Monmouth Freeholders’ 2019 Budget Is $44 million Less Than 2010

2019 Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders: Sue Kiley, Pat Impreveduto (Deputy Director), Tom Arnone (Director), Lillian Burry and Gerry Scharfenberger

The Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders recently adopted their final budget of the decade.  In the ten years since the 2010 budget, annual spending for county government as declined by $43.8 million, 8.9%, according to an announcement by Freeholder Director Tom Arnone.

2010 was the year Arnone was first elected to the Freeholder Board and the year the GOP took back control of county government after two years of Democrat control. Read the rest of this entry »

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Civil War Hero’s Medal Returned To His Family

The Medal of Honor earned by a Civil War hero from Monmouth County was returned to the possession of his descendant family on Monday by Congressman Chris Smith, in a ceremony in Freehold Borough.

Thomas T. Fallon emigrated to the United States from Ireland in 1859, settling in Freehold.  He entered the service of the U.S. Army at Freehold during the Civil War and became a private in Company K of 37th New York Infantry, the 4th  U.S. Artillery Regiment and served as a sergeant in the 35th New Jersey Infantry until July 1985, three months after the conclusion of the war.

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Freeholders Invite Local Charities To Public Employees Giving Appeal

The Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders is inviting local charities to apply to be beneficiaries of the New Jersey Employee Charitable Campaign, Freeholder Director Tom Arnone announced this afternoon.

“Independent charitable organizations are invited to join the County’s annual charitable campaign,” said Director Arnone, the Monmouth County 2019/2020 campaign chairman. “We know that there are many local not-for-profit organizations in our community doing phenomenal work that may not know about this fundraising opportunity. This is a chance for local charities to connect with public employees here in Monmouth County.”

In 2018, public employees in Monmouth County and its partners throughout the state donated over $747,000 to support the work of more than 800 charitable organizations.

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Hugin Wins Ocean GOP Endorsement, Goldberg loses endorsements he didn’t have

Bob Hugin accepts the endorsement for U.S. Senate from the Ocean GOP. Chairman George Gilmore in the background. photo by Mike Ward

Former Celgene CEO Bob Hugin won the U.S. Senate endorsement of the Ocean County Republican Party tonight in Toms River, defeating the Ocean GOP’s 2014 nominee, Brian Goldberg, by a margin of 142-12.

“Ocean County delivers the highest number of Republican votes of any county in New Jersey and we are fully behind Bob Hugin,” said OCGOP Chairman George Gilmore. “We need a Senator that New Jersey can be proud of again, and we are confident Bob is that person.  We will deliver for Bob and all of our GOP candidates on November 6th.”

“I’m honored and proud to receive the formal endorsement of the Ocean County Republican Organization,” said Bob Hugin. “My parents instilled in me the values of service to community and country at a young age.  I’ve lived those values as a US Marine and business leader, and will do the same as our next United States Senator.”  Read the rest of this entry »

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Freehold Township Students Win County Consumer Bowl

Raiyan Hossain, Karim Lakhani, Amit Bachani, Deputy Director Lillian G. Burry, Michael Galanaugh (Team Captain), Christopher Galiano, Dan Cooper (Teacher/Advisor)

A team of five Freehold Township High School whiz kids prevailed against students from Colts Neck High School, Freehold High School, Howell High School, Manalapan High School, Marlboro High School, Raritan High School and Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School yesterday and were crowned the Monmouth County champs of the annual Consumer Bowl, a  a game-show-style competition for teams of high school students which was held at the Fire Academy in Howell.    Read the rest of this entry »

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Golden honors veterans at Pearl Harbor ceremony

FREEHOLD — More than 100 people, including law enforcement officials and members of the armed forces throughout Monmouth County, on Wednesday joined state and local leaders for a ceremony honoring the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. The Patriot’s Pride ceremony was hosted by Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden, and included Lt. Gov. Kim… Read the rest of this entry »

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Monmouth County: A FINANCIAL FORCE MULTIPLIER

By Freeholder Lillian G. Burry

Freeholders Tom Arnone and Lillian Burry complete the purchase of Ft. Monmouth with Noreen Dresser, Chief of Real Estate, U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, NY Distirct

Anyone living in Monmouth County is likely to be aware of the many good things County government provides including our roads, parks and library system.  One of the most important and valuable things the County provides, however, is known to relatively few residents. That’s the role the County plays in enhancing the financial resources of others and it’s a role that’s played quietly, sometimes indirectly, and always with unwavering expertise.

Sometimes it takes the form of a direct payment, providing the County share of the price for preserving farmland that brings far larger amounts of state dollars to a deal. At other times it’s providing a mix of funding and in-kind staff resources as a match for Green Acres dollars used to acquire or develop additional open space or some other worthy grant funded project. And sometimes it’s taking advantage of the AAA bond rating of the County – a rating held by fewer than two dozen of the more than three thousand American counties – to help others borrow money through the Monmouth County Improvement Authority (MCIA) at interest rates that can save significant amounts of dollars in interest payments over the life of a loan.

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Arnone: Casino referendum is bad for Monmouth County

Monmouth County Freeholder Director Tom Arnone

Freeholder Director Tom Arnone today announced his opposition to the public question that would amend the New Jersey Constitution to allow casino gambling in Northern New Jersey.

“My first responsibility as a Freeholder is to make sure Monmouth County’s interests are my top priority,” Arnone said in an announcement released by ‘Trenton’s Bad Bet,’ the group that has been campaigning against the constitutional amendment, “Unfortunately, the ballot question on casino expansion is misguided, shortchanges our horse racing industry, and favors a small group of out-of-state, special interests.”

“In no way does this legislation help Monmouth County,” Arnone concluded.

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Freeholders Launch “Grown in Monmouth” Marketing Campaign

Freeholder Director Tom Arnone and Freeholder Lillian Burry announced a boost to the Agribusiness sector of Monmouth County’s economy last week with the launch of a marketing campaign for farm products grown in the county.

Monmouth County farms and related business can sign up to use the new “Grown in Monmouth” logo which is the first part of county wide marketing strategy funded under a USDA Rural Business Enterprise Grant the county received last year to evaluate current trends and future opportunities to expand the local farming industry, and to develop a marketing strategy to promote and market agricultural products.

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Planning for NWS Earle

photo via globalsecurity.org

Monmouth County has received a $206,000 federal grant from the Department of Defense to prepare a Joint Land Use Study (JLUS) for Naval Weapons Station Earle.

A cooperative land use planning effort between affected local government entities and the military installation, the project looks to create compatible development measures to keep the base operational, while also looking out for the surrounding public’s health, safety, and welfare. When land use decisions impair the effectiveness of a military base, the utility of the installation and its mission can be compromised.  Mission constraints can lead to base closure. Monmouth County will contribute $32,500 in staff time and materials to the study.

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