Category: Union County Government

Turf Fields and Tutoring: Who Gets What in NJ’s Broken System?

The real tax issue in New Jersey isn’t about funding critical services for underserved communities—it’s about the relentless churn of money between politicians and special interests. Take Berkeley Heights as an example: the Township received a $250,000 grant for a turf field, pays $30,000 annually to a public relations firm, and brought in over $2 million in PILOT payments—with not...
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Berkeley Heights Town GovernmentCommunity VoicesState MattersUnion County Government

Concentrated Influence: Following the Money in NJ Politics (2019–2024) Part 1

State Level Data and Insights Last year, NJ21st published a multi-part series tracking the flow of grey money into County Committees between 2019 and 2023 — helping clarify how more than $50 million from non-individual entities, like PACs, moved through the county networks. This year, we’ve built a more robust infrastructure to collect, clean, and analyze a more complete dataset....
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ReportsState MattersUnion County Government

New Jersey & Union County Property Tax Trends: 2019–2024

The Department of Community Affairs published it’s annual Property Tax Report. Excel files were merged from 2019-2024 and Google Colab was used to assist in cleaning the data, applying uniformity to the tables and creating the graphs. What the Data Tells us about the State as a Whole Based on verified statewide municipal tax data, this report provides a comprehensive...
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ReportsState MattersUnion County Government

Power, Priorities, and Paychecks: Unpacking the Devanney Council’s Latest Moves and a Local Press that Fails to Hold them Accountable

$30,000 for Media Services, Armies of Attorneys and Lobbyists funded by the Families of Berkeley Heights Arik Samson is a Resident of Berkeley Heights and was a candidate for the Berkeley Heights BOE during the 2024 elections. The Town Council has voted to extend the deadline for submitting the 2025 budget, even as it swiftly approved multiple executive orders immediately...
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Berkeley Heights Town CouncilCommunity VoicesUnion County Government

Laura’s Notes on the 01/07/2025 Berkeley Heights Town Council Reorganization Meeting

With the November 2024 election results favoring Andrew Moran, our community seems to be heading toward a direction that many, including myself, are concerned about: governance by a single party. Regardless of political affiliation, single-party dominance rarely benefits anyone. A balanced leadership with diverse ideologies and perspectives fosters healthier governance, especially in a small town like ours, which feels more...
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Berkeley Heights Town CouncilBerkeley Heights Town GovernmentTown Council Agenda and Meeting SummaryUnion County Government

Concerns About the 11/18/2024 Town Council Meeting and the “New Civility”

A resolution authorizing the township to seek bids for improvements to Deerpath, previously pulled from the last Town Council meeting, has returned to the agenda for this weeks council meeting. This development comes on the heels of the controversial approval of a $450,000 resolution connected to the Westside Drainage Project. Before Ms. Akiri addressed the council at the last meeting,...
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Berkeley Heights Town CouncilBerkeley Heights Town GovernmentTown Council Agenda and Meeting SummaryUnion County Government

Follow Up to Controversial Berkeley Heights $450,000 Old Farm/Orchard/Mercier Resolution

The township has uploaded the video of the November 12, 2024, meeting to its website. The video provides further discussion on the $450,000 Old Orchard/Mercier resolution, a topic covered two weeks ago. This resolution, which includes repaving the neighborhood and adding curbing, has sparked frustration among some residents. Critics point out that a $100,000 engineering study and a letter from...
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Berkeley Heights Town CouncilBerkeley Heights Town GovernmentTown Council Agenda and Meeting SummaryUnion County Government

Today’s Berkeley Heights Special Town Council Meeting Raises More Questions

A resolution concerning Deerpath Lane, which appears similar to a contentious $450,000 proposal voted through at the last meeting, appears on the agenda for today’s unusually scheduled Town Council meeting at 5:45 p.m. This timing, combined with lingering concerns from the prior meeting, has left residents and stakeholders asking even more questions. The previous meeting highlighted significant unresolved issues surrounding...
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Berkeley Heights Town CouncilBerkeley Heights Town GovernmentTown Council Agenda and Meeting SummaryUnion County Government

Discussion on $450,000 Resolution Raises Oversight and Project Alignment Concerns

11/12/2024 Berkeley Heights Town Council Meeting In the clip below, Mr. Donnelly highlighted that the project under Resolution #2 approved by the Council last night, would involve repaving an area resurfaced only a year ago without addressing the primary drainage issues this project was originally intended to resolve. Additionally, it appears – in this discussion – that other council members...
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Berkeley Heights Town CouncilBerkeley Heights Town GovernmentTown Council Agenda and Meeting SummaryUnion County Government

Message from NJ21st to Our Neighbors in Berkeley Heights, NJ

As an independent source of information for our community, we take pride in being both outspoken and impartial. Over the past three years, we have never turned away an elected representative or township official who wanted to engage in meaningful dialogue. We’ve consistently offered opportunities to those with differing viewpoints, inviting them to join us for open and honest debate....
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Note From AdminsUnion County GovernmentWarren Town Government