Saturday's An Election Day In NJ, And Millions In Taxes At Stake

NEW JERSEY – Did you know that Saturday is an election day? Well you should. Or somebody should be doing a better job making sure you know.

New Jersey has more than 100 towns with fire districts that will be putting their budgets, their tax rates and their commissioners up for a vote on Saturday. And you should check with your town and your fire district to see when and where you can participate (see list of fire districts and links below).

The hours appear to be 2 to 9 p.m. for most (maybe all) of the districts.

You can also check The Asbury Park Press, which provided a comprehensive guide on what Jersey Shore communities are doing and what's at stake. Indeed, Brick and Toms River have elections, according to The Press; Brick Fire District No. 1, for instance, has a budget calling for a 4.6-cent tax rate, which would levy $136 in fire taxes on a $295,947 home.

If you try to click on the links below to find out more information on the Brick fire budgets, however, you're probably not going to get very far. The links appeared to be broken at press time (1 p.m.).

Others were more open. Gloucester Township's annual Fire District Elections are set for Saturday, from 2 to 9 p.m. Gloucester Township has six fire districts, each with their own election.

The Blackwood Fire Company and the Chews Landing Fire Department have separate elections, but share a request for an apparatus because of a shared services agreement.

A proposal on both ballots asks voters to approve the joint purchase of a fire engine with the Chews Landing Fire Department. The cost of the engine wouldn't exceed $710,000. Read more: Blackwood, Chews Landing Seek New Fire Engine In Elections

Here's what you should know about fire districts, according to Koerner & Koerner public accountants:

• New Jersey statutes authorize towns and cities to adopt an ordinance establishing a territory within the municipality as a fire district.
• A fire district is governed by a Board of Fire Commissioners who are elected by the legal voters within the district at an annual election on the third Saturday in February.
• The board submits an annual budget to the voters for approval at this same election. A fire tax is struck and collected by the municipality.
• The Board of Fire Commissioners is responsible for fire prevention and suppression within its territory. Most fire districts contract with the local volunteer fire companies for the use of their building and personnel.
• The activities of the Board of Fire Commissioners are monitored by the Department of Community Affairs, the Division of Local Government Services, and the state Office of the Comptroller.
• Boards of Fire Commissioners must establish a web site accessible to the general public. These web sites also should include meeting dates, meeting agendas, special meeting dates and other current information about the board and their activities.

Here are links to fire districts in New Jersey (fair warning, however: Not all of the links work; the fire district may have changed it .... and information on the election, in many cases, was scant):

