Cedar Grove Council Goes Paperless

The Cedar Grove Council will no longer get paper meeting agendas, committee reports, or planning board documents.

Instead, in an effort to save paper, the council voted to make those records electronic and go "paperless" on Monday night.

Instead of using the paper documents for meetings, council members will review agendas and other items on hand held computers.

To help them, the township has purchased five iPads at a cost of $4,800.

“We had been talking about going paperless for quite a while now,” said Township Manager Thomas Tucci. “Thanks to our town clerk, who put it a lot of time and effort into testing it out, we now have files all broken down to make it easy for viewing.”

The council estimates they will save between $4,500 and $5,000 in paper alone and eliminate $8,600 in manhours spent at the copy machine. The total projected savings, after the $4,800 purchase of eight iPads, will be between $14,000 and $15,000.

In other news:

• The council passed a $45,000 bond ordinance to award a contract to Maser Consulting for a new design for Panther Park. The new field will have artificial turf for junior football, soccer and lacrosse. It will be encircled by a walking track for residents and include stands, lighting, concessions, bathrooms and adequate parking.
  “The projected cost for the project is $1.8 million which means about a $27 tax increase per household,” said Councilman Joseph Chiusolo.
• The council announced they have concluded negotiations with Police Benevolent Association (PBA). Police will see a 2 percent salary increase for 2013, 2014 and 2015.
• The council also announced Cedar Grove has the third lowest local tax rate in the county with a bonding capacity of 11 percent and a $9 million net debt.
• The council awarded a $66,000 bid to Northeast Roof of Perth Amboy for the replacement of the Cedar Grove Public Library Roof. The company will begin work in the next two weeks and the council expects to have the new roof ready in time for winter.