• Home
• Links

Census reveals population growth for Central Jersey towns

By ERICA HARBATKIN
STAFF WRITER

The populations in Middlesex, Somerset and Hunterdon counties have grown more quickly than the state population since 2000, according to U.S. Census estimates released today. Union County’s population, meanwhile, has remained relatively constant.

The Middlesex County population grew 5.1 percent from 2000 to 2007, compared to statewide growth of 4.46 percent. Somerset County grew 8.76 percent, Hunterdon County 6 percent and Union County 0.4 percent in that time period.

Somerset County has grown by 26,062 since 2000, an 8.76 percent spike, and by 3,482 in from 2006 to 2007, a 1.1 percent jump.

The fastest-growing municipalities in Somerset County since 2000 have been Montgomery (5,542 more residents, 31.7 percent growth) and Green Brook (1,266 more residents, 22.4 percent growth).

The slowest growth in Somerset County has come in Millstone (2 residents, 0.5 percent) and Bound Brook (38 residents, 0.37 percent).

Hunterdon County, meanwhile, has has grown by 7,359 residents since 2000, which represents a 6 percent swell. The county population remained relative stagnant from 2006 to 2007, increasing by just 0.1 percent.

Lebanon Borough has experienced the quickest growth rate in Central Jersey, with 831 additional residents composing a 78 percent population boom since 2000. West Amwell grew by 535 residents in that time period, a 23 percent boost.

Lambertville, Clinton Town, Bloomsbury, Califon, High Bridge, Stockton and Frenchtown have all seen their populations decline since 2000, with Lambertville experiencing the largest drop at 3.21 percent.

In Middlesex County, Middlesex Borough saw its population decline nominally, dropping by 0.16 percent (22 residents). On the whole, Middlesex County grew by 38,467 residents from 2000 through 2007, and by 5,258 (0.7 percent) from 2006 to 2007.

Union County has grown by 0.4 percent (2,117 residents) since 2000, while the population dropped by 0.03 percent (141 residents) from 2006 to 2007. Sixteen of the county’s 21 municipalities have seen their numbers fall since 2000, at rates ranging from 0.06 percent to 3.83 percent. Rahway, meanwhile, experienced the most growth in the county since 2000 with a 6.37 percent spike.

For non-Census years like 2007, the Census Bureau estimates the number of housing units in each municipality using building permits, construction estimates, mobile home shipments and housing-loss estimates. The bureau then uses the occupancy rate from the most recent Census to multiply by the estimated number of housing units. That means the 2007 estimates assume each municipality’s occupancy rate hasn’t changed since the 2000 Census.

Population changes

Here’s the population of each Central Jersey county and the percentage the population has increased since the 2000 census.

HUNTERDON - 129,348; 6.03 percent
MIDDLESEX - 788,629; 5.13 percent
SOMERSET - 323,552; 8.76 percent
UNION - 524,658; 0.41 percent

Town by Town Population Chart

Share This

I want to thank the Hunterdon County Chamber for hosting this year’s Mayors dinner. It was an excellent time with good food and great company.

Join us on April 30th
to Honor Hunterdon County Mayors
at Stanton Ridge Golf & Country Club

6 PM hors d’oeuvres and cash bar

Networking (political and otherwise)
Great food (Southwest dinner fixin’s)

Meet njn TV’s Michael Aron, our guest speaker

Share This

Corzine’s big lie about small towns

Posted by Paul Mulshine March 03, 2008 10:02PM
Categories: Politics

With his new budget, Gov. Jon Corzine is trying to pull the same stunt on
residents of small towns that he tried to pull on drivers using toll
roads.

The governor’s gimmick is to make a class of people, preferably those with

minimal political clout, bear the financial burden for the rest of the
state.

In the case of drivers using the toll roads, they already pay tolls to
cover the cost of the roads they’re driving on. They also pay a gas tax to

cover the cost of other roads. Corzine wants to soak them even further by
raising their tolls to offset debt resulting from out-of-control state
spending.

We saw a variation on that theme in the governor’s new budget, which cuts
state aid to small towns. The residents of small towns already pay
property taxes to support their local government. They also pay income
tax, most of which goes to support urban schools. And they pay sales tax
as well. When Corzine raised that tax last year, he promised property tax
relief would follow.

