Page 4 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • March 13, 2013 Midland Park The Midland Park Baseball Association is seeking town approval to either schedule games before 1 p.m. on the Saturday before Memorial Day or change the town holiday celebration to Memorial Day. Association President Dana Weisbrot recently asked borough officials for a change in the policy that sets the 1 p.m. rule so that the organization can host the Bergen County Charity Classic, a charity baseball tournament traditionally held on that date. The 1 p.m. start time does not allow for enough games to be scheduled on one day, he said, resulting in the association being rejected as host of the event year after year. Weisbrot explained that hosting the popular event, in which Midland Park has participated for years, would be a profitable fundraiser for the classic and for his organization, which now supports its programs through sponsorships from 100 local merchants and from an annual golf outing. He said Midland Park Baseball not only runs the program for more than 200 youngsters in five divisions from pre-K through high school, but also contributes to field maintenance and gives out annual scholarships to program graduates who are going on to college. “The weekend should be used to enjoy the three days off, play baseball, earn some money for charity, and celebrate those who fought for their country on Monday,” said Weis- Association seeks change in field use restrictions brot in advocating the change from Saturday to Monday. He suggested a one-year trial period. Weisbrot said that hosting the tournament would not only allow the organization to recoup the $4,275 it pays the Classic in entry fees for the seven participating traveling teams, but it would also bring in substantial profits through snack bar sales and through the sale of specially designed T-shirts. “We do not have many chances to make money for our program like this opportunity,” Weisbrot stressed. “We have great volunteers in Midland Park and can get the help to host. Expenses are going up, and we have to get local business to sponsor teams and banners to keep our program running. At the same time, we have to keep costs reason- able for parents to afford for their children to play. We ran a golf outing to raise money last year. We use our money to give the kids the best baseball experience we can. We volunteer to help fix the school fields that we get to play on and that the high school and middle school teams need to use. The board of education doesn’t have the money to fix these fields up. We give out $1,000 in college scholarships courtesy of the Midland Park Baseball program to a MP senior or two who played in our program and excelled in baseball and in their studies. We currently have a few projects lined up for this year to help make improvements,” he added. This proposal will be addressed by the board of recreation before a decision is made, borough officials said. The Midland Park Borough Council has introduced a 2013 operating budget of $10,014,205, a decrease of $41,940 from the 2012 budget. Even though municipal expenses are expected to go down, the proposal will raise taxes on the average home by $78. “As usual, the mayor, council, and borough administrator worked extremely hard to keep our services up and our tax increase to a minimum,” said Councilman Michael Junta, the Finance Committee chairman. He said the governing body met with all department heads over a threemonth period to gain an understanding of their department needs and wants, and to discuss what could and could not be cut without hurting services or projects. Cost increases include additional funds for legal costs and tax appeals due to the recent revaluation and an extra $50,000, or seven percent, for health insurance, despite the fact that employees must pay a certain portion of those costs per state law. The borough is also budgeting for paid emergency services personnel should pending legislation be enacted to require the borough hire paid EMTs. PBA negotiations are Budget down, tax rate up for 2013 also ongoing, and any increases will have to be funded this year. While the statutory requirement to maintain the public library has decreased due to the revaluation, the borough has maintained the same level support for the library. Revenue on investments has also dropped considerably due to the market, necessitating an adjustment to make up the difference. The budget provides for a number of capital projects, including vehicles and equipment for the fire, police, and public works departments, and for the annual road paving program and improvements to buildings and grounds. Shared services will continue, including the use of Waldwick’s pistol range, dispatch services with Wyckoff, 9-1-1 service with Paramus, the court administrator with Waldwick, and tax collection with Glen Rock. State aid of $546,706 has remained flat since 2007, and the borough has met all the benchmarks required to receive full aid in the current year. The public hearing on the budget proposal is scheduled for Thursday, March 28 at 8 p.m. at borough hall.