| BELVIDERE, NJ. [Jan 05, 2007] – Everett A. Chamberlain will serve as director of the Warren County Board of Chosen Freeholders for another year, the board decided during its annual reorganization meeting at the county Courthouse
Freeholder John DiMaio will again serve as deputy director of the board, as he, Chamberlain and Freeholder Richard D. Gardner all pledged to continue running Warren County in a fiscally conservative manner.
With his wife, Judy, and son, Chad, holding the Bible, Chamberlain took the oath of office for a three-year term as freeholder. He later was sworn in as the board’s 2007 director after being unanimously selected to hold the gavel for a second year in a row. Chamberlain was first elected in 2003 and won re-election last fall.
“As this freeholder board begins the work of 2007, our first priority will be the adoption of a budget that reflects our conservative values,” Chamberlain said during the meeting. “It is our belief that this board can, again in 2007, pay down debt, efficiently operate government, and continue to cut the tax rate.”
Chamberlain noted the freeholder board is challenging itself to identify revenue sources other than taxes and to more efficiently use existing tax dollars.
Chamberlain also said the county this year intends to complete two capital projects that were launched last year, renovating vacant historic buildings the county already owns into office space. The Warren Home in Mansfield Township, purchased in 1830 to serve as the first county welfare institution, will provide 10,000 square feet of office space for the Warren County Health Department and save more than $150,000 a year in lease costs for that department, Chamberlain said, while the former Warden’s House located behind the Warren County Courthouse in Belvidere will provide office space and squad rooms for the county Sheriff’s Department. The latter project will free up space within the Courthouse, alleviating some of the crowded conditions affecting the court system, he said.
Plans also are being drawn for a new building at the county’s White Township campus to house the county library system headquarters, the Department of Human Services, visiting nurses and to store new voting machines. Chamberlain said he hopes for a groundbreaking on the project late this year or in early 2008.
DiMaio said this project will allow the library headquarters to vacate the Courthouse Annex in Belvidere, creating “swing space” so other offices can move out of the Courthouse and allow renovations to being on that structure, the earliest section of which dates from the 1820s.
“We owe it to ourselves and future generations to take care of this building,” DiMaio said of the historic courthouse. |
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(Belvidere, NJ) – Warren County Freeholder Director Everett A. Chamberlain takes the oath of office for another three-year term during the freeholder board’s 2007 reorganization meeting. Administering the oath is Joseph Houston, while Chamberlain’s wife, Judy, and son, Chad, hold the Bible. |
DiMaio noted Warren County, through prudent fiscal management, has the lowest debt of any county in New Jersey. This means when new debt is incurred for these capital projects, taxpayers “won’t feel an impact,” DiMaio said.
In his remarks during the reorganization session, DiMaio vowed to continue pushing for the extension of passenger rail service to Phillipsburg.
Chamberlain, DiMaio and Gardner all praised the county government’s department heads, employees and volunteers for their dedicated service. Chamberlain in particular singled out the Projects Committee and its chairman, Joseph Houston, for their efforts. The Projects Committee is a volunteer group of citizens and county associates who have been working for more than a year to resolve the county government’s space issues.
““We are so blessed because we have dedicated volunteers,” Gardner said. “They care about the County of Warren.”
Chamberlain said the freeholder board will continue to make farmland and open space preservation a priority, and provide grants to maintain and restore historically significant properties. The freeholders also will continue to fight out-of-control state spending and the state Highlands Act, which threatens the county’s economic stability and usurps home rule, according to Chamberlain.
“This freeholder board has set its goals for 2007, and possesses the momentum to meet any challenges as we move forward,” Chamberlain said. |