Township of Maple Shade

"Nice Town, Friendly People"

REGISTER FOR NIXLE ALERTS

Want to stay informed of Maple Shade road closures, upcoming events, and other important information? Sign up for NIXLE alerts and receive text messages with updates. Text your 08052 to 888777 to opt-in or sign up online for specific notifications.

HALLOWEEN EVENTS

Halloween in Maple Shade has long been a holiday that many residents have enjoyed celebrating with their family and friends. Halloween has and will continue to be celebrated with the Annual Trick or Treat tradition on October 31st, 2023. Typically Trick or Treaters begin their trek around town in the late afternoon; the Township does not intend on setting Trick or Treat hours, however, as good practice, we remind everyone the Township Curfew Ordinance for Halloween is 9pm and ask all to be courteous of the "informal rule" if the lights are off at the house to skip the house, as the residents are out of candy or not participating in the event any longer.

The Annual Halloween Parade will be Saturday October 28th beginning at 2:15pm on Main Street. Our parade has become a much-loved pastime for everyone, we look forward to you joining us as we continue this fun-filled community event for all to enjoy!

If you would like to be a part of the parade, please reach out to our Recreation Director at (856)779-9610, ext. 175 or recreation@mapleshade.com. We hope to see you on the 28th! Have a Safe and Happy Halloween.

TAX COLLECTOR

SENIOR FREEZE

(Property Tax Reimbursement)

The deadline for 2022 applications is October 31, 2023. For an application or questions, please contact 800-882-6597 or click the link below.

NJ Division of Taxation - NJ Division of Taxation - Senior Freeze (Property Tax Reimbursement)

GO PAPERLESS!

We are pleased to announce a new electronic billing option for Water and Sewer Bills.

You may now receive your Water and Sewer Bill online via email.

Click HERE for directions.

You can also go to https://mapleshade.com/tax-collector/ or contact the Tax Collector’s Office at 856-779-9610 ext. 156 to sign up.

ANCHOR PROGRAM - UPDATES FROM THE NJ DIVISION OF TAXATION

This program provides property tax relief to New Jersey residents who own or rent property in New Jersey as their principal residence and meet certain income limits. The current filing season for the ANCHOR benefit is based on 2020 residency, income, and age. You have until Friday, December 29, 2023, to file an application.

Click HERE to access information on the new updates

GENERAL ELECTION INFORMATION - PLAN YOUR VOTE!

DATES TO REMEMBER

1. September 23, 2023 – Commencement of Mailing of Mail-In Ballots

2. October 17, 2023 – Voter Registration Deadline for General (21 Days Prior)

3. October 25, 2023 - Mailing Sample Ballots

4. October 31, 2023 – Deadline to apply for a Mail-In ballot by mail

5. October 28 – November 5, 2023 – Early Voting Period

6. November 6, 2023 – Deadline for In-Person Mail-In Ballot Applications - 3PM

7. November 7, 2023 – General Election - 6AM to 8PM

Please Read your Sample Ballots!!

Your District is on your address label after your name.

DISTRICTS: Fox Meadow Residents go to the Fox Meadow Golf Center; Watergate Residents go to your Community Center. If you voted at Steinhauer School or the Maple Shade High School in the past, you vote at the Maple Shade Fire Department.

Districts 1 & 7 – VFW

Districts 2, 6, 8, 10 & 12 – Municipal Building

Districts 3, 4, 9, 11, 13, 16 & 18 – Fire Department, 53 S. Maple Avenue

Districts 5, 14 & 15 – 25 Club

District 17 – Watergate Community Center

District 19 – Fox Meadow Golf Center

Ballot box is located at the front doors of the Township Building, 200 Stiles Avenue, Maple Shade, NJ 08052.

Early Voting Information & Voting Locations

Every County will provide registered voters with the option of early, in-person voting for the 2023 General Election. They will designate in-person early voting locations that will be open October 28, 2023 – November 5, 2023. Hours will be Monday -Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. and Sunday, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. No appointment necessary.

*Locations for early voting are being determined, please visit the Burlington County website at vote.nj.gov for updates and valuable voting information such as Frequently Asked Questions, Am I Registered?, and Track My Ballot.

October is a busy month for Sustainable Maple Shade and we are always looking for new volunteers! Our General Membership Meeting will be held on October 10th at 6pm in the Library Meeting Room. All are welcome!

Sustainable Maple Shade is collecting gently used Halloween Costumes for redistribution. Boxes can be found in Yocum, Maude, and Steinhauer Elementary Schools and the Municipal Building Lobby. Distribution dates are October 15th, 22nd and 28th from 9am-11am in the Municipal Building Lobby. And keep an eye out for our Candy Wrapper Collection Boxes in your schools after Halloween!

Help keep our neighborhood clean! Sustainable Maple Shade in conjunction with Clean Communities is having a Community Clean-Up Day on October 22nd from 9am-11am. Want to join us? Meet at the Municipal Building Complex on the clean up day to pick up your gear and get your location assignment. Groups and individuals are welcome.

