HAMMONTON BLOG

1

I came across on organization in Millville called Millville First (www.millvillefirst.org). I couldn't help but compare them with our own local group Hammonton First that we have all come to know and love. I would put their website here but they haven't updated it since Nov of last year. Is the mo...

2

Remember when John DiDonato said we had an $11 million dollar surplus when he left office. The town accountant stated at the last meeting we only have a 3.8 million dollar surplus. Old Johnny was only off by about $7 million dollars. The truth finally came out today in the Hammonton News (although...

4

In a report by the Press of Atlantic City, county websites were reviewed for information provided to the public. Hunterdon County came out on top as the best county website in NJ. Atlantic County was in the top half of the rankings. The article started by debunking the myth that it is too costly or time c...

6

Be careful driving Bellevue Ave....the drainage/sewer must have collapsed. Boy, the 1.5 million from SJ Gas for water and sewer as well as the 100K per year we took in "management fees" would be handy right now. Hey, at least the downtown looks nice right? Until of course, everyone wake...

6

http://www.thedailyjournal.com/article/20100331/HAMMONTON01/3310307/Municipal+employees+await+word+on+layoffs

2

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/03/gov_chris_christie_offers_more.html

12

The Hammonton Education Association has refused to have any discussions to help the district or the Hammonton taxpayers with next years budget. As we all know the school district's state aid was cut by over $2,000,000 for the next school year in addition to the reduction made in the current school ye...

0

http://www.hammontongazette.com/Opinion/editorials.html

12

Hammonton is better positioned than anywhere else to weather this storm. -Mayor Steve DiDonato Why all of this talk about lay-offs? I propose with our $11 million dollar surplus that John DiDonato left us we close the budget gap and we cut taxes 5 cents. This will prevent lay-offs an...

1

Atlantic City Electric announced Thursday it is replacing streetlights in Hammonton to test whether the new bulbs are energy-efficient and will still provide the same quality as the current lighting source. Hammonton will get the new light-emitting diode, or LED, streetlights for a six-month...

1

Well, HF is devolving into the party that can hold its meeting in a phone booth. We don't hear anything about their meetings anymore. Their website has not been updated at all and they recycled Ed Wuillermen to become president. It makes you wonder how the party's fundraising is going. It looks lik...

4

At the council meeting tonight the mayor said that the layoff of four police officers would be discussed on April 1st. Here is where I am confused, he said no layoffs were planned and that they were discussing how to avoid them. He was then asked by Ptl. Hagerty if they had followed proper procedure and f...

6

I just have some comments... Why are we in such dire financial straits that we have to lay off 10 people when John DiDonato said he was leaving us with an $11 million dollar surplus? That is about a whole year's budget. John DiDonato also said that we were better off than other towns and even challeng...

8

The Administrators in the Hammonton schoold district have agreed to a wage freeze. A report on the Press of Atlantic City website reports this will save the school district about $85,000. The report said."The school district's administration - including its superintendent, assistant sup...

25

Well, we still do not know anything about our budget (unlike every other Town), our Mayor has the following to say about the state cuts (my comments in read). That is definitely much worse that we anticipated (Worse than you anticipated, Christie has been talking about this since he came in, plus, you...

24

Based on the successful Democratic vote to bring in Plymouth Place, Rich Jacobus is supporting fellow North Jersey native John Bee in bringing in another development for low income people. This will help people from Atlantic City to be able to afford to live in our town. GO RICH GO!

6

It seems that Stockton will be taking a big hit in funding from the state. http://www.nbc40.net/view_story.php?id=12575 It makes us wonder how they can afford to pay the "rent" that Mr. Howell says the Town will charge the college to pay for fixing up the building. Also, interesting to...

5

Governor Christie release the state aid to municipalities figures this afternoon. Hammonton is taking a 20% reduction in aid from the state this year. That equals a $326,278 cut in aid to our town. That's going to make things real tough for the upcoming budget. In a statement from the Department of C...

10

This is another example of the taxpayers needing to cut back on government payroll and benefits. Layoffs, pay freezes, and cutbacks are becoming the norm in our state. Of course, many unions are pushing back and you can probably expect to see that on this thread. The reality is that the governm...

