Fire Elections to be Held Saturday

The township's fire district elections will be held Saturday—and only the is asking for permission from residents to purchase new equipment.

The polls will be open from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m., with the purpose of electing fire commissioners in each of the four districts, and voting on proposed budgets.

The elections are handled through fire districts themselves, with the commissions are under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of State, and the budgets under the jurisdiction of the Department of Community Affairs. The municipality itself does not oversee the elections.

Candidates for Fire District No. 1 are William Rose and Howard Van Nostrand. The Martinsville Volunteer Fire Co., which is the only one in the district, is requesting to appropriate $471,770 for maintenance, with $465,331 to be raised by taxation.

In Fire District No. 2, there are two candidates for commissioner for a three-year term—Debra Brown and Robert Hanlon—and two candidates for commissioner for a one-year term, Gloria Langon and John Marsigliano. The Fire District No. 2 budget is being proposed at $439,318, with $405,638 to be raised through taxation.

Fire District No. 3 has one candidate, Jeffrey Holtz, running for a term, with the proposed budget to be $864,127, of which $862,627 will be raised through taxes.

In Fire District No. 3, residents are also being asked for the allowance of an appropriation of $45,000 for a capital improvement purchase in 2013 of an incident command vehicle for the Green Knoll Volunteer Fire Department.

Finally, Fire District No. 4 has two candidates running for commissioner, David Bereheiko and Carl Spolarich. The budget being proposed is for $546,896, with $510,758 to be raised by taxation.

Residents living in district 1 will vote at the Martinsville Volunteer Fire Co. on Washington Valley Road; district 2 will vote at the on Old York Road; district 3 will vote at the municipal building on Commons Way; and district 4 will vote at the on East Main Street.

Those residents who are unsure about what district they live in can call the township tax assessor at 908-725-6300, ext. 5125.

To apply for a mail-in ballot, click here.

In the 2011 vote, all , which includes the Green Knoll Volunteer Fire Co.—and many residents expressed concern about supporting a budget for a company that is part of a T-Mobile application for a cell tower in the middle of a residential neighborhood.

But Fire District No. 3 Chairman George Jones said the district has no position on that application, which is expected to go back before the zoning board Tuesday.

"The budget question and the election do not support either side of the cell tower issue," he said. "The district funds only the training and equipping of the firefighters in three fire companies. Country Hills, North Branch and Green Knoll Fire companies all own their own buildings and the land they are on."

But the district as a whole, Jones said, has nothing to do with what the individual companies do on their properties.

"The district, as in most other towns throughout the state, pays rent to house equipment," he said. "They have no vote in the company's business. The district itself would gain nothing from this cell tower."

As for the capital request for new equipment at the Green Knoll fire house, Jones said putting the question on the ballot is required by the state prior to any large capital purchases, of which a new fire truck is one. But the cost of the vehicle, he said, is not included in the budget.

"The question only asks for the voters' approval to purchase it," he said. "The funds for its purchase will be taken out of capital reserves."

For Jones, he said he hopes voters understand about the different budgets.

"If you compare our budget to the other districts in the township and the county, you will find it as one of the lowest, both in total dollars and cost to taxpayers," he said. "The protection of life and property is the primary mission of our district."