RED BANK: JOBS DEBATE SPLITS COUNCIL

Robert Greene, left, and John Caine at the Red Bank recycling center Thursday morning. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

redbankgreen hot topic A plan to eliminate two part-time jobs at the recycling center sharply divided Red Bank’s all-Democratic council Wednesday night.

Things got personal. During the governing body’s semimonthly meeting, conducted via Zoom, Councilman Ed Zipprich accused Business Administrator Ziad Shehady of retaliation for an earlier action by the union that represents the affected employees.

May 14, 2020 - 12:45 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: ‘WALKOUT’ HONORS PD RETIREES

Following department custom, colleagues honored two retiring Red Bank police officers with a “walkout” after their final day of work Friday.

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February 28, 2020 - 5:20 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: SILENCE BY ALL ON HARASSMENT

Business Administrator Ziad Shehady, left, chatting with borough resident Stephen Hecht last May. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank nj Red Bank’s elected officials closed the books Wednesday night on a harassment complaint filed against borough Business Administrator Ziad Shehady.

But the public may never know the details of the case, or the recommendations that followed an investigation.

March 14, 2019 - 1:45 pm | Comments ()

SHREWSBURY: SUPERMARKET OPENS

Grocery shoppers on the Greater Red Bank Green will have another sourcing option with the planned opening of a new ShopRite supermarket in Shrewsbury Wednesday morning.

November 14, 2018 - 6:45 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: JON STEWART STAR-POWERS LUNCH

Comedian Jon Stewart brought some star power to lunchtime at the Count Basie Center for the Arts Wednesday.

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September 26, 2018 - 3:00 pm | Comments ()

SHREWSBURY: SUPERMARKET MARKETS JOBS

Three office buildings in Shrewsbury have been replaced by a large-scale construction project.

What’s Going On Here? Click ‘read more’ for the answer.

August 7, 2018 - 10:50 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: COUNCIL PROMOTES FIVE OFFICERS

Newly sworn Red Bank police Captain Mike Frazee receives congratulations from Administrator Stanley Sickels Wednesday night, when the borough council promoted five officers and hired a new patrolman.

Click ‘read more’ for photos from the packed-room swearing-in ceremonies.

July 27, 2017 - 6:40 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: TWO NEW TO BOROUGH BLUE

Red Bank Police Chief Darren McConnell holds the Bible as his son, Darren M. McConnell, swears an oath of duty on his promotion to probationary patrolman Wednesday. Also elevated to the position was Michael Baron, at right.

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May 25, 2017 - 1:42 pm | Comments ()

ON THE GREEN: POLICE SALARIES TOP $100K

The median municipal police salary in New Jersey crossed the $100,000 threshhold in 2016, according to a data analysis published Tuesday by NJ Advance Media.

Five of the six towns considered as the core of the Greater Red Bank Green were among those in the six figures, according to the report.

May 9, 2017 - 1:01 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: GLAZIER HONORED FOR ROOF SAVE

A union glazier was recognized for heroism by Riverview Medical Center for saving the life of an apparently suicidal man on the Globe Street parking garage in Red Bank earlier this month.

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April 27, 2017 - 12:00 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: SPARKS FLY OVER BUDGET

Councilwoman Linda Schwabenbauer, seen here last May with GOP colleagues Mark Taylor and Mike Whelan, found herself at odds with them, and Mayor Pasquale Menna, Wednesday night. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

Red Bank adopted its 2017 budget Wednesday night amid some odd political frictions.

Councilwoman Linda Schwabenbauer, who leads the budget-setting finance committee, took clear umbrage at a last-minute critique of the spending plan by Mayor Pasquale Menna. Then, the only ‘no’ votes when it came up for adoption were cast by her two fellow Republicans on the dais.

And before the night was over, Schwabenbauer’s main adversary in this year’s election, Democrat Ed Zipprich, issued a press release commending her.

April 27, 2017 - 7:27 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: TAX BILLS TO RISE 2.9 PERCENT

Councilwoman Linda Schwabenbauer, a CPA who heads the finance committee. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

Typical Red Bank homeowners would see a $x increase in the borough portion of their 2017 property tax bills under a budget introduced at Wednesday night’s council meeting.

For the owner of a home assessed at the town-average $362,342, that means an increase of $57.25 for the year.

March 23, 2017 - 3:10 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: SALARIES ON AGENDA

Salaries for the mayor and council members would remain unchanged, but the earnings potential of professionals at borough hall would rise under a proposed ordinance. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

Six borough hall jobs will offer potential salaries above $100,000 if an ordinance on Wednesday night’s agenda is passed by the Red Bank council.

That’s up from three the last time the council adjusted salaries for its professionals, in 2014.

July 26, 2016 - 1:53 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: TAX HIKE TRIMMED ON A TWEAK

A recent deal allowing the Count Basie Theatre to sell parking spots at borough hall on specified dates paved the way to a new budget. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

The owner of a typical Red Bank home will pay $35 more in local property taxes this year, rather than $40, following passage of the first Republican-led budget in a generation Wednesday night.

The borough council’s unanimous approval of the 2016 spending plan marked the anticlimax to a brief standoff that began when Democrats raised eleventh-hour objections to what they later called “‘fluff and ‘slush funds” in the GOP budget.

June 9, 2016 - 7:38 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: DEMS TARGET ‘SLUSH FUNDS’

Council members Kathy Horgan, left, and Linda Schwabenbauer, seen at last year’s Halloween parade, are now at odds over the budget. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

Two weeks after it was shot down on the mayor’s tiebreaking vote, Red Bank’s first Republican-led budget in a generation faces its next test on Wednesday.