We now know how much that promise is worth. Instead of increasing state
aid in the suburbs, Corzine last week announced that he will eliminate it
for towns under 5,000 in population. He’ll cut it in half for towns under
10,000.00

The theory behind this is that those small towns are inefficient and
should merge. That sounds logical — until you look at the numbers.

Consider Bergen County. Bergen is often used as the poster boy for
consolidation because it is divided into 70 municipalities. But how many
of those towns have a higher per-capita cost of government than the
largest city in the state, Newark?

One. And that’s Teterboro, which is really an airport, not a town. As for
the other 69 towns in Bergen, they’re all run more efficiently than
Newark, which has a per-capita cost of $5,197 per person. Paterson and
Elizabeth aren’t far behind Newark, and all are far above the state
average of about $3,200 a year.

As for the small towns Corzine wants to eliminate, their per-capita costs
are about average. Star-Ledger reporter Robert Gebeloff has assembled an
excellent database of all 566 municipalities that you can peruse at
www.nj.com. Look up your town and see where it ranks, especially in the
area of state aid.

State aid — or the lack of it — is a major reason for high property
taxes. Newark gets so much aid that homeowners there pay a mere 5 percent
of the cost of government. But if you live in the typical town in Morris
County, for example, you’re probably paying 60, 70 or 80 percent of the
cost of government in your property taxes. The reason property taxes are
high in Morris is not that the cost of local government is high. It’s that

state aid is low — and getting lower if Corzine has his way.

“We usually pay more than a billion a year in income taxes, yet we get
back less than $150 million in school aid,” says Assemblyman Rick Merkt, a

Republican who represents Morris. “Fifteen percent is a bad return.”

Indeed it is. School aid is the primary form of property tax relief funded

by the income tax. But thanks to the state Supreme Court’s Abbott
decision, more than half of that aid goes to 31 “special needs” school
districts. Yet the lion’s share of the state’s proposed $1.8 billion in
municipal aid also goes to the cities.

Don’t worry, small-town residents, the guv’s got a plan. No, he’s not
going to give you an equal share of school aid. Instead he’s going to cut
your municipal aid. The theory is that the loss of that aid will cause
your town to merge with the next town.

This is not likely, for a simple reason: Most small towns get so little
state aid that there’s not much Corzine can do to hurt them. The 323 towns

under 10,000 population would lose a total of just $37 million, a blip in
the state budget. Steve Lonegan, the one-time Republican gubernatorial
contender who has been the prime force in opposing the toll plan, said he
sees the attack on small towns as just another effort by Corzine to push
unionization.

“His motto is ‘Workers of the world, unite!’” Lonegan said of Corzine.
Lonegan notes that if his hometown of Bogota in Bergen County were to be
absorbed into neighboring Teaneck, the volunteer fire company would be
replaced by unionized firefighters. And that cost alone would offset any
savings.

“One lieutenant in Teaneck’s fire department costs more than the entire
operation of my entire volunteer fire department,” said Lonegan, who was
mayor of Bogota until this year.

If Corzine were sincere about cutting costs, he’d be targeting the big
spenders in the cities. Instead he’s targeting the people in small towns
who pay the bills. But like those toll-road users, small-town residents
have cars. No wonder they’re fleeing the state.

Share This

The first open house for 2008 will be held Saturday, February 16, 2008 at the home of Mark and Rhonda Paradis.

Event: Mayor’s Open House

Date: Saturday, February 16, 2008

Time: 10AM – 1PM

Place: 84 Brunswick Avenue, Lebanon, NJ

The Mayor’s open house was initiated in the Spring of 2007 to promote a positive atmosphere while furthering the accessibility of your local government officials. It also allows residents of Lebanon Borough the opportunity to have personal one-on-one attention to their issues and concerns.

Light refreshments will be served –

For more information, please contact Mark Paradis at 908-236-9221 or read more on the blog “Inside the Trenches” at www.markparadis.com/blog

Share This

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims of the Kirkwood, MO tragedy that unfolded last night.

The victims include:

• Public Works Director Kenneth Yost
• Officer Tom Ballman
• Officer William Biggs
• Council member Michael H.T. Lynch
• Council member Connie Karr

Mayor Mike Swoboda is still in critical condition and Suburban Journals news reporter Todd Smith is in satisfactory condition.