1

It seems that honest and open government are out of style (assuming they were ever in style in Hammonton). In March 2009, John DiDonato presented his budget at the Council meeting. And the Council passed as resolution to introduce the budget at the next meeting. This year, no mention of the 2010 b...

9

Well, HF has taken their anti-tax campaign to a new level. Now, they have decided not pay their taxes. This actually started about two years ago when former Mayor John DiDonato owed water and sewer on Raspberry Run and his economic advocate George Mortellite owed taxes on his properties. Well, wit...

1

Over and over when defending his policy positions, Governor Christie has said this is what I was elected to do'. I must have missed the election where people voted for a Governor to impose the single biggest property tax increase in state history. Throughout the campaign he promised New Jersey vo...

7

Looks like many towns around South Jersey are looking at big cutbacks in spite of the fact that they have raised taxes for years.

1

http://www.hammontongazette.com/archives/021710/Opinion/editorialcartoon.html

9

Rich Jacobus has been publishing a letter to the editor almost every week in the Hammonton News speaking out against HF. Word is he would even like to be a regular weekly columnist. He is the new leader of the Democrats in the "Truth to Power" campaig!

4

Well, it seems that Councilmen Jerry Barberio may be setting out on his own. He voted against the change orders for his own project, the Canoe Club. Never before in HF history has there been a break in party-line votes. Now, we are hearing that Jerry is trying to change certain appointments that HF mad...

0

It seems that outrage over hiring a lobbyist has hit a high level here in Hammonton. Most of the complaints are about the cost: $60,000. This is alot considering that there is a rumor circulating that the cops are taking a salary cut of a few thousand each. Just thing with 25 cops, the lobbyist cost is...

9

http://www.southjerseylocalnews.com/articles/2010/02/12/community_news/news/doc4b72e376d35b7336660536.txt

3

I am still lauging at the AC Press article from earlier in the week. It seems Rock Colasurdo, airport administrator and former councilmen of Abestos Allegations fame, got his picture in the paper. The story talked about our high hopes on the airport and $ 3 million dollar investment. It is interes...

2

Well, it seems like HF has not been forthcoming with the truth on Stockton. 1. At the August 2009 Council meeting, John DiDonato was unsure about what the project entailed on Stockton. He just kept saying that Stockton was supportive and we would try to get more grant funding for Stockton. 2. In an...

