So as I stood in my kitchen, in the dark, eating a can of pringles (nutritious, delicious, etc) I couldn't help but think about who pays for the street light out side my house. I mean what purpose does it really serve? Is it there for safety or security or just our continued display of dominance of nature (it'll be light whenever we goddamned please)? I won't bother to look up how much one of those bulbs consume and give estimates of the cost, as I'm sure it's not that much for a single one, but for the system as a whole it's probably quite a bit. According to the internet whoever maintains the street pays for street lights (makes sense). Thus I can only assume Berlin Twp pays for all those street lights (on all but the numbered roads). I know we had this same discussion, but it really puzzles me at what levels income goes to, and at what levels things are provided for. I found something that broke down that for New York City. Now some would claim there are a few minor differences between Berlin Twp and NYC, but in theory it would be similar. Pretty much it leads me to belief the town gets at least half it's income from property tax. But really mostly everything is provided by the town. I found something that says Berlin Twp pays $20k per kid a year, that seem crazy high. Also I discovered two members of the Berlin Twp Board of Education arrived late for a meeting on March 19th, shocking.

"This meeting has been advertised in accordance with the regulation of the New Jersey Sunshine Laws. Public notice of these meetings will be placed in the Courier Post and Record Breeze posted at the Huster Administrative Building, Dwight D. Eisenhower Middle School, John F. Kennedy Elementary School, and the Berlin Township Municipal Building. Unless otherwise advertised, the meetings are held in the Huster Administration Building, 225 Grove Avenue, West Berlin. They begin at 6:45 PM with an Executive Session, which is closed to the public, and reconvene at 7:30 PM, during which public input is permitted and encouraged."

I need to start going to stuff like this, it would be fun. I could probably stand up and demand a lot of random (Odin related) things, and they'd just have to put up with it (and record it in the minutes). Actually upon reading these minutes and seeing that they do in fact record what people say, I'm laughing at the thought of: "Dale Swanson asked what was being done to appease Odin, to ensure glorious victories in battle. He then went on to state that if you did not in fact like metal you were not his friend. He refused to leave when asked."

Well, Berlin Twp has a Myspace page. I can't tell if it's official, although I can't believe that it is (ok I found it says it's not).

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=144407748

Apparently there was one murder in 2005, and six rapes.

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=144407748&blogID=218068405 <- Hilarious Ms. Hessel apperently made $68,740 in 2005, compared to Ms. Weinberger at $49,765. The internet is great.

This seems to say NJ gave Berlin Twp 1.6 million in 2006: http://72.14.205.104/search?q=cache:AMOd_XHkRSkJ:www.state.nj.us/dca/lgs//muniaid/05_aid/csa/406_csa_2005.pdf+berlin+township+budget&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=8&gl=us&client=firefox-a


On the bright side while doing research I found this great quote right off the NJ ballot:
Shall the amendment of Article II, Section I, paragraph 6
of the Constitution, agreed to by the Legislature, revising
the current constitutional language concerning denial of the
right to vote by deleting the phrase "idiot or insane person"
and providing instead that a "person who has been adjudi-
cated by a court of competent jurisdiction to lack the
capacity to understand the act of voting" shall not enjoy
the right of suffrage, be adopted?


http://nymag.com/news/features/2007/profit/32907/

http://www.publicschoolreview.com/agency_schools/leaid/3401620

http://72.14.205.104/search?q=cache:BIOkPkY3xyAJ:209.18.101.213/berlin/Board%2520of%2520Education/Minutes/March%252019,%25202008%2520Budget%2520Mtg%2520Minutes.pdf+berlin+township+revenue&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=16&gl=us&client=firefox-a



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