COURT HOUSE –The third Saturday in February will, once again, be reserved for fire district elections this year, after they were postponed until April, in 2021, due to an executive order by Gov. Phil Murphy.
Voters in Dennis, Lower, Middle and Upper townships will be able to cast their ballots Feb. 19 in their respective districts. Polls will remain open from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. at firehouses in those districts.
Voters will select district commissioners and approve(or reject) budgets for the year.
Two districts have contested races for fire commissioner.
Four individuals are seeking two, three-year terms in Middle Township Fire District No. 2, Rio Grande. They are Jean M. Zimmerman, J. Gregory Neill, James R. Snyder and Kirby Stiltner.
Stiltner lost his reelection bid in the April 20, 2021 election to John Menz, possibly due to the fact that the use of a Chevrolet Tahoe purchased for the fire district came under scrutiny earlier that year. In a previous Herald report, leading up to the 2021 election, Stiltner said there was no issue with the current policies on the use of commission vehicles, while Menz promised to change the policy if elected. Menz received 167 votes to Stiltner’s 55.
Ultimately, the Rio Grande Fire Commissioners decided not to approve a policy for personal use of vehicles owned by the fire district, citing the fact that there is already a policy in place through Middle Township.
“For us to be on the insurance, we have to be on the policy,” Menz said at the time, adding there was a change in the policy regarding taking home vehicles, assuring it’s not going to happen anymore.
In Upper Township Fire District No. 2, Tuckahoe, there’s an issue that remains unresolved and that’s the purchase of a new fire truck, which was approved by voters April 20, 2021. The fire company is required to seek approval from the state Local Finance Board for such purchases, which had not been done, as of Nov. 3, per the state Department of Community Affairs.
Current Tuckahoe Fire Commissioners Ron Mayne, chairman, and Samuel Repici, secretary, are being challenged by Christopher Geib and Justin Hope in the Feb. 19 election.
Dennis Township
Fire District No. 1, Ocean View
Board of Fire Commissioners, three-year term, vote for two
Joseph Gurdgiel, John Berg
Budget to be raised by taxation:$439,000
Fire District No. 2, Dennisville
Board of Fire Commissioners, full, three-year terms, vote for two
Edward Beck, Carla Coffey
Budget to be raised by taxation: $349,672
Fire District No. 3, Belleplain
Board of Fire Commissioners, full term, vote for one
William Hilton Jr.
Budget to be raised by taxation: $190,406.49
Lower Township
Fire District No. 1, Villas
Board of Fire Commissioners, three-year term, vote for one
Carrise Mornick
Budget: $644,263.89 with $594,263.89 to be raised by taxation
Fire District No. 2, Town Bank
Board of Fire Commissioners, three-year term, vote for one
James H. Andrews Jr.
Budget: $1,620,731.63 with $1,035,100 to be raised by taxation
Per the ballot, “The amount of the proposed budget to be raised by taxation is increasing by $27,000, which is offset by the new ratables in the fire district. As a result, there is no change in the tax rate from 2021. The tax rate will remain stable at the current tax rate of 0.068.”
Fire District No. 3, Erma
Board of Fire Commissioners, three-year term, vote for one
Allyn Devlin
Budget: $1,368,919 with $859,176 to be raised by taxation
Middle Township
Fire District No. 1, Court House
Board of Fire Commissioners, three-year term, vote for two
Lewis P. Hand Jr., Philip B. Woodrow Sr.
Budget to be raised by taxation: $1,470,213
Fire District No. 2, Rio Grande
Board of Fire Commissioners, full, three-year term, vote for two
Jean M. Zimmerman, J. Gregory Neill, James R. Snyder, Kirby Stiltner
Budget to be raised by taxation: $718,450
Fire District No. 3, Green Creek
Board of Fire Commissioners, three-year term, vote for two
Edward J. Lord Jr., Clay Simmons
Budget: $545,494 with $545,494 to be raised by taxation
Fire District No. 4, Goshen
Board of Fire Commissioners, full, three-year term, vote for two
Joseph Eagan, Cristina McKenney
Budget to be raised by taxation: $231,500
Upper Township
Fire District No. 1, Strathmere
Board of Fire Commissioners, three-year term, vote for two
Karen Mitchell, Joseph Boland
Budget to be raised by taxation: $99,695.9
Fire District No. 2, Tuckahoe
Board of Fire Commissioners, three-year term, vote for two
Ron Mayne, Samuel Repici, Christopher Geib, Justin Hope
Budget to be raised by taxation: $539,300
Fire District No. 3, Marmora
Board of Fire Commissioners, three-year term, vote for one
Jeffrey Pierson Jr.
Budget to be raised by taxation: $673,188
Fire District No. 4, Seaville
Board of Fire Commissioners, full, three-year term, vote for two
Edward Buchannan, Charles (Butch) Weil
Budget: $608,618 with $599,343
