Lakewood Voters Consider Fire Elections, Budgets

LAKEWOOD – Lakewood residents in District 1 will be voting for fire commissioners as well as two questions about finances.

The election will be Saturday, from 2-10 p.m.

Residents would be voting among five people for two, three-year terms as fire commissioners: Denise Gregory, (Avi) Avraham Y. Lieber, Larry S. Loigman, Aharon Shain, and Moshe Zeines.

Question 1 asks voters to authorize a budget of $5,029,295, with $4,695,240 of that total to be raised by taxation.

Question 2 asks whether the district can take $284,728 of its previous balance and use it in the current year. The money was left over from capital projects, and so by law voters need to approve putting the money toward different uses. The money would be split like so: $117,241 for building maintenance and repairs and $167,487 for vehicle and equipment maintenance and repairs. The interpretive statement on the question explains that a “yes” vote would not change taxes, since the money has already been raised. A “no” vote would mean that the money cannot be used for any future budgets. If the building and vehicle projects get put on for questions in the future, then they would have to be funded through taxation.