Franklin Lakes February 29, 2012 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 7 State recommends railroad gates on Pulis Avenue by Frank J. McMahon The New Jersey Department of Transportation has recommended that the New York Susquehanna & Western Railway Corporation install back-to-back reflective railroad crossing signs, automatic crossing gates and pedestrian gates, and new flashing light signals at both sides of the railroad grade crossing on Pulis Avenue in Franklin Lakes. In January 2011, the crossing was the scene of a fatal accident when a Jeep Cherokee occupied by three persons was traveling south on Pulis Avenue and collided with the locomotive of a freight train that was traveling west and had already passed the crossing. One passenger of the Jeep was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver and remaining passenger had to be transported to Hackensack Medical Center by the Franklin Lakes Ambulance Corps. The borough’s police department indicated at the time that the vehicle struck the train as it was traveling through the crossing at a slow rate of speed, and the traffic safety warning equipment at the crossing was working properly with the red lights flashing and the alarm bells ringing when the accident occurred. The NJDOT recommended that the existing signs and flashing light signals be removed and a crossing bell be installed on the masts on both sides of the crossing along with “Do Not Stop on Track” signs. According to the NJDOT, the borough will be responsible for maintaining the railroad’s advance warning signs on each approach to the grade crossing, and Bergen County will be responsible for maintaining the advance warning signs, stop bars, and pavement markings. Mayor Frank Bivona said he expected the improvements to be completed this year when the NJDOT will conduct inspections of the improvements and issue its final approval for use of the new gates, lights, and bells. The NJDOT, however, requires the work to be completed within two years of the issuance of an order signed by the department’s commissioner and the actual completion date will be included in the order that will be issued by the NJDOT. Mayor Bivona requested the installation of the crossing gates a year ago, and the grade crossing was the subject of (continued on page 20) The $16,465,162 budget introduced by the Franklin Lakes Council last week will result in a 1.93 percent increase in the municipal taxes to be raised in 2012. That increase, however, including cap exclusions and the cap bank from 2011, is $884,541 below the tax levy cap imposed by state law, according to Borough Administrator Gregory Hart. Hart advised that the tax rate based on this budget, including the borough’s state-mandated contribution to the library of $1,491,000, will be 26.4 cents per $100 of assessed valuation, an increase of a half cent over last year’s tax rate. If the Bergen County Board of Taxation certifies the new tax rate, there would be a municipal tax increase of $51.50 for the owner of a Franklin Lakes home with the average assessed value of $1,030,000. The borough’s total tax rate, however, includes the tax rates for the local and regional school districts, the county Municipal tax increase to be under cap tax, and the county open space tax rates. Last year’s total tax rate was $1.53. According to the budget information provided by the borough, the general appropriations increased $702,782 or 4.45 percent. That increase included $455,000 for the payoff of deferred pension obligations that will be funded by the use of $240,000 in surplus, $165,970 in the reserve to pay debt service, and about $50,000 from the operating budget. The general appropriations also include an expense of $165,000 towards capital improvements in the operating budget. Hart explained that the borough is seeking to reduce its debt service costs by fully funding some capital projects in its operating budget rather than issuing additional debt. Salaries and wages in the budget amounted to $5,170,042, (continued on page 9)