That’s when council members will square off over cuts suggested by Democrats to what they called “‘fluff’ and ‘slush funds.'”

June 7, 2016 - 8:23 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: BUDGET FAILS ON TIEBREAKER VOTE

Mayor Pasquale Menna confers with Councilwoman Linda Schwabenbauer during the council’s budget deliberation Wednesday. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

Red Bank’s first Republican-led budget in a generation failed to win approval when Mayor Pasquale Menna cast a tiebreaking vote at Wednesday night’s semimonthly council meeting.

His vote against the spending plan followed a 3-3 deadlock that included a “no” by a member of the budget-crafting finance committee, Democrat Kathy Horgan, whose caught committee chairwoman Linda Schwabenbauer, a Republican, by surprise.

May 26, 2016 - 7:13 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: TAX INCREASE REDUCED

A half-dozen or so residents, outnumbered by borough employees and officials, attended the budget session. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

[Update, May 20: Visuals from this presentation are now available online here.]

By JOHN T. WARD

A controversial increase in parking fees will trim the local property tax increase to less than half that previously anticipated, Red Bank officials said Wednesday.

At the annual informal budget presentation, held at borough hall, Councilwoman Linda Schwabenbauer said the spending plan scheduled for adoption next week calls for a two-percent tax increase, or about $35 for the year for the owner of a home assessed at the town-average $354,006. Read More »

May 19, 2016 - 8:59 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: ‘COMPROMISE’ PARKING HIKE OK’D

Fees for parking in downtown lots would double, to $1 per hour, while metered spots on the street would rise 50 percent, to $1.50 an hour. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

LicPlate1 Red Bank’s parking fees are going up.

The borough council approved rate increases Wednesday night, billing the action as a “compromise” with downtown business owners.

Still, merchants decried the hikes, which they said will further alienate potential visitors already turned off by metering, aggressive enforcement and costly tickets. Read More »

May 12, 2016 - 8:54 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: TAXPAYER BUDGET Q&A SLATED

For the 10th year in a row, Red Bank borough government department heads are scheduled to offer presentations on their 2016 budget proposals at a public information session scheduled for Wednesday, May 18 at at borough hall.

May 6, 2016 - 9:30 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: STEEP PARKING FEE HIKE PROPOSED

Fees for parking in downtown lots would double, while metered spots on the street would see a 50-percent increase. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

Red Bank’s council laid two controversial proposals on the table Wednesday night:

• a budget that debuts with a 5.5-percent property-tax increase

• and a plan to soften the blow to taxpayers with a sharp increase in parking fees.

The backlash to the parking plan was immediate, both in the audience and on the governing body’s dais.

April 28, 2016 - 12:00 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: PARKING IDEA SPUTTERS

A proposal to extend meter enforcement hours appeared to get no traction Wednesday night. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

The Red Bank council postponed the introduction of the first majority-Republican budget in a generation Wednesday.

Councilwoman Linda Schwabenbauer, who’s heading up the budget-writing finance committee, said she wanted more time to hear suggestions from residents and business owners on how to reduce a prospective tax increase.

But one of Schwabenbauer’s own suggestions — increasing the number of hours for which metered parking is in effect — appeared to be a non-starter.

April 14, 2016 - 7:06 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: GOP DRAFT BUDGET HAS TAXES UP

Councilwoman Linda Schwabenbauer, who heads the finance committee, says there’s been a “severe” drop in revenue from last year along with an increase in expenses. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

The first majority-Republican Red Bank budget in a generation is set to make its debut this week, and it comes with a likely tax hike.

While officials are hopeful they can trim the increase, the draft budget shows a 5.5-percent jump in the municipal levy, or roughly $115 a year for the owner of a residential property assessed at the average $354,497, Councilwoman Linda Schwabenbauer tells redbankgreen.

One way to soften the impact, she said, is to extend the hours for which parking fees are collected.

April 11, 2016 - 7:30 am | Comments ()

SEA BRIGHT: MAN OK AFTER FALL FROM ROOF

A worker was reported to be OK after he fell from the roof of the McLoone’s Rum Runner restaurant under construction in Sea Bright Thursday, police Chief John Sorrentino tells redbankgreen.

Michael Cruz, whose name and town of residence were not immediately available, fell an estimated 30-to-40 feet in the accident, Sorrentino said.

August 28, 2015 - 8:40 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: AUDIT FINDS FISCAL IMPROVEMENT

Red Bank auditor David Kaplan, seen here in 2014, said the borough’s financial strength improved last year. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

taxes Debt is down, cash is up, and the outlook for Red Bank’s finances is much improved, the borough auditor told town officials Wednesday.

Delivering the results of his 2014 audit in the form of a 139-page report [see link below], auditor David Kaplan said the current-account balance, from which the town pays most of its bills, was $1.62 million at year-end, up, $164,500 from a year earlier, and that bonded debt dropped to $17.3 million, down from $19.6 million.

“Obviously, that doesn’t happen by magic,” Kaplan said, referring to the current account surplus.

July 24, 2015 - 9:38 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: DEADLINE ON TAXES EXTENDED

Red Bank property owners will have until August 25 to pay their third-quarter tax bills without incurring a penalty, under a resolution past by the borough council Wednesday night.

The grace period usually ends on the 10th day of the month quarterly taxes are due. But because the tax rate for the new budget year was not certified by Monmouth County until July 17, bills won’t be mailed until July 31 – and the law requires a 25-day payment period, according to tax collector Ashlesha Deshplande. Still, for those who pay later than August 25, the interest applies to the full 25-day interim, she cautioned. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

July 23, 2015 - 10:07 am | Comments ()

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