BERKELEY – The governing body examined some issues that are affecting seniors and veterans in the area during the most recent Township Council meeting.
They passed a resolution that supports S-2559 and A-3705. This is the State Senate and Assembly versions of the same bill. The bill, if passed, would reimburse towns for the tax cuts they give disabled veterans.
State law prohibits charging property tax to 100% disabled veterans. In a town with a large population of seniors, such as Berkeley, this means that there are a lot of homes that can’t be taxed. Officials have long supported this state law, but want the state to reimburse them for the amount of tax revenue that has to be made up from other property owners.
This bill was sponsored by former mayor, now Senator Carmen Amato, and the other legislators in the 9th District, Assemblymen Brian Rumpf and Gregory Myhre.
Councilman James Byrnes said his doctor is leaving the Toms River Veterans Administration clinic and won’t be replaced. The doctor is going to a different clinic that pays better. Apparently, the pay is based on geographic areas. Rich areas pay better.
He wants a resolution to support equal pay for all districts, so that clinics aren’t competing with each other for staff and that people who live in areas with lower income aren’t getting less treatment options. He talked about bringing in Congressman Chris Smith and Jefferson Van Drew, who both represent different sections of Berkeley, to help.
“A veteran shouldn’t have to get treatment according to their geographic area,” Byrnes said.
He also said he wants to have a resolution urging the state to put Class I and Class II officers into the pension system. They could be injured on the job trying to help the community.
Councilmen Michael Signorile and Thomas Grosse, both retired police officers, talked about how these classes of police are outside the pension system but will look into it.
The Township Council also passed a resolution recognizing World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. This could take many forms, from senior care center staff hurting residents to scams.
“As we know, scammers always concentrate on the elderly,” Mayor John Bacchione said. “Don’t send money to anyone who calls you up.”
Bacchione noted that the Ocean County Senior Services has made their senior directory available online. However, if a Berkeley resident wants it printed out and are not able to do so themselves, they can come to town hall and staff there will print it out.
The online directory can be found at co.ocean.nj.us//WebContentFiles//OnlineDirectory.pdf
The Township Council also passed a resolution opposing offshore oil and gas leasing, specifically “opposing the inclusion of new offshore oil and gas leasing off the coast of New Jersey in the 11th national outer continental shelf oil and gas leasing program.”
Councilwoman Sophia Gingrich said that on June 11, herself, township engineer John LeCompte, and two residents visited the lakes of the senior community to look at the culverts. The culverts have been identified as needing work, and the town has received a $2.3 million grant to correct the issues.
Most of the problems stem from not being able to control the water levels.
