Springfield Week in Review

The most recent Springfield Township Committee meeting coincided with the eleventh anniversary of  Springfield officials marked the anniversary by starting the Committee meeting with a prayer and a remembrance.  Minister Victoria Ney read a non denominational prayer asking God for healing and peace, saying "Give us peace, your Shalom."  Following the prayer, officials spoke on the significance of the day. Committee member Rich Huber, who spoke first, recounted his  of escaping from inside the World Trade Center during the attacks with his normally sonorous voice became shaky as he spoke. 

At the Sept. 11 Springfield Township Committee meeting, . Corea, a longtime member of the department who has taken an active role in community engagement, was promoted to Captain. In addition to his experiences ensuring public safety as a firefighter, Corea has been active with past Toys for Tots drives with the department. 

Springfield . Richard Rosell, who has for the last two years overseen Springfield’s  and  departments and the , is leaving the job. Rosell was the only one to hold the job and will not be replaced. Rosell told Patch that the end of his employment with Springfield was a expected, and that it was an inherent part of his agreement when he took the job.

In his , Springfield Mayor Ziad Shehady broke down property tax bills, saying that despite the township's lean budgeting, property tax bills are increasing because of obligations to the County and state. Also, he said that the largest increase in this year's municipal budget is from pension obligations deferred in 2009 by then-Mayor Bart Fraenkel and former Mayors Hugh Keffer and Ken Faigenbaum. Fraenkel chafed at this characterization of events, saying that Shehady was .