Hunterdon County’s various Departments have successfully landed fifty grants totaling nearly $8 million this year, which helps to significantly lighten the load on property taxpayers, Hunterdon Commissioner Board member Matt Holt has reported.
Holt, the Board’s Finance Department liaison, stated, “The various County Departments’ ability to gain grant funding for important services, along with the County’s strong fiscal controls that were recently certified by the independent audit, is a major contributing factor in the Board’s ability to freeze the tax rate for three straight years.”
The funding ranges from support for Recycling to Homeland Security to community health, among many other grants.
“As an example, the County was able to secure funding for the Prosecutor’s and Sheriff’s Office for the purchase of body worn cameras and obtained $1.5 million for the early voting initiative,” Holt said.
Board Director Susan J. Soloway joined Commissioner Holt in praising the job done by county staff in securing grant funds, saying, “The $265,492 victims of crime act grant, obtained by the Prosecutor’s Office, is of particular importance for providing services to crime victims.
These grant funds are vital because I know from my time volunteering to assist Domestic Violence survivors that assistance is often needed to restore security and safety and to stabilize lives after victimization.”
“The County’s successful program of gaining outside grants is another piece of the puzzle that has helped Hunterdon County be the safest, healthiest and best place to live,” Soloway concluded.