Thursday, March 7, 2013
Fair Lawn borough council has asked the manager to put money for a Fourth of July fireworks display in this year's budget.
Fair Lawn council has committed to funding the borough's annual Fourth of July fireworks display at Memorial Park again this year. Mayor John Cosgrove gained consensus to insert the fireworks in the budget by assuring council members that a multi-day borough carnival he's spearheading would pay back the approximately $30,000 cost of the fireworks in full. "We’re trying to keep a tradition alive," Cosgrove said as part of his sell to council last Tuesday. "We’re trying to make it where it doesn’t cost the town anything and we can maybe even make a little extra money and start to put it in the kitty and keep the thing going." Cosgrove's proposal, which is still in the planning stages, involves holding a multi-day carnival, complete with …
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
With the borough's fireworks display in jeopardy for next year and private donations tough to come by, two council members are looking at alternatives.
It's never too soon to start planning the celebration of your nation's independence; especially if it might save everyone some money. Fair Lawn Deputy Mayor John Cosgrove and Councilman Kurt Peluso presented a preliminary plan to council Tuesday that re-envisions the borough's Fourth of July celebration as a multi-day, money making event. Rather than a single night of fireworks, Cosgrove said he'd like to model Fair Lawn's Fourth of July celebration after the three-day Independence Day celebration held annually in Montville Township that includes a multi-day carnival and a fireworks display that's free to residents. At Montville's Independence Day celebration this year, residents were treated to a three-day carnival with rides, a classic …
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Missed any of this week's news? It's all right here
Following an internal affairs investigation, the borough has brought administrative charges against Capt. Joseph Cook, his attorney said. In November, the attorney for a police lieutenant who brought suit against Captain Joseph Cook had alleged that Cook and an administrative assistant were destroying documents related to the lawsuit. Cook has been cleared of any wrongdoing, his attorney confirmed. Council adopted a $46.4 million budget Tuesday that calls for a 4-percent tax increase on the average assessed home and includes no employee furloughs or layoffs. Before they spoke out against council's decision last year to deliver a zero percent tax increase and deplete the town's surplus, the mayor and deputy mayor supported it. The borough …
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Paying for this year's fireworks display with borough funds was approved unanimously by council
Ticket sale revenue from this year's Fourth of July fireworks display is still trickling in, but Deputy Mayor Ed Trawinski has already stated that he does not intend to support funding next year's display with taxpayer money. "Next year I doubt that I will support [funding the fireworks] because John [Cosgrove] and Kurt [Peluso] said they were going to cover the cost," said Trawinski, who, in fact, volunteered Cosgrove to do the fireworks fundraising. "They did their best, and I applaud them for trying it, but I don't think we can afford to spend $30,000 anymore on fireworks." As of Tuesday, the borough had recouped $18,594 of the $20,584.60 that it spent on the display itself, not including the $10,000 anticipated for employee overtime. …
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Missed any of this week's news? It's all right here
A woman who jumped from the Route 4 overpass at Saddle River Road Sunday night suffered serious injuries, but is expected to live, police said Democratic council members Lisa Swain and Kurt Peluso issued a press release Tuesday asking Republican Mayor Jeanne Baratta and Deputy Mayor Ed Trawinski to pledge not to outsource Fair Lawn's police dispatchers. A man's attempt to burn brush in a backyard fire pit late Friday night got out of control when the flames spread to a neighbor's shed. Over the past decade, Memorial Pool membership rates have remained mostly stable, while revenues have increased in line with higher fees. The borough hopes to be in a position to bid on the installation of solar panels for a number of public buildings, …
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Wayne Robbins speaks to fireworksgoers before Monday's Fourth of July event.
On Tuesday, we gave you a video of the actual fireworks display. On Wednesday, we've got Inside Fair Lawn's Wayne Robbins on scene prior to Monday's event capturing the mood, music and fun, as hundreds of our friends and neighbors enjoyed a beautiful night. -- Follow Fair Lawn Patch on Facebook and Twitter, and subscribe to receive our daily newsletter in your inbox each morning
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
A video of the Fourth of July Fireworks Display Finale at Memorial Park.
Hundreds of residents -- reclining on lawn chairs, sprawled on the ground or just standing to behold the spectacle -- lined Berdan Avenue and crowded into Memorial Park Monday night for the annual Fair Lawn Fireworks Display. The show started a few minutes after 9 p.m. and lasted until approximately 9:30 p.m. In case you missed it, here's a video of the finale. If you saw it live (or even if you didn't) tell us what you thought of the fireworks display this year. -- Follow Fair Lawn Patch on Facebook and Twitter, and subscribe to receive our daily newsletter in your inbox each morning
Monday, June 25, 2012
As of Friday, June 22, the borough had raised $2,850 for this year's fireworks display, with more funds expected to be on the way.
If the weather cooperates next Monday, the borough's annual fireworks display at Memorial Park will go off without a hitch. The town is just likely to pick up more of the cost this year than it has in years past. As of Friday, the borough had collected only $2,850 of the event's approximately $27,500 price tag ($17,500 for the fireworks, $10,000 for the employee overtime) via private donations, although more is expected to trickle in, Deputy Mayor John Cosgrove said. Borough manager Tom Metzler said that while the borough has always fronted the money for the fireworks, only to later offset it with donations and admission costs, he expects Fair Lawn will end up picking up more than half of the tab this year. "It’s never been fully funded by…
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Initially cut from the budget, the cost for a fireworks display was returned Tuesday after additional money was found.
The cost to maintain the borough's annual fireworks display, which originally had been removed from the manager's budget, was successfully reinstated Tuesday after an accounting error that freed up additional cash was discovered during the council's budget meeting. As the council was discussing plans to solicit private donations to maintain the display in spite of the cut, chief financial officer Karen Palermo alerted the borough manager that approximately $25,000 worth of over-accounting errors found earlier in the Department of Public Works budget could be used to offset the $17,500 cost of the display. Once council members learned of the error, they quickly consented to fund the fireworks using the new-found funds. In anticipation that …
Michelle Rowe
4:26 pm on Saturday, March 9, 2013
The borough has over 30,000 residents, so I think I'm good with spending a dollar per family member for the fireworks. more ›