Share This

If you were one of the many Independent voters that voted in the 2/5 Presidential Primary, you may have been caught off guard.  All Independents were asked to declare your party (Republican or Democrat) at the polls.  Now……what do you mean “declare my party” - I’m an Independent voter!

In the state of New Jersey, if you went to the polls as a registered Independent or “Unaffiliated voter” as it is commonly referred to, you were asked to declare your party affiliation.

If you voted Republican - then you are now affiliated/registered with that party.

If you voted Democrat - then you are now affiliated/registered with that party.

Your party affiliation only matters when voting in a New Jersey Primary.  No one will ask you in the November General Election.

But wait….it get’s better!

If you wish to change your party affiliation back to Independent/Unaffiliated, you need to fill out the Political Party Affiliation Form and mail it back to the County Board of Elections.

In Hunterdon County, the address is:

Hunterdon County Board of Elections
Records Center, Bldg. #5A
Rt. 12 County Complex, PO Box 2900
Flemington, NJ 08822

After voting in the Primary and declaring ones party affiliation, it is the voter’s responsibility to change their affiliation.

For more web information contact the County Board of elections or  call (908) 788-1190.

Share This

A great article in today’s Star Ledger -
Local officials attack new affordable housing rules

Municipalities fear taxpayers will bear the brunt of higher state quotas

Thursday, February 07, 2008

BY BEV McCARRON

Star-Ledger Staff

Municipal officials unhappy with the state’s push for 115,000 more affordable homes say the new housing rules will burden taxpayers and promote overdevelopment in already-strained Somerset and Hunterdon counties.

“This is simply unworkable,” Clinton Township Mayor Nick Corcodilos said Tuesday at a public hearing in Raritan Township, where about 65 officials, planners and a few housing advocates turned out.

Under the state’s landmark Mount Laurel rulings of 30 years ago, towns were ordered to zone for and encourage construction of affordable housing. The rulings have resulted in about 41,000 homes for people with low and moderate incomes.

Now entering a new round in the process, the state Council on Affordable Housing has recalculated the amount of homes needed through the year 2018, boosting it to 115,000 from 52,000.

State Department of Community Affairs Commissioner Joe Doria insisted the homes will not be paid for by taxpayers, but funded through contributions from developers who build commercial, retail or residential projects, along with partnerships with nonprofits.

But many at the hearing disagreed.

Corcodilos, representing 10 towns in the two counties, said commercial developers will not be able to afford the fees they would be charged to subsidize the homes, and economic development in the region will be hampered.

“There are many developers out there, and I could bring them to your communities,” said Doria, a former Hudson County senator. “They are out there and they want to build.”

Corcodilos responded that towns already suffered at the hands of housing developers who went to court and used the so-called “builder’s remedy” to force towns to accept high-density developments with a provision they include low-cost housing.

The remedy allowed builders to construct one affordable unit for every four market-priced ones.

Bridgewater Mayor Patricia Flannery said her township met its quota of affordable homes, and yet was now being asked to provide four times as many as it had planned for the future. The new numbers, she said, are based on growth that may never occur.

“The new rules place an undue burden on municipalities and their residents who will now be forced to subsidize affordable housing just to meet the arbitrary, newly imposed obligations,” Flannery said.

Planner Scarlett Doyle said Bridgewater has a corporation with three buildings in the township, and has planned a fourth building of about 200,000 square feet. Under the new rules, the corporation would have to contribute $5.1 million alone for housing, she said.

The new rules, scheduled for approval June 2, would require developers to pay fees to be used to build affordable homes, at a rate of one unit of affordable housing for every 16 new jobs or every 5,714 square feet of space. It also would require construction of one low-cost home for every four market-priced homes, up from previous rules that required one affordable home for eight market-rate units.

Jeff Tittel, director of the Sierra Club of New Jersey, said the rules don’t take into account many acres of undevelopable property that fall under the state Highlands Act, which protects highly sensitive land from development.

“They are allotting numbers to towns that are much larger than they have area to build,” Tittel said. “My concern is, it is going to be used to promote sprawl in the wrong places and not really provide affordable housing in the places we need them.”

