Governor Phil Murphy signed the Fiscal Year 2024 Appropriations Act into Law on Friday, building on the progress made over the last five years with new investments centered around increasing affordability, promoting fiscal responsibility, and creating world-class opportunities for everyone to succeed.
Part of the State’s budget will include a special appropriation (Line 1353) for the Berkeley Heights Wastewater Treatment Plant for $750,000. This comes a year later when the Senate President sponsored a bill for an initial $350,000 to aid in an emergency temporary flare project. In total the Township has been awarded $1,100,000 in aid over the last 12 months for infrastructure upgrades to the plant facility.
In February of 2023, Mayor Angie Devanney submitted a budget request to the Senate President’s Office and working with County Manager Ed Oatman highlighting the urgent needs to make vital repairs to the aging infrastructure of the Berkeley Heights Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Mayor Devanney remarked, “I have been eagerly awaiting this good news from Senate President Scuatri since February. The Township Council and I have been working with all levels of government to try to find other sources of financing to make the very needed improvements to our sewer plant.
“As I was preparing to board a plane to North Carolina to watch my son pitch in the Coastal Plain League, I received a message from the Senate President indicating that Berkeley Heights was in the budget for $750,000—my reply was simple: WOW!”
“I would also like to thank Governor Murphy for signing the budget into law yesterday allowing for this aid to make its way to Berkeley Heights imminently,” Mayor Devanney concluded.
The Township’s Department of Wastewater Treatment consists of the Water Pollution Control Plant, 6 pumping stations, sewer mains and collection facilities. It collects, processes and disposes of wastewater in accordance with NJDEP regulations. Mayor Devanney, Councilwoman Jeanne Kingsley and Township Administrator Liza Viana traveled to Washington, D.C. in late June to meet with staffers and Senators Cory Booker and Bob Menendez, as well as Rep. Tom Kean, to request their continued support for more money for drainage and sewer infrastructure in the FY2024 federal budget bill.
The New Jersey State budget, approved by the state Legislature on June 30, 2023 provides direct property tax relief with additional aid for seniors and renters while once again providing the highest level of school funding in history; making a third consecutive full pension payment; and supporting significant investments in the economy, workforce development, and affordable housing. More budget highlights here.
Read more on this here in TAPinto Berkeley Heights
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