Topic		Replies	Views	Last Post
	The Tale of 2 Firster Organizations (Preview) I came across on organization in Millville called Millville First (www.millvillefirst.org). I couldn't help but compare them with our own local group Hammonton First that we have all come to know and love. I would put their website here but they haven't updated it since Nov of last year. Is the mo...	1	2062	02:21 PM Apr 9, 2010 by Anonymous
	Hammonton First admits deception about surplus...sort of (Preview) Remember when John DiDonato said we had an $11 million dollar surplus when he left office. The town accountant stated at the last meeting we only have a 3.8 million dollar surplus. Old Johnny was only off by about $7 million dollars. The truth finally came out today in the Hammonton News (although...	2	2215	05:03 PM Apr 7, 2010 by Anonymous
	Website review: Hammonton's "open" government not so "open." (Preview) In a report by the Press of Atlantic City, county websites were reviewed for information provided to the public. Hunterdon County came out on top as the best county website in NJ. Atlantic County was in the top half of the rankings. The article started by debunking the myth that it is too costly or time c...	4	2560	04:00 PM Apr 7, 2010 by Anonymous
	Infrastructure Crumbling (Preview) Be careful driving Bellevue Ave....the drainage/sewer must have collapsed. Boy, the 1.5 million from SJ Gas for water and sewer as well as the 100K per year we took in "management fees" would be handy right now. Hey, at least the downtown looks nice right? Until of course, everyone wake...	6	3108	10:20 PM Apr 4, 2010 by Anonymous
	HF's Chickens are coming home to roost!!!! (Preview) http://www.thedailyjournal.com/article/20100331/HAMMONTON01/3310307/Municipal+employees+await+word+on+layoffs	6	2871	04:59 PM Apr 2, 2010 by Anonymous
	Gov. Christie offers more state aid to N.J. schools that freeze teacher pay (Preview) http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/03/gov_chris_christie_offers_more.html	2	1894	04:11 PM Mar 30, 2010 by Anonymous
	Hammonton teachers thumb their noses at Board of Education, Taxpayers, and Gov. Christie. (Preview) The Hammonton Education Association has refused to have any discussions to help the district or the Hammonton taxpayers with next years budget. As we all know the school district's state aid was cut by over $2,000,000 for the next school year in addition to the reduction made in the current school ye...	12	3031	12:31 PM Mar 30, 2010 by Anonymous
	Hammonton Gazette Calls for Sacrifice by almost everyone (Preview) http://www.hammontongazette.com/Opinion/editorials.html	0	1732	12:35 PM Mar 27, 2010 by HF Observer
	Is it time to get a tax cut (Preview) *Hammonton is better positioned than anywhere else to weather this storm. -Mayor Steve DiDonato* Why all of this talk about lay-offs? I propose with our $11 million dollar surplus that John DiDonato left us we close the budget gap and we cut taxes 5 cents. This will prevent lay-offs an...	12	5035	10:15 PM Mar 26, 2010 by Anonymous
	Hammonton to test new LED street lights. (Preview) Atlantic City Electric announced Thursday it is replacing streetlights in Hammonton to test whether the new bulbs are energy-efficient and will still provide the same quality as the current lighting source. Hammonton will get the new light-emitting diode, or LED, streetlights for a six-month...	1	1787	05:32 PM Mar 26, 2010 by Anonymous
	And the phone booth award goes to HF.... (Preview) Well, HF is devolving into the party that can hold its meeting in a phone booth. We don't hear anything about their meetings anymore. Their website has not been updated at all and they recycled Ed Wuillermen to become president. It makes you wonder how the party's fundraising is going. It looks lik...	1	1845	02:22 PM Mar 26, 2010 by Anonymous
	Which side of his face is the mayor talking out of? (Preview) At the council meeting tonight the mayor said that the layoff of four police officers would be discussed on April 1st. Here is where I am confused, he said no layoffs were planned and that they were discussing how to avoid them. He was then asked by Ptl. Hagerty if they had followed proper procedure and f...	4	2124	09:13 AM Mar 25, 2010 by Anonymous
	Hammonton First and the Case of the Missing $11 million Surplus (Preview) I just have some comments... Why are we in such dire financial straits that we have to lay off 10 people when John DiDonato said he was leaving us with an $11 million dollar surplus? That is about a whole year's budget. John DiDonato also said that we were better off than other towns and even challeng...	6	2899	08:09 PM Mar 24, 2010 by Anonymous
	Hammonton School District moving towards a new budget. (Preview) The Administrators in the Hammonton schoold district have agreed to a wage freeze. A report on the Press of Atlantic City website reports this will save the school district about $85,000. The report said."The school district's administration - including its superintendent, assistant sup...	8	2628	11:14 AM Mar 24, 2010 by Anonymous
	Mayor cries about Budget (Preview) Well, we still do not know anything about our budget (unlike every other Town), our Mayor has the following to say about the state cuts (my comments in read). That is definitely much worse that we anticipated (Worse than you anticipated, Christie has been talking about this since he came in, plus, you...	25	3577	08:47 PM Mar 22, 2010 by Anonymous
