County Adds Third Budget Meeting

A third date has been added to the open public hearing dates in March for the review of Union County's 2010 Executive Budget.

The additional date is March 24, beginning at 5 p.m. and concluding at about 7:15 p.m.

The two previously announced dates are March 18 and March 25. Both of these hearings will begin at 4 p.m. and conclude by 7 p.m. Freeholder agenda-setting meetings will be held after the March 18 and March 25 meetings.

All three budget hearings will be held in the freeholder meeting room on the sixth floor of the County Administration Building, at 10 Elizabethtown Plaza in Elizabeth.

"We will continue to explore cost savings and reductions in the budget line by line," Freeholder Fiscal Committee Chairman Alexander Mirabella said. "During this tough time, we're going to have to continue to make sacrifices as many of our residents are doing."

The 2010 Executive Budget was presented last month by County Manager George W. Devanney, who noted this year's budget narrative "reflects our proactive efforts in overcoming extraordinary challenges over the past year, and stabilizing Union County's current budgetary picture despite one of the toughest recessionary cycles in a generation, which adversely impacted many of our residents as well."

The Freeholder Board will conduct their review before voting to introduce a final budget around or before early April.