The state is still pushing for rural towns to pay for State Police coverage after dropping the proposal last year.

Attorney General Stuart Rabner met with the New Jersey State League of Municipalities on Friday to discuss how to assess a fee fairly on towns that rely on State Police patrols.

His office declined to comment on the meeting Tuesday.

Gov. Jon S. Corzine backed off a proposal last year to charge towns for State Police coverage. Local politicians argued the fees would burden rural towns that have no tax base to support their own local police departments.

The governor initially budgeted $24 million last year in revenue from the new fees.

But the state apparently is not backing off the idea entirely, said William G. Dressel Jr., spokesman for the league.

“When you get the attorney general to sit down for an hour and a half, he is clearly interested in this issue. It speaks volumes to his commitment to this,” he said. “They're serious about this.”

Last year's plan called for charging towns with tax rates below their county average or with property values above their county average. Both criteria exempted all three Cape May County towns — Woodbine and Upper and Dennis townships — that rely on State Police.

The Attorney General's Office did not share its thoughts about changes to this formula Tuesday.

Dressel said it was receptive to suggestions during his meeting. His group opposed the governor's proposal last year.

“It was one of the most meaningful meetings I've had in a long time,” he said. “The attorney general has said he wants a rational plan to present this back to the municipalities. We want to work with him on that.”

Woodbine Mayor William Pikolycky also attended the meeting. His boro abolished its local police department in the 1980s because its declining tax base could not support one, he said.

Since then, his boro has not seen much growth in its tax base. Its tax rate and crime rate, too, are stable. Woodbine was exempt under the formula the state planned to impose last year.

Pikolycky said state officials seemed intent on charging towns. But they did not release any new numbers Friday. Another meeting is scheduled for February.

“I don't see the state backing down,” Pikolycky said. “I see the state trying to peck away. I think we might get another one or two-year bye through the Legislature.”

Construction of a middle school, a possible senior housing complex and future developments are all riding on an agreement struck between the Pinelands Commission and the Buena Municipal Utilities Authority.

A committee of the Pinelands Commission started reviewing a document Monday that will end a 16-year deadlock on some construction and environmental projects.

The topic is waste water and where it will be thrown out.

“The subcommittee needs to take time to read and digest the document,” said Paul Leakan, Pinelands Commision spokesman. The plan also will be subject to a public hearing before any action is taken. If approved by the subcommittee, it would be sent to the larger Pinelands Commission for a vote.

The committee on Public and Governmental Programs will meet again next month, Leakan said.

The issue involves several factors, including a preserved-land-for-sewerage deal between Buena Borough and Buena Vista Township, a highly technical draft document that deals with how millions of gallons of water are disposed of each day, and getting control of taxes in the borough and township.

But the bottom line is this: the Pinelands Commission doesn't want the BBMUA discharging 350,000 gallons of wastewater into Deep Run stream, which flows into the Great Egg Harbor River, each day.

The commission calls that pollution. But borough officials say the water is treated and not harmful.

“The water that we flow into Deep Run is cleaner than the water already in the stream,” said BBMUA chairman John Brunini

Until the BBMUA could establish a timeline for getting the wastewater out the stream and into several massive yet-to-be-constructed lagoons, the Pinelands Commission didn't want new developments in the borough or township to hook up to the municipal water system.

Brunini said he'd like the lagoons to hold 600,000 gallons of water a day. But many tests still need to be done, he said.

The Pinelands Commission's restrictions stopped a middle school from being built in the Buena Regional School District. It also threatened plans for a senior housing complex off Lincoln Avenue in the township.

At a sit-down with the commission last week, borough Mayor Joseph Baruffi and township Mayor Chuck Chiarello hashed out an agreement with the commission.

“About 95 percent of the issues were solved, and I'd say that the township is in agreement with the agreement,” Chiarello said. “There's a lot at stake as far as financial and ratable stability.”

The Pinelands Commission wanted a certain amount of lands to be preserved in the agreement. The township said it would set aside 232 acres of open space land, and the BBMUA would extend its water lines to the proposed Lincoln Avenue development.

Chiarello said he's ready to sign the agreement and thinks a solution can be approved by April. Baruffi has one reservation.

