Clinton Township Newsletter

H o l i day C o o k i e S t r o l l Briteside Adult Day Center is hosting a holiday cookie stroll as a fundraising project. Help support Briteside by purchasing homemade holiday cookies at Hunterdon Medical Center on Thurs., Dec. 5 from 11:00 am - 5:00 pm. in Meeting Rooms A and B. Hunterdon Healthcare's Briteside Adult Day Center provides a quality day program for elderly residents with dementia or Alzheimer's. Briteside promotes a sense of dignity and personal independence for seniors while providing education and respite to caregivers in an effort to support and further sustain the family unit. For more info. about the cookie sale, call George Gay at 908.500.0477. T a k e P r e cau t i o n s aga i n s t Identity Theft Identity theft can ruin your financial life. Identity thieves will use your personal information to run up credit card bills and other debts leaving you to deal with the consequences. They can also be responsible for insurance fraud. Insurance fraud can present itself in a variety of ways and can be committed by almost anyone, including licensed professionals. Some examples of insurance fraud include faking car accidents, falsifying insurance claims, accepting insurance payments when not entitled to them, overbilling by healthcare professionals and creating or selling bogus automobile insurance cards. Insurance fraud is not treated lightly. According to the Hunterdon County Prosecutor's Office, penalties for licensed professionals who commit insurance fraud can range between 5 and 10 years in prison plus fines of up to $150,000, or up to 5 times the amount of the claim. For non-professionals, penalties range between 3 and 5 years in prison plus a fine. Counterfeiting car insurance cards carries a penalty of up to 18 months' jail time, a $10,000 fine and 30 days of community service. Medicaid fraud is punishable by 3 years in prison and $10,000 in fines. There are steps you can take to avoid becoming a victim. The U.S. Department of Justice advises remembering the word "SCAM" to minimize the risk of becoming a victim. S – Be stingy about giving out personal information, especially over the phone. If you can, get an agreement in writing; review it carefully before releasing your information. Also, refrain from including too much identifying information on personal checks, since checks often go to people that cannot always be trusted with your banking and personal information. C – Check all your financial statements on a regular basis. If you are not receiving these statements, find out why. If they are being sent to an address you did not authorize, let the financial institution know. Request copies of statements you did not receive. A – Ask for copies of your credit reports occasionally. They can reveal if someone has opened or used accounts in your name. M – Maintain accurate records of all bank and financial accounts and keep copies of, or have access to, your monthly statements for at least one year in case any charges are questioned. With the convenience of internet shopping, the increase of mobile devices for purchases and banking, and the holidays quickly approaching, it is more important than ever to be sure to review all credit card and bank statements for any unusual activity. Be aware and question any transactions that look unfamiliar as soon you are able to do so. The Hunterdon County C u l t u r a l a n d H e r i ta g e C o m m i s s i o n by Frank Curcio You might be wondering how on earth the world found out that Clinton Township does exist when even the Federal government lost track of us. Well there is one government agency—probably the only one—that keeps track of things. The FBI?; The CIA?; The NSA? No, No and No! It's the IRS—they've never lost sight of anyone, anything, anyplace. We were finally found by the Feds when Richard Nixon was president. He introduced a revenue sharing idea. The basic idea was that taxes collected by the Feds would be "shared" with the states, their counties and their municipalities. The shared funds would be based on the number of tax returns from each of the subordinate governments—that is, the states, the counties and the incorporated municipalities. As history suggests, Nixon had trust issues. He didn't trust the states to share the funds with the municipalities—he may have been right, but we'll never know. So the municipalities had to be exactly identified. The money was to go not to the taxpayer's post office address, but to the legal municipality in which the taxpayer resided. Only the IRS knew that those Clinton Township residents who have a High Bridge PO address, should not count toward High Bridge's cut, but toward Clinton Township's. The 1040 tax forms were modified for revenue sharing. Mailing label address was still at the top, but in the body of the form was the line: What is the legal municipality in which you live? But before the space to fill–in that all important name was a proviso telling the whole township story. It said: (Do not list your township of residence EXCEPT in New Jersey.) Ba–Da–Bing! We were found! Today it's even easier to keep things straight. We are officially NJ Municipality 1006. 10 = Hunterdon County; 06 = Clinton Township. And you guessed it, NJ Municipality 1005 is Clinton Town. So how is a town different from a township? That's a long story (whole books have been written about it) so here's the down and dirty short version. But first, it has little to do with population numbers. The City of Corbin has a population of about 400, while the Village of South Orange has a population more than 5 times Corbin's. And the City of Lambertville is no Brooklyn! Up until 1968, municipal designation identified your municipal form or style of government. Originally a township had a township governmental structure—council members were elected at–large (they represented the entire township, not a section or ward). In a town structure, the mayor is elected by the citizens, but not in the original style township structure. Each January the township council selected one of its members to serve a year as mayor. The township form was ideal for large, rural areas. It is still the primary township structure in Hunterdon. Early in January, local papers will have news of township councils selecting their mayors. Clinton was a traditional township until the early 1970s. In 1971 a study committee recommended that, because of population growth, Clinton Township adopt one of the new options authorized in 1968. The ballot question to become a mayor and council township passed in November 1971. The following November, Ralph Wells became the first elected mayor of the township. Victor A. Rotolo, a resident of Clinton Township, was named to the list of 2013 NJ Super Lawyers for the eighth consecutive year. Call The Rotolo Law Firm today: 908.534.7900 to discuss any legal situation confronting you. Your half-hour consultation is free of charge! Their attorneys and staff are ready to serve your legal needs. The Rotolo Law Firm • 502 US 22, In New Jersey the answer to what's the difference between a town and a township is—Tradition! Next time, Placenames (February) Frank Curcio Lebanon, NJ 08833. www.rotololawfirm.com D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 3 11

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