During a break in the hearing, the fourth of five being held statewide, Doria said the new rules might be altered somewhat, but he didn’t expect any substantive changes.

If that is the case, Corcodilos said, the DCA can expect a lawsuit from municipalities.

Bev McCarron may be reached at bmccarron@starledger.com or (908) 429-9925.
© 2008 The Star Ledger

© 2008 NJ.com All Rights Reserved.

Share This

It looks like DCA Commissioner Doria will be attending the public meeting on 2/5 in Flemington. Kind of makes it easy to hand deliver our combined 7 Town Group letter!

The 7 town Group has 10 signatures with Bridgewater Twp and Washington Twp (Warren County) joining from outside Hunterdon County. Great news as this affects all municipalities in New Jersey. I would expect more to join as we gain momentum.

Letter to DCA Commissioner Doria

Share This

We continue to move forward in our effort to convey the flaws of the new 3rd round COAH rules as it affects municipalities across the great state of New Jersey.

In preparation and as a recommendation by the group, a letter was sent to Commissioner Doria asking for the entire COAH council attend the 2/5 public meeting in Flemington.

While we appreciate the opportunity to have a public meeting, it is the COAH Council that is the policymakers - not the staff.

COAH request to appear letter

I unfortunately will not be able to attend the meeting due to a prior 2008 budget meeting being held in the Borough. More about that later.

Share This

This article came out today in the NYT about rising building costs for both state and local budgets - Interesting article due to the issues we are facing on our municipal building renovation.

Building Costs Deal Blow to Local Budgets
By WILLIAM YARDLEY
Published: January 26, 2008

SEATTLE - State and local governments in many parts of the country are struggling to pay for roads, bridges and other building projects because of rising construction costs, adding another burden to budgets already stressed by the troubled housing market.

The problems have come as many governments pursue ambitious projects to improve roads and airports, build schools and upgrade long-neglected water and sewer systems. Many of the projects were conceived when money from property, sales and income taxes was steady and interest rates low, but officials say the ground has shifted beneath their feet. “Everybody’s scared,” said Uche Udemezue, director of engineering and transportation for San Leandro, Calif., which will soon put out a request for construction bids on a retiree center and a parking garage. “You don’t know what you’re going to find when you go out to bid.”Costs have jumped for projects as varied as levee construction in New Orleans, Everglades restoration in Florida and huge sewer system upgrades in Atlanta. The reconstruction of the Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis, a $234 million project, has been fast-tracked for completion by December, and state officials say it is too soon to know whether it will come in on budget.

The impact has been felt in different regions at different times, and not every project has been high-profile. In Oregon, high costs have forced the State Department of Transportation to slow the rate at which it upgrades roads and bridges. In Seattle, school building projects were put on a fast track this fall because of fears of cost overruns.”We escalated our project schedule to get ahead,” said Fred Stephens, director of facilities and construction for Seattle Public Schools.Nationwide, increasing costs first became a problem for some projects more than two years ago, and in some regions the rate of increase has dropped in the past year. But some regions are tighter than ever, and the pressure from the high costs can be more acute in the context of general revenue declines. The list of culprits for the increases often depends on the rate of growth and construction in a particular region, with labor costs playing a role along with the rising prices of materials like steel and concrete, and asphalt, fuel and other petroleum-based products.

Experts say high costs are linked to competition from a global development boom, particularly in China and India; the housing boom in the United States; and the rush to rebuild after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and other recent hurricanes that struck Florida and the Southeast. In the Northwest, public projects have competed with downtown construction surges in Seattle and Portland. Just across the Canadian border, hotels and highways are being built to prepare for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

The costs have added to what has become an increasingly bleak economic forecast for many states and local governments. At least 25 states expect to have budget deficits in 2009, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, which estimates the combined budget shortfall for 17 of the states at $31 billion or more. Many cities, too, see difficult times ahead as revenues wane and costs increase for wages, pensions and health care.”We’re talking about all levels of government being in some revenue constraints at a time when the service costs aren’t going down,” said Chris Hoene, the director of policy and research for the National League of Cities. In some places, the news is not all bad. Recent declines in residential construction are beginning to force contractors to be more competitive when they bid for government work. Yet some government officials see that as a dubious silver lining.

