BELVIDERE, N.J. — The Warren County commissioners presented New Jersey Association of Counties (NJAC) Foundation scholarships at their July 23 meeting and heard an NJAC representative warn that a pending state bill could shift significant health-benefit costs to county governments.

John Donnadio, a NJAC representative, thanked the board and described the scholarship program that the association funds. Donnadio said NJAC helped raise more than $100,000 in scholarships this year for technical-school graduates and listed scholarship recipients presented at the meeting. He also warned county officials about a state bill, identified in the meeting as A5903, that he said would “eliminate what’s known as Chapter 78” and shift costs. “It’s an awful bill,” Donnadio said, and he told the board the measure would “drastically reduce what employees will be required to pay at the expense of the counties and municipalities and ultimately the taxpayers.” Donnadio said county health benefits account for about $1 billion statewide and consume roughly 15–20% of county budgets.

Commissioner James R. Kern III praised the scholarship recipients and thanked NJAC for securing corporate funding. “Hearing the stories of the recipients is incredible,” Kern said. Commissioner Lori Ciesla said she had attended the Warren Tech graduation and described the school as “a great family” that produces students with “impressive resumes.” Derrick Forsythe, superintendent of the Warren County Technical School, congratulated the students at the presentation.

Scholarships announced by name and sponsor at the meeting included an Amazon scholarship to Kaelly Abad-Quizhpi (Rutgers University, business administration), an AT&T scholarship to Emmaleigh Hozer (Warren County Community College, business management), an Investors Bank scholarship to Julianna Fox (Warren County Community College, early childhood development), an SHI International scholarship to Joseph Lomanto (New Jersey Institute of Technology, civil engineering) and a South Jersey Industries scholarship to Dylan Schulze (Warren County Community College, business administration). The minutes note one recipient, Rylee Mullane, was absent.

The presentation was ceremonial; no formal board action was required for the scholarship announcements. Donnadio’s comments framed a policy concern NJAC intends to raise at a state hearing scheduled the following day, according to the minutes.

Ending: The scholarship presentations recognized local students advancing to college or technical programs while NJAC used the occasion to flag a pending state health-benefits bill the association says could increase county costs.