	Democrat Rich Jacobus supports John Bee in bringing low income housing to Hammonton... (Preview) Based on the successful Democratic vote to bring in Plymouth Place, Rich Jacobus is supporting fellow North Jersey native John Bee in bringing in another development for low income people. This will help people from Atlantic City to be able to afford to live in our town. GO RICH GO!	24	1915	10:24 PM Mar 21, 2010 by Anonymous
	Is the Stockton Project going away? (Preview) It seems that Stockton will be taking a big hit in funding from the state. http://www.nbc40.net/view_story.php?id=12575 It makes us wonder how they can afford to pay the "rent" that Mr. Howell says the Town will charge the college to pay for fixing up the building. Also, interesting to...	6	2563	10:51 AM Mar 20, 2010 by Anonymous
	Hammonton state aid cut by 20% (Preview) Governor Christie release the state aid to municipalities figures this afternoon. Hammonton is taking a 20% reduction in aid from the state this year. That equals a $326,278 cut in aid to our town. That's going to make things real tough for the upcoming budget. In a statement from the Department of C...	5	1842	11:35 AM Mar 19, 2010 by Anonymous
	Hammonton School Board wants Union to give up raises or else potential layoffs (Preview) This is another example of the taxpayers needing to cut back on government payroll and benefits. Layoffs, pay freezes, and cutbacks are becoming the norm in our state. Of course, many unions are pushing back and you can probably expect to see that on this thread. The reality is that the governm...	10	2668	06:55 AM Mar 19, 2010 by Anonymous
	Budget Feet Dragging (Preview) It seems that honest and open government are out of style (assuming they were ever in style in Hammonton). In March 2009, John DiDonato presented his budget at the Council meeting. And the Council passed as resolution to introduce the budget at the next meeting. This year, no mention of the 2010 b...	1	1578	10:38 PM Mar 18, 2010 by Anonymous
	HF Campaign Promise: No Old Taxes (Preview) Well, HF has taken their anti-tax campaign to a new level. Now, they have decided not pay their taxes. This actually started about two years ago when former Mayor John DiDonato owed water and sewer on Raspberry Run and his economic advocate George Mortellite owed taxes on his properties. Well, wit...	9	2332	12:32 PM Mar 18, 2010 by Anonymous
	NJ State Democratic Chair Wisniewski's statement regarding the Governor's Budget Address (Preview) Over and over when defending his policy positions, Governor Christie has said this is what I was elected to do'. I must have missed the election where people voted for a Governor to impose the single biggest property tax increase in state history. Throughout the campaign he promised New Jersey vo...	1	1968	10:52 PM Mar 17, 2010 by Anonymous
	SOJO 104 Radio reports Buena to lay off 30% of police force and all dispatchers (Preview) Looks like many towns around South Jersey are looking at big cutbacks in spite of the fact that they have raised taxes for years.	7	2990	11:18 AM Mar 16, 2010 by Anonymous
	HF declares new holiday: Flip-Flop day (Preview) http://www.hammontongazette.com/archives/021710/Opinion/editorialcartoon.html	1	657	09:26 PM Mar 10, 2010 by Anonymous
	North Jersey native Rich Jacobus moves to Hammonton and is leading the Democrats into their future (Preview) Rich Jacobus has been publishing a letter to the editor almost every week in the Hammonton News speaking out against HF. Word is he would even like to be a regular weekly columnist. He is the new leader of the Democrats in the "Truth to Power" campaig!	9	923	05:11 PM Mar 9, 2010 by Anonymous
	Firster goes Rogue (Preview) Well, it seems that Councilmen Jerry Barberio may be setting out on his own. He voted against the change orders for his own project, the Canoe Club. Never before in HF history has there been a break in party-line votes. Now, we are hearing that Jerry is trying to change certain appointments that HF mad...	4	610	09:25 PM Mar 8, 2010 by Anonymous
	Could we have not followed proper procedure over the lobbyist? (Preview) It seems that outrage over hiring a lobbyist has hit a high level here in Hammonton. Most of the complaints are about the cost: $60,000. This is alot considering that there is a rumor circulating that the cops are taking a salary cut of a few thousand each. Just thing with 25 cops, the lobbyist cost is...	0	617	01:50 PM Mar 7, 2010 by Toxic Avenger
	How much are we paying for a lobbyist? (Preview) http://www.southjerseylocalnews.com/articles/2010/02/12/community_news/news/doc4b72e376d35b7336660536.txt	9	748	01:25 AM Mar 7, 2010 by Anonymous
	Air Rock (Preview) I am still lauging at the AC Press article from earlier in the week. It seems Rock Colasurdo, airport administrator and former councilmen of Abestos Allegations fame, got his picture in the paper. The story talked about our high hopes on the airport and $ 3 million dollar investment. It is interes...	3	781	01:15 AM Mar 7, 2010 by Anonymous
	What is going on with Stockton???? (Preview) Well, it seems like HF has not been forthcoming with the truth on Stockton. 1. At the August 2009 Council meeting, John DiDonato was unsure about what the project entailed on Stockton. He just kept saying that Stockton was supportive and we would try to get more grant funding for Stockton. 2. In an...	2	534	11:28 PM Mar 6, 2010 by Anonymous
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