In Oregon, low bids for recent bridge projects came in at $18 million, about 10 percent below what the state had projected. That was unimaginable a year ago, but the relief is relative, said Tom Lauer, the major projects manager for the Transportation Department.”We’ve been getting hit so hard that we’ve been pumping them up the last couple of years,” Mr. Lauer said of the state’s internal cost projections. “I didn’t get a price break,” he said of the recent bid. “I may just have more predictable pricing. I still can’t afford to do other stuff.”In Newcastle, a growing Seattle suburb, the situation is emblematic of the struggles confronting towns and school districts across the country. Two main goals prompted the improvements now under way on a main thoroughfare, Coal Creek Parkway. Widening a bottleneck on the road would help relieve congestion on nearby Interstate 405. And doing it with style - using steel on a bridge to evoke an old train trestle and installing landscaped medians between lanes - would send the signal that Newcastle is ready to do business.Then the bids came back. “Slack-jawed,” said John Starbard, the city manager, when asked his reaction to the bids. Mr. Starbard said even the project’s engineering consultant, CH2M Hill, was stunned when what they believed was a very conservative $38 million estimate in March 2007 was met with a low bid of more than $44 million for a mile’s worth of road and bridge improvements. But waiting to build was not an option.

The city had already received help from Senator Patty Murray, Democrat of Washington, and state lawmakers, as well as the State Transportation Improvement Board. It went back to the board and received $2 million more. “It was a shared sticker shock, but they had seen this with other projects so they were not as surprised,” Mr. Starbard said of the board.In Newton, Mass., a Boston suburb with a population of more than 80,000, the estimate for the new Newton North High School was $104 million in 2004. Four years later, the foundation is about to be poured and the estimate is now at least $186 million, said Jeremy Solomon, a city spokesman. Mr. Solomon said about $25 million of the increase involved changes to the original plan, for asbestos abatement, adjustments to the heating and air-conditioning system and other factors. Otherwise, he said, the increase resulted from rising building costs.”We kind of got caught in a period where construction costs grew rapidly,” said Mr. Solomon, citing steel and fuel costs, among others.

The need for public improvements only grows greater. Costs are rising even as engineers across the country say infrastructure is rapidly decaying.In San Leandro, a city of 78,000 in the San Francisco Bay Area, Mr. Udemezue said the city could not afford to delay work on the parking garage and retiree center.”We can’t wait,” he said, “because we don’t know if the prices are going to come down or go up.”In the grading guide known as the Pavement Condition Index, zero is not far from a dirt strip and 100 is a fresh new roadway. When Mr. Udemezue began working for San Leandro 16 years ago, the average road ranking in the city was nearly 70. Now it is closer to 60, despite what Mr. Udemezue said were the city’s efforts to keep up maintenance.Years ago, there was more money in the city’s general revenue stream that could be diverted to help with basic maintenance, which Mr. Udemezue said required about $5 million a year. That general revenue now goes to other needs, like public safety, and the roads go wanting, with flat revenue from gas taxes and other declines leaving about $1.2 million to maintain roads each year. The $13 million retiree center and the $8 million parking garage have been affected, too, with the city dropping plans to build commercial space beneath the garage and reducing the space for social programs in the center.Mr. Udemezue and others say they have heard that things may be stabilizing, but they cannot be sure. Even in places where the rise of costs has slowed, said Ken Simonson, chief economist with the Associated General Contractors of America, “it’s dormant at best.”

Share This

The annual reorganization of the Board of Health was held last night. 

The BOH (Board of health) is responsible for all the Borough food licenses and the dog/cat census and licenses among other things dealing with health related issues.

Three new oath of offices were taken -

• Tara Scarponi
• Heidi Garcia
• Donna Quick

Councilwoman Kathy Bross was nomintated as the Chair and Claire Cichone was nominated as Vice Chair.  Borough Attorney Joe Novak was appointed as BOH Attorney.

A new contract approving St. Huberts as the Borough Animal Control Agency for the period of 1/1/08 - 12/31/08 was approved for $1, 745 - up from $1,661.00 from last year.

The Borough currently has the following licensed -

• 128 dogs
• 71 cats  

And beleive it or not, we have 16 food related businesses in the Borough for 2007.

The BOH discussed reviewing the license fees from other “like” communities around Hunterdon County to see where Lebanon Borough falls in line - more on that later after review.

