Editing Bordentown, New Jersey (section)

===Local government===
[[File:Bordentown city, NJ municipal complex, Jan. 2023.jpg|thumb|left|Bordentown City Hall in 2023]]
Bordentown has been governed under the [[Walsh Act]] since 1913. The city is one of 30 municipalities (of the 564) statewide that use this [[City commission government|commission form of government]].<ref>[https://njdatabook.rutgers.edu/sites/njdatabook.rutgers.edu/files/documents/inventory_of_municipal_forms_of_government_in_new_jersey.pdf ''Inventory of Municipal Forms of Government in New Jersey''], [[Rutgers University]] Center for Government Studies, July 1, 2011. Accessed June 1, 2023.</ref> The governing body is comprised of three commissioners, one of whom is selected to serve as Mayor. Each commissioner is assigned a specific department to oversee during their term in office. Members are elected [[at-large]] to four-year concurrent terms of office on a [[non-partisan democracy|non-partisan]] basis as part of the May municipal election.<ref name=DataBook>''2012 New Jersey Legislative District Data Book'', [[Rutgers University]] [[Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy]], March 2013, p. 135.</ref><ref>[https://njdatabook.rutgers.edu/sites/njdatabook.rutgers.edu/files/documents/forms_of_municipal_government_in_new_jersey_9220.pdf#page=8 "Forms of Municipal Government in New Jersey"], p. 8. [[Rutgers University]] Center for Government Studies. Accessed June 1, 2023.</ref><ref>[http://slic.njstatelib.org/slic_files/imported/NJ_Information/Digital_Collections/MFMG/MFMGCH4.PDF The Commission Form of Municipal Government] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140811025109/http://slic.njstatelib.org/slic_files/imported/NJ_Information/Digital_Collections/MFMG/MFMGCH4.PDF |date=August 11, 2014 }}, p. 53. Accessed October 23, 2013.</ref>

{{As of|2024}}, Bordentown's commissioners are
[[Mayor]] Jennifer L. Sciortino (Director of Revenue and Finance), 
Deputy Mayor Joe Myers (Director of Public Property, Streets and Water) and
Commissioner Heather Cheesman (Director of Public Safety and Affairs; appointed to an unexpired term), all serving terms of office that end on May 13, 2025.<ref name=Administration>[https://cityofbordentown.com/administration/ Administration Directory], City of Bordentown. Accessed April 18, 2024.</ref><ref>[https://ecode360.com/BO1079/document/753037684.pdf#page=9 2024 Municipal Data Sheet], City of Bordentown. Accessed April 18, 2024.</ref>

In March 2024, the commissioners appointed Heather Cheesman to fill the seat that had been held by James E. Lynch Jr., until he resigned from office; Cheeseman will serve on an interim basis until the November 2024 general election, when voters will choose a candidate to serve the balance of the term of office.<ref>[[David Wildstein|Wildstein, David]]. [https://newjerseyglobe.com/local/cheesman-picked-to-fill-bordentown-vacancy/ "Cheesman picked to fill Bordentown vacancy; Ex-deputy mayor returns following resignation of James Lynch"], ''[[New Jersey Globe]]'', March 8, 2024. Accessed April 18, 2024. "Heather Cheesman is returning to the Bordentown City Board of Commissioners to fill a vacant seat, giving the municipality its first woman majority in history. She replaces James E. Lynch, Jr., who resigned on March 1 for reasons that were not specific.... Cheesman will serve until the results of a November special election are certified and a replacement is picked to fill the remaining eight months of Lynch’s term."</ref>

The city's municipal complex is located on the site of the [[Point Breeze (estate)|Point Breeze]] estate. Part of the site was purchased by the city in 2020 from the [[Divine Word Missionaries]] who occupied the {{convert|60|acre|hectare|adj=on}} site previously. The repurposed building opened in August 2022. The former city hall was located at 324 Farnsworth Avenue.<ref name=CityHall1>{{cite news |url=https://centraljersey.com/2022/08/17/bordentown-city-hall-has-moved-to-point-breeze/ |title=Bordentown City Hall moves to Point Breeze |date=August 17, 2022 |website=[[Princeton Packet]] |access-date=February 13, 2023}}</ref><ref name=CityHall2>{{cite news |url=https://www.communitynews.org/towns/bordentown-current/bordentown-citys-new-municipal-complex-is-steeped-in-history/article_d6f07dc0-3b6b-11ed-9271-fb7fb37a7505.html |title=Bordentown City's new municipal complex is steeped in history |date=October 4, 2022 |first=Sue |last=Ferrara |website=Community News |access-date=February 13, 2023}}</ref>

====Emergency services====
Hope Hose Humane Fire Company 1 dates its founding to 1767, making it the nation's second-oldest volunteer fire service, having taken its current name from the combination in 1976 of the Hope Hose and the Humane fire companies.<ref>Rittenhouse, Lindsay. [http://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2015/07/bordentown_city_fire_company_raises_money_toward_h.html "Fire company begins fundraising for 250th anniversary, restoration project"], [[NJ.com]], July 6, 2015. Accessed October 21, 2016. "Hope Hose Humane Company 1 traces its firefighting roots to 1767, making it nine years older than the country and the second-oldest all volunteer fire department in the United States, the company says.... Paul Walsh, historian and secretary for Hope Hose Humane, said he even finds items on eBay such as old badges from Hope Hose and Humane fire companies that he then purchased. The companies merged into Hope Hose Humane in 1976."</ref>

Consolidated Fire Association dates back to the 1966 merger of three separate volunteer fire companies.<ref>[http://www.consolidatedfire.org/ Home Page], Consolidated Fire Association. Accessed October 21, 2016. "Consolidated Fire Association was established July 5th 1966 when the Citizen Hook and Ladder Co., The Delaware Fire Co. and Weccacoe Hose Co. dissolved and merged into one new fire association."</ref>

====Environmental Commission====
The Bordentown City Environmental Commission (BCEC) is a volunteer group of Bordentown City residents. The Commission is an official body, and its chair answers to the Mayor. The BCEC advises local officials and the Planning Board regarding environmental issues and is a watchdog for environmental problems and opportunities. It is designed to inform elected officials and the public, serve on committees, research issues, develop educational programs and advocate for sound environmental policies. Local issues include preservation of open space, promoting walking and bicycling trails and the River Line, protection of wetlands and water quality, recycling and energy conservation, and environmental education.<ref>[http://bcec.us/about-bcec/ About BCEC], Bordentown City Environmental Commission. Accessed November 6, 2016.</ref>

The BCEC's most current efforts have focuses upon a bicycle and pedestrian circulation study, the City's open space plan, and the development of a set of local [[greenway (landscape)|greenways]] (Thorntown and Black Creek).