Department Of Public Works

Members

Main Office

The Department of Public Works (DPW) is comprised of the following departments.

Trash & Recycling Facility

Water and Sewer After-Hours Emergencies

Street Light Outages

Street light outages can be reported to AC Electric at the following phone number 1-800-642-3780.

When calling you will need the location and the pole number which can be found on the pole at approximately eye level. Anyone with computer access can report a street light outage online. Click here to report outage. It is much quicker to report the outage online if possible.

Cold Weather

We want to advise our customers that when extreme cold weather approaches, they should take the time to prepare their buildings to prevent water lines and water meters from freezing. Frozen meters will break and frozen pipes will stop the flow of water and may burst causing flooding later on. The most important preventive measure is to check basements and crawl spaces where water lines are located. Look for cold drafts, open windows, or unheated areas that cause water lines and meters to freeze. Eliminate the drafts and make sure those areas are heated to prevent this inconvenience. Insulating indoor pipes may provide a cheap and effective way to save some money, especially hot water lines. In situations where the underground water line from the street to a building lies near the surface, freezing can take place during periods of little or no water consumption. This can happen only after a prolonged period of extreme cold when the ground freezes to the depth of the water service line.

The freezing occurs in the portion of the water service belonging to the Berlin Water (i.e. from the main to the curb stop) the customer will not be charged for thawing.

If the freezing problem is in the customer’s portion of the service the expense of rectifying the problem, should he/she choose to do so, is his/her responsibility.

Any damage caused to the customer’s portion of the service as a result of freezing and/or thawing must be repaired at the customer’s expense.
Once again, we remind our customers to keep the areas heated where water meters and water service lines exist. If the water meter is damaged due to freezing, the customer will be responsible for a water meter replacement cost.

Snow Alert & Removal

ATTENTION BOROUGH RESIDENTS…

The borough is asking for your cooperation when upcoming snow storms are predicted.

Borough Ordinance 68-1968 states “in order to afford the borough the opportunity to clear the streets of snow and to open the highways to traffic, during the period of snow emergency, no vehicle, howsoever propelled, shall be allowed to stand or park, whether attended or not, upon the highways of the Borough of Berlin, except for picking up or discharging passengers in the case of an omnibus or for picking up or delivering essential merchandise or commodities in the case of other vehicles. Said emergency shall be presumed to continue beyond the seventy two hour period provided herein on those streets of the borough from which the snow has not been removed. Whenever a vehicle is found parked or left standing in violation of the provisions of this article, any police officer of the borough may remove or secure the removal of such vehicle to such garage or other place as may be designated by the Borough Chief of Police for the impounding of such vehicles. Such vehicle shall be retained there and impounded until the person or persons owning said vehicle shall pay the costs of such removal. Violations and penalties shall be subject to a fine of not more than $50 or imprisonment in the county jail of the County of Camden for a period of not more than 15 days, or both, in the discretion of the Judge before whom such conviction is had.”

PLEASE HELP THE BOROUGH STAY SAFE, ESPECIALLY DURING SNOW STORMS BY REMOVING YOUR VEHICLE(S) FROM SIDE STREETS AND ROADWAYS WHEN A SUFFICIENT SNOW STORM IS EVIDENT.

Property Maintenance / Code Enforcement

The Borough of Berlin has established guidelines for residents to follow with regard to the placement of trash and recyclables. This official listing may be found at the town’s website: www.berlinnj.org – Chapter 278-8 of the Berlin Code Book.

The public works department will only take recycled (metal, cardboard, plastic containers, cardboard, and newspaper) material that is placed in the official green top container that was issued by the town. Organics will be taken only if they are placed in a “Rubbermaid” type container. Tree limbs may be set out if they are tied and cut into lengths not to exceed 4 feet in length. All other refuse will be collected only if it placed in the official black top container that was issued to you by the town. Large articles (bulk trash) are collected only on the 1st full week of the month on the same day your regular collections are made. The Public Works Dept. does bulk collection of organics only at specific times of the year. (No containers or bundles that are handled by workers shall exceed 50 pounds, with exception to bulk trash day)

Chapter 278-9 c:

All carts must be set by the occupant in front of the premises at the curb or on the edge of the street with the arrows on the lid pointing toward the street, after 4:00 p.m. of the preceding day and prior to 6:00 a.m. of collection day. The cart must be placed with four feet clearance on all sides to allow for safe and proper collection. The cart must be removed from the street or curb no later than 6:00 p.m. on the day of collection.

Any refuse, trash, debris, organics or bulk items you set out during any other periods of time will be considered a violation of the code.

Public Works Mobile 311 Citizens Site

Introducing Borough of Berlin Department of Public Works Mobile 311 Citizens Site

Berlin Borough’s Mobile311 citizen website allows borough residents to communicate electronically with the Department of Public Works regarding non-emergency requests and concerns. Citizens can access the site from a computer, smartphone, or tablet at http://berlin.mobile311.com. Initial setup only takes a few minutes. Citizens accessing the site from a smartphone or tablet can save the site as an icon, essentially making it an app.

Please see the attachment for full Mobile311 press release. If any resident would like assistance with setup then please call 856-767-7777 x316 or feel free to ask any of the employees inside of Borough Hall for assistance on your next visit.