Thanks to the hard work of everyone who has been dropping plastic off in the Nextrex bins, Sustainable Maple Shade has earned a new bench for the town.

After collecting more than 600 pounds of plastic film to be recycled, the company turned the film, which cannot be recycled normally in Burlington County, into a bench made of recycled plastic and sent it off to Sustainable. The bench will be placed in the town’s new community garden when it is finished, hopefully by the summer of 2024.

Sustainable isn’t stopping there. The group is requesting more bins to collect even more plastic film, which will be placed around town in locations such as the firehouse. The new bins will join the ones at Columbia Bank, 253 Main St., and the Municipal Building, 200 Stiles Ave.

Things such as plastic wrap, amazon mailers and any plastic stretchy materials, can be placed in the bins, which are then collected by Sustainable volunteers, who transport it to the county recycling center and record the weight to be reported to Nextrex.

Kindly RSVP by November 13th at https://BusinessAppreciationMSTwp.eventbrite.com

Please Note: Any leaves placed curbside PRIOR to when the official leaf collection begins in your zone, should be placed in brown bags curbside.

Updated Recycling Guidelines Released by Burlington County

Burlington County has issued new What to Recycle Guidelines. A brochure will be hitting resident mailboxes within the next few weeks, but here is a sneak peek.

Recycling doesn’t have to be complicated! The flyer below shows what and how residents should be recycling; remember it is REQUIRED of all residents and businesses to recycle properly. And NEW to recycling…..PIZZA BOXES ARE NOW OK!!!!! Pizza boxes must be empty (no half or eaten slices allowed), but a box with a little bit of grease is now acceptable to be placed in recycling. The County made the decision in early September 2023 so some mailers arriving in residents mailboxes say otherwise…..You heard it here first, Pizza Boxes are a GO to recycle!

POLICE DEPARTMENT

The Maple Shade Police Department hosted our 2nd Annual Custard with a Cop on August 29, 2023 in the Municipal Parking Lot. In just one hour close to 200 cones were served, courtesy of the MSPD. This was such a fun event, allowing residents to mix and mingle with members of the police department as well as K9 Ripley. There was a beach ball inflating contest between officers, trading cards were distributed, and lots of goodies were handed out.

Thank you Maple Shade for making this such a wonderful event!

Our 2nd Annual Maple Shade High School Coffee With a Cop is scheduled for October 11, 2023 at 0700 hrs. If you have a child in the High School or Junior High School, encourage them to arrive to school a little early, stop in and say, “hello” to our officers, and grab a beverage and a breakfast treat before their school day.

The Trading Card Contest is in full swing. You can find the form by clicking HERE. Please remember this contest is to increase the communication between the officers and youth in the community. The children should be asking for and collecting the cards. Officers will periodically be visiting the schools to hand out cards. Tell your children to keep an eye out and remember to ask. The contest runs until January. Good Luck!

The Maple Shade PD was happy to assist with vehicular and pedestrian traffic for the first week of school! Everything went smoothly and everyone seems so happy to be back! Teaming up with the Maple Shade School District is always a pleasure!

Tips of the Month

from the MSPD

School is back in session and Halloween is just around the corner. Prevent a tragedy, Slow Down!

RECREATION

LIL SOUS CHEFS COOKING OCTOBER CLASSES

OCTOBER MASK MAKING PAINTING CLASS

TECH HELP THURSDAYS

WATER & SEWER UTILITIES

Fall Hydrant Flushing

The semi-annual hydrant flushing will begin on October 22nd and run through November 10th. Hydrant flushing will be performed Sunday – Thursday between the hours of 10PM-6AM. Flushing is completed during these hours to minimize the impact of water quality to the residents of Maple Shade. Please be careful traveling around the areas where flushing is being performed.

Water Meters

The majority of the Township’s water meters were replaced with radio read water meters several years ago. The water meter is connected to an MXU (radio) with a wire and programmed to send signals to the receiver at the water tower. To ensure accurate billing, it is important to maintain connection between the water meter and MXU (radio) at all times. In the event the wire is damaged or cut, the Township sends out letters instructing residents to call the utility and make an appointment for the technicians to troubleshoot a communication issue.

The water meter and MXU (radio) are the property of the Township. If home renovations are needed and the meter or MXU (radio) needs to be removed, please contact the utility and schedule an appointment for a technician to complete the work. MXU’s (radios) are typically mounted to the outside of the property to allow the technician to initially troubleshoot an issue without access to the inside of the property. If the issue has been determined to be at the water meter or the connection to the water meter, the technician will need access inside the property to correct the problem.

The utility is requesting residents to contact the utility if any work is scheduled that would disrupt the water meter, MXU (radio) or the wire connection between the two. Some examples are interior plumbing requiring the water meter to be removed, exterior work – including siding replacement, finishing a basement or accidental damage to the water meter, MXU (radio) or wire. The utility can be contacted 24/7 to schedule an appointment at

856-488-7450.