• Aberdeen Township FD No. 1
• Aberdeen Township FD No. 2
• Berlin Township FD No. 1
• Bordentown Township FD No. 1
• Bordentown Township FD No. 2
• Brick Township FD No. 1
• Brick Township FD No. 2
• Brick Township FD No. 3
• Bridgewater Township FD No. 1
• Bridgewater Township FD No. 2
• Bridgewater Township FD No. 3
• Bridgewater Township FD No. 4
• Buena Borough FD No. 1
• Buena Borough FD No. 2
• Buena Vista Township FD No. 1
• Buena Vista Township FD No. 2
• Buena Vista Township FD No. 3
• Buena Vista Township FD No. 4
• Buena Vista Township FD No. 5
• Burlington Township FD No. 1
• Cherry Hill FD No. 13
• Chesterfield Township FD No. 2
• Chesterfield-Hamilton FD No. 1
• Cinnaminson Township FD No. 1
• Commercial Township FD No. 1
• Commercial Township FD No. 2
• Commercial Township FD No. 3
• Delanco Township FD No. 1
• Delran Township FD No. 1
• Dennis Township FD No. 1
• Dennis Township FD No. 2
• Dennis Township FD No. 3
• Deptford Township FD No. 1
• Downe Township FD No. 1
• Downe Township FD No. 2
• East Amwell Township FD No. 1
• East Brunswick Township FD No. 1
• East Brunswick Township FD No. 2
• East Brunswick Township FD No. 3
• Eastampton Township FD No. 1
• Edgewater Park Township FD No. 1
• Englishtown Borough FD No. 1
• Evesham Township FD No. 1
• Florence Township FD No. 1
• Franklin Township FD No. 1 (Gloucester)
• Franklin Township FD No. 1 (Hunterdon County)
• Franklin Township FD No. 1 (Somerset County)
• Franklin Township FD No. 2 (Gloucester)
• Franklin Township FD No. 2 (Somerset)
• Franklin Township FD No. 3 (Gloucester)
• Franklin Township FD No. 3 (Somerset County)
• Franklin Township FD No. 4 (Gloucester)
• Franklin Township FD No. 4 (Somerset)
• Franklin Township FD No. 5 (Gloucester)
• Freehold Township FD No. 1
• Freehold Township FD No. 2
• Gloucester Township FD No. 1
• Gloucester Township FD No. 2
• Gloucester Township FD No. 3
• Gloucester Township FD No. 4
• Gloucester Township FD No. 5
• Gloucester Township FD No. 6
• Haddon Township FD No. 1
• Haddon Township FD No. 2
• Haddon Township FD No. 3
• Haddon Township FD No. 4
• Hamilton Township FD No. 2
• Hamilton Township FD No. 3
• Hamilton Township FD No. 4
• Hamilton Township FD No. 5
• Hamilton Township FD No. 6
• Hamilton Township FD No. 7
• Hamilton Township FD No. 8
• Hamilton Township FD No. 9
• Hanover Township FD No. 2
• Hanover Township FD No. 3
• Harrison Township FD No. 1
• Hazlet Township FD No. 1
• Hillsborough Township FD No. 1
• Hopewell Borough FD No. 1
• Hopewell Township FD No. 1
• Howell Township FD No. 1
• Howell Township FD No. 2
• Howell Township FD No. 3
• Howell Township FD No. 4
• Howell Township FD No. 5
• Jackson Township FD No. 2
• Jackson Township FD No. 3
• Jackson Township FD No. 4
• Jamesburg Borough FD No. 1
• Lakewood Township FD No. 1
• Lambertville City FD No. 1
• Lindenwold Borough FD No. 1
• Little Egg Harbor Township FD No. 1
• Little Egg Harbor Township FD No. 2
• Little Egg Harbor Township FD No. 3
• Lower Township FD No. 1
• Lower Township FD No. 2
• Lower Township FD No. 3
• Manalapan Township FD No. 1
• Manalapan Township FD No. 2
• Manasquan Borough FD No. 1
• Mantua Township FD No. 1
• Marlboro Township FD No. 1
• Marlboro Township FD No. 2
• Marlboro Township FD No. 3
• Maurice River Township FD No. 1
• Maurice River Township FD No. 2
• Maurice River Township FD No. 3
• Maurice River Township FD No. 4
• Middle Township FD No. 1
• Middle Township FD No. 2
• Middle Township FD No. 3
• Middle Township FD No. 4
• Millstone Township FD No. 1
• Monroe Township FD No. 1
• Monroe Township FD No. 2
• Monroe Township FD No. 3
• Montgomery Township FD No. 2
• Montgomery Township FD No.1
• Montville Township FD No. 1
• Montville Township FD No. 2
• Montville Township FD No. 3
• Moorestown Township FD No. 1
• Moorestown Township FD No. 2
• Mount Holly Township FD No. 1
• Mount Laurel Township FD No. 1
• Neptune Township FD No. 1
• Neptune Township FD No. 2
• Ocean Township FD No. 1
• Ocean Township FD No. 2
• Old Bridge Fire District #2
• Old Bridge Township FD No. 1
• Old Bridge Township FD No. 3
• Old Bridge Township FD No. 4
• Parsippany-Troy Hills Township FD No. 1
• Parsippany-Troy Hills Township FD No. 2
• Parsippany-Troy Hills Township FD No. 3
• Parsippany-Troy Hills Township FD No. 4
• Parsippany-Troy Hills Township FD No. 5
• Parsippany-Troy Hills Township FD No. 6
• Pennington Borough FD No. 1
• Pine Hill Borough FD No. 1
• Piscataway Fire District No. 3
• Piscataway Fire District No. 4
• Piscataway Township FD No. 1
• Piscataway Township FD No. 2
• Pittsgrove Township FD No. 1
• Pittsgrove Township FD No. 2
• Pittsgrove Township FD No. 3
• Plainsboro Township FD No. 1
• Plumsted Township FD No. 1
• Riverside Township FD No. 1
• South Brunswick Township FD No. 1
• South Brunswick Township FD No. 2
• South Brunswick Township FD No. 3
• Tabernacle Township FD No. 1
• Tinton Falls FD No. 1
• Tinton Falls FD No. 2
• Toms River Fire District No. 1
• Toms River Fire District No. 2
• Upper Township FD No. 1
• Upper Township FD No. 2
• Upper Township FD No. 3
• Upper Township FD No. 4
• Voorhees Township FD No. 3
• Wall Township FD No. 1
• Wall Township FD No. 2
• Wall Township FD No. 3
• Washington Township FD No. 1 (Gloucester County)
• Washington Township FD No. 1 (Warren)
• Westville Borough FD No. 1
• Winslow Township FD No. 1
• Woodbridge Township FD No. 1
• Woodbridge Township FD No. 11
• Woodbridge Township FD No. 12
• Woodbridge Township FD No. 2
• Woodbridge Township FD No. 4
• Woodbridge Township FD No. 5
• Woodbridge Township FD No. 7
• Woodbridge Township FD No. 8
• Woodbridge Township FD No. 9