006 revaluation while allowing other Mercer County towns to avoid the task.” According to the Township’s complaint, the Board’s actions were “arbitrary and capricious,” and prompted tax appeals that have drained at least $1.7 million from Robbinsville’s surplus a figure which may rise above $2 million.

The mayor alleges that he prdecited that the real estate ,arket would take a nosedive and claims that the township’s hand was forced while other town went unscathed. This in turn has caused Robbinsville residents to bear a greater tax burden than the rest of the county’s towns.

The official complaints are:

• The Mercer County Tax Board heard Robbinsville’s arguments about real estate market conditions when Mayor Dave Fried asked to delay the revaluation, shortly after taking office in July 2005. The Township was given an ultimatum: Conduct the revaluation, or the Board will do it and bill the municipality.

• The Board violated the New Jersey Constitution and other laws that require towns to be treated fairly for tax purposes. Other Mercer County municipalities that met standards for conducting revaluations in 2006 were not ordered to proceed; some conducted their last revaluation almost 20 years ago.

• The Board was made aware of this unconstitutional inequity in a letter dated December 3, 2009, and delivered to County Executive Brian Hughes. Yet no steps have been taken to ensure the equal treatment required by the New Jersey Constitution.

We will keep you posted as the lawsuit pregresses.

Source: robbinsville-twp.org