Lunch Programs, Restaurant Weeks, Emergency Shelter In 2023 Plans For Burlington County

BURLINGTON COUNTY, NJ — Felicia Hopson will lead the Burlington County Commissioners again this year, and the county announced plans for public services and supporting local businesses in 2023.

The Board of Commissioners selected Hopson, of Willingboro, as the director and Tom Pullion as deputy director at their organizational meeting last Thursday at the Historic Olde Courthouse in Mount Holly.

Jim Kostoplis was installed as the Burlington County Sheriff, and Commissioner Allison Eckel was sworn in for a new three-year term, the county said.

Hopson, the second Black woman to serve in this leadership post, was also the board’s director in 2020 and 2021. She spoke on some of the county’s achievements in her four years on the Board, and announced county plans for the new year.

“We are a leader in protecting public safety and public health,” she said. “We helped our veterans obtain more than $15 million in benefits. We supported and promoted our small businesses. We enhanced our county parks and created additional trails. And we did all that and still kept our county affordable with the lowest average county tax in New Jersey.”

Hopson said the County intends to keep distributing free lunches to food-insecure residents, a program that launched in 2022 with events in Mount Holly and Pemberton. Commissioners plan to organize two Burlington County Restaurant Weeks in 2023 following the 2022 promotion, the county said. The first will be in March and the second will be held in August.

The county also plans to schedule monthly business tours in various downtown shopping areas to promote shopping local. Finally, Hopson said the county is progressing with plans to create a permanent emergency shelter, and expects to announce project details shortly.

“We are a community of compassion, one that welcomes residents of all races, nationalities and backgrounds. We work to protect the vulnerable and lift up the underserved,” Hopson added. “It is our responsibility as elected leaders to make sure that tradition continues and our actions reflect those values. We must remain community-focused and mission-driven.”

State Senator Troy Singleton (D-NJ-7) administered the oaths to Hopson, Eckel, and Kostoplis.

“I am so incredibly proud of all that the Burlington County Board of Commissioners has accomplished,” he said. “Collectively, the Commissioners have focused on making our County government work efficiently, keeping our county an affordable place to live, and ensuring that services are accessible to everyone who needs them. I am confident that this progress will continue, and even be enhanced, under the able leadership of Commissioner Director Hopson.”