Baruffi wants to make sure that, in extreme cases, the BBMUA can discharge some water into the stream. There are several new projects coming to the borough, he said, and construction will soon get heavy.

“We don't want to hold a developer up because we don't have the room to handle the amount of water,” he said.

That's a provision that was left open in the draft agreement for the BBMUA and the Pinelands Commission to discuss in the future, Baruffi said.

Officials are eager to finalize the deal. Both mayors said they hope that the new developments in their areas will bring in more tax revenue and finally take some pressure off overburdened taxpayers.

“We need the capacity to grow,” said Baruffi. “And the capacity to grow will help our taxpayers.”

BUENA VISTA TOWNSHIP — Two men were hospitalized after a head-on collision on Route 54 on Thursday.

Eduardo Amador, 41, was traveling south on the two-lane road at 2:45 p.m. when he attempted to pass a tractor-trailer and entered the oncoming lane, police said.

Amador's pickup truck collided with the sport utility vehicle of John Letts Jr., 29, near the intersection of Route 54 and Weymouth Road, police said.

State Police responded to the scene, as well as fire departments from Newtonville and Collings Lakes, which had to extricate both men from their respective vehicles.

Amador was airlifted to Cooper Health System in Camden, where he remains in critical condition, police said. Letts was airlifted to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center, City Campus in Atlantic City, where he was listed in serious condition, police said. State Trooper Gilligan is handling the investigation.

BUENA VISTA TOWNSHIP — When local emergency medical technicians respond to a hazardous scene, there's no doubt — at least now — that they'll have the right equipment for the job.

The township's Emergency Medical Service unit was notified Friday that it was the recipient of nearly $30,000 in federal funds under the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program.

“This is a way to supplement what we get from the taxpayers in order to protect ourselves when we are in the field,” said Ted Peters, a lieutenant and training officer for the service.

Technicians will buy new protective gear with the funds for calls that involve fires, hazardous materials and car accidents. Some of the new equipment will include new jackets, helmets, goggles and boots.

In the grand scheme of federal government spending, $30,000 isn't that much money. But compare that to the $17,500 federal Department of Agriculture grant in the 1990s that let the EMS unit buy its first ambulance, and it's clear the funds can go a long way.

After that — and a $32,000 loan — the unit grew to include two ambulances, 35 technicians and several drivers.

The latest grant was announced by U.S. Rep Frank LoBiondo R-2nd, on Friday.

So far, 102 similar grants have been given to southern New Jersey EMS units, totaling about $13 million since 2001, LoBiondo said in a release.

This is the first grant from the firefighters program for the township's unit.

“Today's federal grant will further support our first responders, who put their lives on the line daily to keep us safe,” LoBiondo said.

The Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program awards one-year grants directly to fire departments and emergency services. Congress appropriated $485 million in funds for protective gear, emergency vehicles and training in 2006.

BUENA VISTA TOWNSHIP — Mayor Chuck Chiarello, minutes after being reappointed to his post, delivered a State of the Township address that focused on development projects and funding challenges.

At the annual reorganization meeting, the Township Committee made both Chiarello and Teresa Kelly mayor and vice mayor for the 13th consecutive year. Both were re-elected in November during an uncontested election.

Chiarello, who is recovering from knee surgery, said he wanted to be forthright about the near future of the township in his address.

“I do not want to paint too rosy of a picture nor be too gloomy, just realistic,” he said.

One of the major challenges facing the township, he said, is getting state aid for both the municipality and the school district. Another is determining whether the township's court should share services with nearby areas and be regionalized.

The township has seen increases in both property and school taxes in the past several years.

Chiarello also expressed hope for Richland Village, an area that could attract business and tourism and bring more money into the township.

“While we have talked so much about Richland Village in the past couple of years it holds so many possibilities for our future,” he said. “You don't know what can happen until you try.”

This weekend, he said, more than 1,000 people visited the Patcong model railroad museum, and in the upcoming months the Legacy Restaurant, a crafts shop and Italian pizzeria are all expected to open in Richland.

Other developments outside of Richland Village were also mentioned.

“An agreement with the Pinelands Commission will allow the long-awaited Middle School project to move forward and a development of more than 55 age-restricted luxury homes on Lincoln Avenue should add to our ratable base,” he said.