Latest reporting from the Local Government desk.
Latest reporting from the Local Government desk.
Latest reporting from the Local Government desk.
Local Government
A new EPI/CEPR study finds New Jersey teachers earn 86 cents on the dollar compared to other college graduates, a gap that adds context to budget pressures and contract discussions in Summit and New Providence as the school year begins.
Local Government
Summit and Berkeley Heights school boards approved bell-to-bell bans on personal devices at their August meetings, and New Providence had its version up for a final vote Aug. 31, as all three districts implement a new state law requiring restrictions on student phone use starting this school year.
Local Government
The New Providence Board of Education has not included a three-year, roughly $90,000-a-year school security officer agreement in its public agenda packets for two consecutive meetings, listing it as a one-year deal with no cost, according to NJ21st reporting based on public records.
Local Government
The Berkeley Heights Board of Education's Aug. 27 meeting featured a tense debate over replacing a departed STEAM director with two supervisor positions, a settlement requiring an independent security audit, and an update showing referendum projects partially complete.
Local Government
Union County voters who do not want an automatic mail ballot for the Nov. 3 General Election must email the county clerk by Sept. 15 to opt out, as federal litigation over mail-in voting rules remains unresolved.
Local Government
An NJ21st investigation found that Berkeley Heights committed $148,135 from its post-storm emergency bond to Neglia Engineering for the Springfield Avenue streetscape, a project whose engineering proposal predates the July 2025 storm by six days, bringing total storm-bond spending on the pre-existing project to at least $1.22 million.
Local Government
A new state law signed by Gov. Mikie Sherrill on Sept. 1 bars landlords and HOAs from prohibiting plug-in solar panels up to 1,200 watts, a change that affects Summit's roughly 2,644 renter-occupied housing units when the law takes effect March 1, 2027.
Local Government
The Union County Board of County Commissioners formally adopted Ordinance 867-2026 on Thursday, Aug. 27, locking in a $5,796,091 annual assessment on Summit Oaks Hospital as part of a countywide hospital fee program covering six facilities.
Local Government
An NJ21st investigation using OPRA records found that more than $1 million from Berkeley Heights' $3.5 million emergency storm-repair bond is committed to a Springfield Avenue streetscape project that does not appear on the township's storm damage list.
Local Government
Gov. Mikie Sherrill signed Assemblyman Andrew Macurdy's End Data Center Tax Credits Act on Friday, Aug. 28, eliminating $250 million in uncommitted state subsidies for AI data centers. The new law follows Summit's own citywide ban on data centers, adopted this summer.
Local Government
The New Providence Board of Education's Monday, Aug. 31 agenda includes a three-year school security officer agreement described as one year, about $188,000 in extra teaching-load payments across 51 personnel lines, and $3.3 million in bills with no supporting list in the public packet.
Local Government
Berkeley Heights Council Vice President and mayoral candidate Susan Poage emailed the school board urging it to hire a lower-paid, less-experienced teacher and to consider "young teachers," prompting pushback from board members and raising potential age-discrimination issues under federal and state law.
Local Government
Union County will hold a special ballot drawing Tuesday, Sept. 1, for the NJ-7 congressional race if a federal judge rules Libertarian candidate Lana Leguia qualifies for the November ballot. The ruling is expected Monday, Aug. 31.
Local Government
AJDM Chatham LLC, which won unanimous Planning Board approval for a 100-unit River Road building in July, has filed a lawsuit seeking to force Chatham Borough to revive the Gateway Redevelopment Plan that would allow up to 720 additional apartments on the same corridor.
Local Government
U.S. Rep. Tom Kean Jr. presented Summit with $530,000 in federal Community Project Funding on Thursday, Aug. 20, for ADA-accessible sidewalks and drainage improvements along Glenside Avenue, a project born from residents' longstanding pedestrian safety concerns.
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©2026 Summit Area News
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