Help the Council Balance the Budget

On Tuesday, voters said no to a proposed 9-cent municipal tax increase by a 2-1 margin.

On Wednesday, a told the council that it had better find alternatives to the trash collection fee being proposed.

Now, it is your turn to weigh in. Lawrenceville Patch will run a series of polls and open-ended questions over the next 10 days, asking township residents to outline their priorities and give the council a sense of where it needs to go with the budget.

The referendum, which sought permission to raise the municipal tax rate 9 cents above the state’s 2 percent tax levy cap, was , with more than 3,700 total votes cast.

Residents during Wednesday’s meeting told council members they felt council was arrogant and had tried to “blackmail” voters into approving the referendum by threatening to impose a trash user fee should the 9-cent tax hike be turned down.

Today, we focus on the trash collection issue:

Now that voters have rejected the township’s tax referendum should the council:

• Continue to pay for trash collection through municipal taxes?
• Charge residents a fee for collection with an ability to opt out?
• Stop providing trash collection and require residents to contract out on their own?

Vote in the poll below and offer your suggestions in the comments.