A huge thanks to the members for volunteering their time and expertise to serving on this board.

Share This

Being a newly elected Mayor, I was aware of but not familiar with the history of the 7 Town Group. I asked Mayor Nick Corcodilis of Clinton Twp to give a brief history -

” The 7 Town Group formed during the NJ State Cross Acceptance process several years ago while we worked on our municipal submissions for the NJ State Plan. We realized that we have common regional interests, and that it was important to work cooperatively. The CA process in fact requires a regional approach to planning, so we just took it up another notch. Our challenge was to demonstrate, using hard science and good data, why the planning designations we suggested were correct and right for our region. The Office of Smart Growth agreed to eliminate Planning Area 2 (high growth, suburban) from all of Hunterdon County directly as a result of our work. We used the process properly to advocate for a regional approach, as the CA process requires. This allows our towns to still grow, but in ways we have more control over. The change in Planning Area helps remove the big “bullseye” that developers had put on our backs in the past.

The Group has stayed together, and there are now actually more than 7 towns involved. We’ve kept the name because it stuck, and our group is known and respected around the state. You might say we’ve developed a very good “political” reputation as a Hunterdon advocacy group. We’ve worked on other projects, including regional transportation issues, and have had good success as a regional force in Trenton. Working together on COAH matters is natural for us”.

Share This

Last night was the first meeting of the 7 Town Group to attempt a formal rebuttal to the new 3rd round COAH rules proposed by the State of New Jersey.

The 7 Town group has had success in partnering for a common goal and working with both Hunterdon County and the State of NJ during the cross-acceptance process.

More information on COAH and the progress of the 7 Town Group will be posted later.

Share This

The annual Lebanon Borough Planning Board/Board of Adjustment reorganization was held last night at Borough Hall. 

6 seperate oaths of office were taken to include our new Alt. II board member David Abeles.

• Joe Hauck - Class II
• Councilman Gary Quick - Class III
• Henry Hopkins - Class IV
• Dr. Chris Uchrin - Class IV
• Matt Katzenback - Alt I
• David Abeles - Alt II

Our long time Planning Board chair, Lex Saharic was renominated to fill this vital role along with Vice Chair going to Susan Lachenmayr.

Other appointments include -

• Secretary - Karen Romano
• Attorney - William Shurts
• Engineer - Paul Ferriero
• Planner - Richard Preiss

Mr. Steve Kalafer was before the Board for an extension of Preliminary Site Plan - he owns the property once used by Daubs Nursery on Rt. 22.

An informal review of the Bolsterle property was completed and review of various sub-committees were looked at and modifed.

Overall, a very productive meeting.  Thanks go out to all our volunteers that serve to ensure Lebanon Borough keeps it’s quaint “small town” feel.

Share This

HUNTERDON REVIEW

A nice mention of Lebanon Borough in recognition of all volunteers -

Appreciating our local volunteers
Tuesday, January 8, 2008 2:26 PM EST

At this time of the year, when the towns of North Hunterdon are appointing their members for the year for boards, commissions and committees and other positions, we are reminded again of how necessary volunteers are for life to function in small communities. Lebanon’s 2008 reorganization meeting was dedicated to all the volunteers in that community. “Volunteering is the ultimate exercise in democracy,” said Mayor Mark Paradis.

Volunteers fill in obvious roles and behind the scenes. Planning Board members sit through hours and hours of technical and sometimes controversial hearings to help guide the future of their hometowns. Of course, emergency and rescue responders on first aid squads and fire departments are literally lifesavers on our streets and in our homes. But just showing up isn’t the whole job. Volunteer firefighters and emergency medical technicians must undergo rigorous training that becomes more demanding and complex every year.

Volunteers track local history on municipal historic commissions. They fill the leadership and rank and file rolls of parent-teacher associations, as well as educational foundations, and often provide learning opportunities and classroom materials students might not otherwise receive.

Even most small town officials are virtually volunteers receiving minimal pay for hours spent either in public or doing research and serving on subcommittees.

In smaller towns, such as Califon, volunteers often fill multiple roles, and are asked to take on as much as they can handle.

Kudos to all the volunteers in the area who give so selflessly of their time and talent to make their communities better places in which to live.

Share This

• Social Web
• E-mail