Front Page News

Swedesboro Council Voices Support
For Mayor After DWI Incident

by Philip Dunn and Beth Biermann

SWEDESBORO – At the June 16 Swedesboro Council meeting, members of the council showed their support for Mayor Tom Fromm who was arrested for DWI of June 9 in East Greenwich Township.

Council President David Flaherty started the meeting with a prepared written statement by the mayor who was absent because of business. In the statement Fromm apologized repeatedly and made no excuse for his actions. The reading continued with Fromm acknowledging his responsibility to the town and its residents.

“There are many extremely positive things going on in our town right now. I will make absolutely sure my personal issue does not distract from the positive momentum of Swedesboro’s bright future,” Fromm wrote.

The council backed Fromm as best they could with the information they were provided.

“I support Tom. Obviously I don’t know all the facts, but Tom will take care of it,” said Councilman George Weeks.

Even Republican Councilman Don Dryden, who in the past has had his arguments with Democrat Fromm, showed encouragement for the mayor.

“Mayor Fromm and I have not always agreed in the past, but there is no need for him to be judged by one incident when he has done so much good for the town of Swedesboro,” he said.

Councilwomen Darlene Gage declined to comment on the matter and Flaherty stated he was not happy with the situation, saying it’s not fair to comment at this time. Helen Fromm, wife of the mayor, was also present at the meeting and had no comment.

Swedesboro Mayor Thomas Fromm was arrested for driving while intoxicated on Kings Highway in East Greenwich Township.

At approximately 9 p.m., East Greenwich police responded to a citizen complaint placed via phone of someone driving dangerously. After the officer observed motor vehicle violations, he pulled Fromm over. According to East Greenwich Chief of Police William Giordano, the arresting officer also noticed an odor of alcohol and performed field sobriety tests.

Following the field sobriety tests, Fromm was arrested and charged with DWI, refusing a breath test, careless driving, failure to maintain lane and failure to observe a traffic signal (a red light). He was released later that night.

According to the East Greenwich court, no court date has been set. They are waiting to hear back from officials in Woodbury, the Gloucester County seat, as to whether or not the matter will be transferred to a court in another county. The transfer may occur due to Fromm being a public official in Gloucester County.

Fromm admitted he was issued a DWI summons, but intends to plead not guilty and will not comment any further until the matter is resolved.

In other business Kingsway Regional and the elementary school districts have officially accepted the cutbacks recommended by the municipal governments.

The high school is taking cuts in the amount of $350,000 and the elementary $700,000.

Weeks still expressed concern about the cuts. “We have been the lowest spending school district for 8 years and our test scores are always top 5 in the state. Just because we are not getting money from the state lets not punish the kids.”

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East Greenwich Residents
Face $59.94 Tax Hike

by Beth S. Biermann

EAST GREENWICH – East Greenwich residents with an average assessed home value of $162,000 will see a local purpose tax increase of $59.94 over 2007 taxes, for a total of approximately $534 because of the new budget.

Budget appropriations increased $58,000 over 2007, for a total of $6,647,000.

According to Mayor Fred Grant, the largest increases include salaries, insurance premiums and pension payments. Fuel prices also account for a $12,000 increase over last year.

The most significant savings was a $244,000 cut as a result of moving to a county-wide EMS system. Of this $244,000 savings, $180,000 was applied to debt service payments.

A switch of cell phone service from Nextel to Verizon is also expected to save up to $15,000 per year. The new Verizon phones will be used by public works employees, construction officials and select police officers. Minutes will be pooled and shared to save money and certain phones such as those used by public works employees will only be able to call other Verizon phones.

Grant added that the state’s cut in municipal aid resulted in a loss of 4.2 cents per $100 of assessed home value. He explained that East Greenwich was the only municipality to not get any aid back after the cuts.

The township was able to offset part of the 4.2 cent loss, resulting in a tax increase of 3.7 cents per $100 of assessed home value.

In other business, the township plans to change their water chlorination system. At the committee’s regular meeting on June 10, they introduced a bond ordinance authorizing an expenditure of $71,000 for the acquisition and installation of a tablet water chlorination system.

The municipality currently uses a gas chlorination system, but Grant purported that state officials have requested an update of the system to a tablet chlorination method.

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Woolwich Appoints First
Public Works Manager

by Beth S. Biermann

WOOLWICH – Anthony Bertino was appointed as Public Works Manager for Woolwich Township at the regular committee meeting on June 16.

According to Mayor Joe Chila, Bertino was the first township public works employee, hired in 2003.

Bertino is the first person to hold the position of Public Works Manager in Woolwich Township. A New Jersey state statute requires municipalities to appoint a Public Works Manager. However, according to the resolution, Woolwich has, in the past, requested and received approval from the state for an exemption from this requirement.

Bertino has completed the required training and passed the New Jersey State Certification examination for the position of Principle Public Works Manager. He will receive a $5,000 raise, prorated for the remainder of 2008.

Chila praised Bertino for treating the township park as his own backyard and providing leadership for the public works crew. Because of these qualities, Chila stated, “We’re not relying on subcontractors to do the bulk of the work in this community. We can do it in-house. I just want to thank you for the effort you put in. It’s always noticed and it’s appreciated by all of us. We get nothing but compliments about that park.”

Chief of Police Russell Marino commended Bertino and his crew for always being willing to help when the police needed anything from the public works department.

Chila concluded by commenting on the great job the public works crew did for Fun Day on June 14 in Bertino’s absence. Chila said the crew’s admirable performance was due to Bertino’s leadership.

In other business, the committee authorized the advertisement of bids for the lease of the Locke Avenue Park concession stand. According to Committeeman Ted Otten, the soccer and Little League organizations have had trouble keeping the stand staffed. Leasing the concession stand will cost the township nothing, and according to Chila, is not in the 2008 budget.

According to the resolution, the high bidder will operate the concession stand during the remainder of 2008, during hours of park operation and sporting events. The high bidder is also required to have at least $1,000,000 of general commercial liability insurance.

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