Daily Record from Morristown, New Jersey • Page 1

a MORRIS COUNTY'S LOCAL NEWSPAPER vol 4 no 179 MAY 22, 1991 25 CENTS mA coumtiiri Homestead Rebates popular, and costly Time running out on N.J. budget 1 Jt Ay i-i I I C. REX ARBOGAST Associated Press New Jersey Treasurer Douglas Berman ruled out more tax increases and further layoffs of state workers to offset the state's growing budget deficit. Good Morning NICE Today should be partly sunny and continued warm, high 79-84. Partly cloudy and cool tonight, low 55-60.

B20 Food 10 days of tips for good eating WITH BIKINI SEASON rapidly approaching, Elizabeth Strock was asked to develop a 10-day Daily Record Diet. The Morristown nutritionist says her plan and daily tips should be the pattern for a lifetime of good eating, and she hopes that it will provide "new beginnings" for those who try it. A13 MORRIS COUNTY ROCKA WAY Township water restrictions have been lifted after water system expansions. A3 LIGHT TREATMENTS at Morristown Memorial Hospital have enabled patients with hardened tissue and skin to resume leading normal lives, A3 Business hewlett-packard's 267 employees cannot use sickness as an excuse for taking a day off. B6 SPORTS i.

-S. LA RICH KIELB, left, had three goals and Todd So-kolowski had two goals and four assists for West Morris as the I3th-seeded Highlanders yesterday eliminated fourth-seeded Boonton from the state tournament, 8-5. Bl rvi mated the cost of the rebates. "When the numbers came in property taxes were up substantially more than income." The revised program ties the size of a homeowner's rebate to the percentage of income he pays in property taxes up to a maximum of $500. It also makes tenants eligible based on how much they pay in rent.

Sending checks to eligible taxpayers those earning less than $100,000 now is expected to cost $710 million on July 31. Some 2.65 million households 500,000 more than Berman's office anticipated last spring will get rebates, and 1 million of them will get more than $400, which is 25 percent higher than initial estimates. The exact cost won't be See REBATES A8 if 1' I.r-',.". Brush job ''J It- j- Ifc, By Colleen O'Dea Daily Record TRENTON Some lawmakers last month feared New Jer-seyans might miss getting Homestead Rebates because the program had changed. So they moved to extend the filing deadline.

Yesterday, they were told the program is so popular the state already can't afford it without cutting the budget elsewhere. State Treasurer Douglas C. Berman told the Joint Appropriations Committee his office un-' derestimated the cost of the rebates by $150 million. That additional expense helped increase the project deficit in the 1992 budget to $768 million. "We were working with effectively 1988 data," Berman said in explaining how he underesti Daily Record Former Rep.

Joseph J. Maraziti suffered a stroke last week. Maraziti, ex-Nixon ally, dead at 78 By LAWRANCE BlNDA Daily Record BOONTON Former Rep. Joseph J. Maraziti a Nixon ally who gained national prominence during the Watergate impeachment hearings, has died.

He was 78. A leading Morris County Republican, Maraziti was declared dead at 3:30 p.m. Monday at St. Clares-Riverside Medical Center, Den-ville. He had been admitted to the Denville hospital five days earlier after suffering a stroke at his Dixon Avenue home in Boonton.

"He was a hard-working legislator and politician," said Harry L. Sears, who served with Maraziti in the state Legislature. "Joe will be missed. He was a fine fellow." Well-known locally, Maraziti entered the national spotlight in 1974 as a member of the House Judiciary Committee, which began impeachment proceedings against former President Richard Nixon. He was among the all-Republican minority to vote against a bill of impeachment, a vote that soon destroyed his congressional career after just one term.

"He was an admirer of Richard See DEATH A12 I By Colleen O'Dea Daily Record TRENTON New Jersey officials have little more than a month to close a $2.1 billion gap in the 1992 budget, and they had few suggestions yesterday for filling a third of that hole. Treasurer Douglas C. Berman ruled out virtually every means of closing $768 million of the gap in the $14.3 billion budget. Gov. Jim Florio has proposed cuts and new revenues to make up the other $1.36 billion of the shortfall, but state worker unions and some lawmakers do not agree with all of his cuts.

Although the administration had previously conceded its proposed budget had a deficit, yesterday was the first time the administration quantified the gap in its 1992 budget. HI KAREN FUCITO Daily Record OPERATION SUNSHINE Operation Sunshine P.O. Box 6382 Parsippany, NJ. 07054 Berman said Florio would not consider new taxes; underfunding state aid such as aid to schools, municipalities and distressed cities; further layoffs; or cuts in the Homestead Rebate program the popularity of which caused part of the problem. "We offer no solutions today, other than to emphasize that from the governor's point of view there will be no tax increases and not a penny will be taken from the property tax relief program," said Berman in outlining the problem to the Joint Appropriations Committee.

Following the hearing, he refused to elaborate further. "There are a number of options on the table," said Berman. "I think our obligation right now is to discuss this with the legislative lead- See GAP A8 Mine Hill braces for deep cuts Budget ax looms for beach, lights By Michael S. Smith Daily Record MINE HILL TWP. Financial woes may mean darker streets at night, no swimming hole this summer, layoffs and just one new police car this year, officials warn.

The council is expected to discuss how to cut its proposed $1.9 million budget tomorrow, three days after the state refused its request for permission to exceed state spending limits. "What can we do? We needed (to exceed state spending limits), so we'll just have to cut services. That's all we can do," said Mayor Philip Zimmerman. The state Local Finance Board on Monday denied the township's request to exceed 4.5 percent limits on spending increases because of ongoing financial problems in the township of 3,333, said spokesman Jay Johnston. The denial means $39,000 in spending will have to be slashed in a township with few services to spare, Zimmerman and other officials say.

Layoffs possible "It's a serious situation. It's something that with a lot hard work on the council's part" can be solved, said councilman John Tasnady. "But we're not going to do it without making cuts." The public beach at a swimming pond surely will be closed, saving about $9,000. The police department may get one instead of two new patrol cars, saving $12,000 to $13,000. Street lights could be turned off to save $37,000.

The council also may contemplate layoffs in the police and public works departments or in the municipal court. All other departments are comprised of just one person each, Zimmerman said. Mine Hill has had financial problems for yean. The township ran out of money last September and the council made $70550 in emergency appro- Sea BUDGET A 12 227 01 04. i LI: s'i ur ff Mrij finishes applying a new coat of paint to a fire hydrant on Parsippany Road.

Bob Mackintosh, a Parsippany township employee, makes good use of good weather and Camp: Chance to forget Index Around Town B13 Business B6-9 Classified B14M9 Comics B12 Crossword B14 Entertainment B10-11 Morris County A3-7 Obituaries A17 Opinion A18-19 Sports B1-5 Television B10 for jobs. The upheaval and insecurity of the past winter separated the brothers from their friends and familiar surroundings. Their social worker says they have lost their childhood trust in the future. The boys look forward to having a real home again, but they worry that something will happen to take it away If Max. Joe and Maurice could go See CAMP A 12 By Shirley Eastman Daily Record Max, Joe and Maurice finally have a place to call home.

The boys, their parents and three brothers and sisters just spent three months shuttling from one homeless shelter to another. Now the family has found an apartment, but the parents still have much to do to get settled. Both are out of work but are looking long and hard Daily Record. 629 Parsippany Road, PO. Box 217, Parsippany, N.J.

07054. Telephone: 428-6200. to reach The news Department, Call 428-6200. for Home delivery, call423-4444 or 1 eoo.