We are hosting our Police in the Park event at Chestnut Branch Park on Thursday from 5 to 8 p.m. Rain date is Friday.
This is the second year that the Mantua Township Police Department will be holding the township’s annual community event, which is comparable to National Night Out, held in June throughout the country. The police program is again being spearheaded by Capt. Bill Murphy – second in command at the department – in conjunction with our township’s recreation committee.
The hard work of Capt. Murphy and our volunteer recreation committee members is instrumental in bringing the program to fruition again this year. Please join us in supporting our law-enforcement community. Following are some of the activities planned for Police in the Park.
- K-9 demonstration
- Inflatable rides
- Food trucks
- The band Three of a Kind
- Fireworks display
We wholeheartedly support the police department. This is another way that our community can celebrate our police officers and their continuing efforts to protect and serve our residents. Programs like this are instrumental in helping to strengthen neighborhood spirit, while enhancing the police-community partnership.
The Mantua Township Municipal Utilities Authority (MUA) recently sent out its third-quarter water and sewer bills. If you noticed a deviation in your bill, it may have been the result of changes made by the MUA earlier this year. These changes took effect on July 1, and were fully implemented in the third-quarter billing.
I spoke recently with our MUA Executive Director, Chuck Jones, who was kind enough to help provide some clarity on the process and why the changes were necessary at this time.
- The MUA discussed proposed rate changes at its May 20 meeting and held a public hearing on June 17. That meeting was advertised in the South Jersey Times and Courier-Post newspapers. There was very little public attendance and participation.
- Rate changes were subsequently posted in the township clerk’s office, on the MUA website, and on your MUA water and sewer bills.
Some of the rate adjustments made by the MUA include:
- Water rate adjustment is 2% on minimum and senior citizen quarterly rates.
- 25% on quarterly excess usage
- 25% on semi-annual usage on separately billed irrigation systems
- Connection fees for water were increased from $1,600 to $3,211.
- Connection fees for sewer were increased from $900 to $1,913.
The main reasons why the MUA had to adjust the water and sewer rates are:
- Rates for water and sewer have not be increased since 2013.
- Connection fees have not been adjusted since 2001.
- Costs of providing services have continued to rise annually, while the revenues were remaining stable for many years without being adjusted.
- Budget deficits were being incurred when comparing the 2025 budgeted revenues and appropriations.
- Employee and retiree health-insurance costs increased by 22.9% in the fiscal year 2025.
It’s extremely important to note that following these adjustments, by way of a comparative study done by the MUA, Mantua still has the third lowest quarterly local water and sewer rates, at $45.90; the fourth lowest regular sewer rates, at $93.84; and the fourth lowest senior citizen water rates, at $23.46, as compared to 13 neighboring communities in Gloucester County.
To learn more about the current rates, etc. you can go to mantuamua.com. You can also contact Jones directly at (856) 468-1111 or by email at cjones@mantuamua.com. He will be happy to assist with answering any questions or concerns.
We adopted ordinance 5-2025 at our Sept. 8 committee meeting to make our solicitation laws and penalties more stringent. This ordinance change will be in effect immediately. Penalties include up to a $2,000 fine per offense, suspension and permanent revocation of licenses.
Police will now be able to go after the corporations and hold them accountable for putting solicitors on our streets without acquiring permits and for violating our “no-knock” parameters of the law. To date, no solicitation permits have been issued by the township for this year.
We urge you to call police at (856) 589-0911 to report illegal solicitors. The department will have a zero tolerance approach to enforcement.
Please look for my most recent Mayor’s Message video No. 33 on our social media platforms and our website at mantuatownship.com/mayors-message. The video explains what the township committee is doing to further address and combat illegal solicitation.
