Mayors Weekly Briefing 6/5/09

Senior Freeze, Homestead Rebate deadlines extended to Aug. 17
The deadline for New Jersey’s senior and disabled homeowners to file 2008 Senior Freeze (Property Tax Reimbursement) or Homestead Rebate applications has been extended to Aug. 17, 2009. The previous deadline for filing 2008 applications for both programs was June 1. An additional 39,000 senior and disabled New Jersey residents were informed this year that they could now be eligible for property tax reimbursement checks averaging up to $337 under the Senior Freeze Program. Under the law, income limits for the program have been significantly increased, beginning with the 2007 tax year, meaning that residents who previously did not qualify because their income was too high could now be eligible for a reimbursement.

For more information on the 2008 Senior Freeze Program, or to obtain an application, contact the Property Tax Reimbursement Hotline at (800) 882-6597 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Information about the Senior Freeze Program is also available on the Division of Taxation’s Web site: www.state.nj.us/tr easury/taxation/propfrez.shtml.

Homeowners who are 65 and older or disabled and have received a Homestead Rebate application but have not yet filed, can do so by phone by calling (877) 658-2972, or they can file online through the Division of Taxation’s Web site at: www.state.nj.us/treasury/taxatio n/.

Township to apply for aid to complete Covered Bridge Road project
With Cherry Hill’s half-century-old Covered Bridge nearing the end of its renovation, and Phase One of the Covered Bridge Road revitalization project well under way- which will resurface and improve a stretch of the street from Route 70 to Beaverbrook Road- the Township is looking forward. At the June 8 Council meeting, Council members are expected to approve an application to apply for a Department of Transportation municipal aid grant to continue the Covered Bridge Road project from Beaverbrook Road to Forge Road at the bridge. Township officials hope to secure the funding by late fall, which will allow for internal design work to begin. It is expected that construction on Phase Two will begin in the summer of 2010.

Also beginning this summer will be Phase Three of the Walt Whitman Boulevard project and Phase Two on Caldwell Road. Both of these resurfacing projects are funded by a DOT municipal grant as well. For more information on any of these projects or the DOT’s, call DPW at (856) 424-4422.

Keller Williams, local high school to be honored at Council meeting
At our regularly scheduled Township meeting on June 8, Council and I will be spotlighting separate acts of altruism stemming from a local business and high school. A mayoral proclamation will recognize the efforts of Keller Williams Realty Cherry Hill for its community cleanup day on May 14, which saw nearly 30 employees- including CEO Dan Magee- collect litter from Croft Farm trails, Barclay Farmstead and the Charleston section in an effort to 'give back' and beautify the town. Another proclamation will be bestowed on the Cherry Hill Alternative High School for a student-driven DVD drive that resulted in more than 30 movies being shipped to a platoon in Iraq. Please join me at 7:30 p.m. June 8 in Town Hall as we applaud the commendable efforts of these two groups of outstanding citizens.

Point of Woods exercise path undergoing revitalization
For those residents who workout on the Point of Woods 10-point exercise trail, the pooling of water around the equipment has presented an ongoing problem. I’m please to report that a Township crew is currently addressing that issue and revitalizing the exercise path as a whole. The work should be complete by mid-June. For more information about the project, call the Township Recreation Office at (856) 488-7868.

June 12 deadline for U.S. Digital TV conversion fast-approaching
Congress has given consumers a few extra months to prepare for the upcoming transition from analog to digital television broadcasting, but the deadline now looms once again. On June 12, analog TV signals will be shutdown throughout the country. The original deadline was set to be Feb. 17. The extension addressed growing concerns that too many Americans would not be ready in time for the deadline that Congress had set three years ago.

Congress created the TV Converter Box Coupon Program for households wishing to keep using their analog TV sets after June 12. The program allows households to obtain up to two coupons, each worth $40, which can be applied toward the cost of eligible converter boxes. A TV connected to cable, satellite or other pay TV service does not require a TV converter box from this program. For more information, go to www.dtv.gov or call (888) DTV-2009.


For up-to-the-minute updates on any subject, call my office at 856.488.7878 or visit our municipal Web site: www.CherryHill-NJ.com .

Sincerely,

Bernie Platt
Mayor