5 Things You Need to Know About the Fire Elections

If you're going to miss heading to the polls for school elections in April (the Board of Education vote was moved to November) you have another chance to cast a ballot this weekend.

Annual fire elections are here.

From 2 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Montville Township is one of three towns in Morris County where voters will be casting ballots in their respective fire districts to elect fire commissioners and vote on proposed fire district budgets.

Each of Montville Township's three districts—Montville, Towaco and Pine Brook—has its own five-member board that creates budgets and collects property taxes to support the town's volunteer fire departments.

Here are 5 Things You Need to Know About the Fire Elections.

1. Who can vote? All registered Montville Township voters.
2. Who's on the ballot? Incumbents are running unopposed for three year terms.
3. What are the proposed budgets? Budget information and documents are here. In a nutshell, Montville and Pine Brook are proposing the same tax levy as last year, $567,480 and $540,000, respectively. Towaco is proposing a 1.8 percent increase to the tax levy, with a proposed tax levy of $646,620. Towaco's budget statement says debt service and the cost of providing services are the main reasons for changes in the budget.
   
4. Why am I hearing about these elections more rececntly? Last year, Towaco's budget was defeated for the first time in history and went to the Township Committee for review, where it was cut by $75,000. Residents who question the fire district system and those who say supporting the budgets is important to support volunteer firefighters and provide fire protection are urging people to vote.
5. When and where? 2 to 9 p.m. Saturday.

• Fire District No. 1 (Montville): Montville Fire Department, 108 Main Road, Montville
• Fire District No. 2 (Towaco): Towaco Fire Department, 27 Whitehall Road, Towaco
• Fire District No. 3 (Pine Brook): Pine Brook Fire Department, 47 Bloomfield Ave., Pine Brook