Politics & Government

2013 Municipal Budget Discussion Resumes Tonight

Lawrence Township Council will meet at 6:30 p.m. today, Tuesday, Aug. 21. Copies of the meeting agenda and Township Manager Richard Krawczun's explanatory memo are available for review.

The next meeting of Lawrence Township Council will take place today, Tuesday, Aug. 21, beginning at 6:30 p.m. at the municipal building at 2207 Lawrence Rd. (Route 206).

Copies of the meeting agenda and Township Manager Richard Krawczun’s explanatory memo can be downloaded from the township’s website or viewed from the Patch media box at the right.

According to Krawczun’s memo, discussions about the 2013 municipal budget will continue at this meeting.

Find out what's happening in Lawrencevillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Listed on the meeting agenda for council’s consideration tonight are:

  • 25 resolutions, authorizing various actions from the hiring of “special counsel” in the Simone Investment Group’s against Lawrence Township to the refunding of escrow funds;
  • three ordinances due for adoption;
  • three ordinances due for introduction, including one concerning funding for the pending township-wide property revaluation;
  • one bid award and one bid rejection.

During the , Krawczun advised council members that – using estimated numbers and educated guesses – it was projected that the township will have a municipal budget shortfall of $932,008 for 2013.

Find out what's happening in Lawrencevillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Two possible ways to address such a budget gap were then discussed by Krawczun at that July 17 meeting: the layoff of nine additional municipal employees during 2013, including four more police officers; or the complete elimination of municipal government involvement in garbage collection in favor of a system whereby residents would be responsible for securing their own individual trash haulers.

The July 17 meeting concluded with a complaint from resident Amy Davis about public participation taking place at the beginning of council meetings and there being no opportunity for the public to offer comments and ask questions later in the meetings, particularly after the township manager has given his report.

“I’m always riveted by the manager’s report at every council meeting, similar to the agency I work for. We have our executive director’s report first thing in our meetings. Immediately following that we open it up for public comment. So I really find it disturbing that – you see I’m attending every council meeting and I intend to do that for quite some time – that after I listen to the manager’s report, which is filled with very insightful information, [there is no public comment period]. I think there are several of us here that would like to comment on that and ask questions but unfortunately every month we are not afforded that opportunity,” Davis told Mayor Jim Kownacki.

“With all due respect, in the future, yourself and the council members, please seriously consider adding public comment after the manager’s report at every meeting and before executive session, like other public bodies do,” Davis continued. “I’d really appreciate it. I think some other people would as well.”

There followed a brief but heated exchange between Davis and Councilman Greg Puliti, with the councilman telling the resident: “The reason that we have public participation at the beginning of the meeting and then the manager gives the report to council is so that council can digest what the manager tells us and we get to ask him questions and be informed and be able to answer questions of the public at the next meeting. It’s his time for interaction with council, because we go back to him in the morning, and I say, ‘Rich, OK, go back to this, go back to this, go back to this.’ That’s why we’re up here on council. Certainly, with all due respect, at the next council meeting, we’ll take questions at the beginning of the meeting and answer them thoroughly.”

That exchange between Davis and the council can be found beginning at the 1:05:45 mark of the July 17 meeting audio, which can be found in the media box above.

 

For Municipal Budget Background, See:

  • Aug. 20: “”
  • Aug. 2: “”
  • July 20: “”
  • July 18: “”
  • June 21: “”
  • June 11: “”
  • May 24: ""
  • May 24: ""
  • May 18: “”
  • May 16: “”
  • May 14: “”
  • May 2: “”
  • May 2: “”
  • April 25: “”
  • April 20: “”
  • April 20: “”
  • April 18: ""
  • April 16: “”
  • April 16: “”
  • April 13: “”
  • April 12: “”
  • April 11: “”
  • April 10: ""
  • April 2: ""
  • March 28: “”
  • March 26: “”
  • March 26: “
  • March 20: “”
  • March 14: “”
  • March 8: “”
  • Feb. 23: “”
  • Feb. 9: “”
  • Jan. 18: “”

 


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