MORRIS PLAINS, NEW JERSEY

'Morris Plains', billing itself "the Community of Caring" and "the Community of Cool", is a Borough in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 5,236.
Morris Plains was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 15, 1926, from portions of Hanover Township, based on the results of a referendum held on April 15, 1926."The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968", John P. Snyder, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 195.
Morris Plains serves as a bedroom community for workers in New York City. The Morristown Line of New Jersey Transit provides commuters with direct access to New York Penn Station and to Hoboken Terminal.
Morris Plains is also a major base of operations for Pfizer, previously the headquarters for Warner-Lambert. Pfizer also sponsors the Health and Medical Science Academy at Morristown High School and has an annual 5k race around Morris Plains.

Contents

Geography

Demographics

Government

Local government

Federal, state and county representation

Education

Notable residents

References

External links

Geography

Morris Plains is located at (40.832049, -74.481342).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 6.8 km² (2.6 mi²). 6.7 km² (2.6 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (0.76%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 5,236 people, 1,955 households, and 1,477 families residing in the borough. The population density was 780.6/km² (2,018.7/mi²). There were 1,994 housing units at an average density of 297.3/km² (768.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the borough was 92.91% White, 1.34% African American, 0.06% Native American, 4.32% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 0.40% from other races, and 0.88% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.69% of the population.
There were 1,955 households out of which 33.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.0% were married couples living together, 7.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.4% were non-families. 19.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.05.
In the borough the population was spread out with 23.5% under the age of 18, 4.4% from 18 to 24, 29.4% from 25 to 44, 26.4% from 45 to 64, and 16.2% who are 65 years of age or older. The average age is 41 years. For every 100 females there were 92.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.6 males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $84,806, and the median income for a family was $98,333. Males had a median income of $75,040 versus $44,554 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $36,553. About 1.5% of families and 2.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.0% of those under age 18 and 2.4% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Local government

Morris Plains operates under the Borough form of government with a Mayor and a six-member Borough Council. The Mayor is elected to a four-year term of office. Borough Council members are elected to serve three-year terms on a staggered basis, with two seats coming up for election each year.
The Mayor of Morris Plains is Frank J. Druetzler. members of the Borough Council are Council President Ralph R. Rotando, Joseph Cecala, Jr., George J. Coogan, Suzanne B. McCluskey, Donald F. Underhill and Stephen S. Welsh.^[1]
The Borough of Morris Plains has a 17 sworn officer police department. The command structure has a chief, two lieutenants, five sergeants and nine patrolmen. They have their own dispatch center who dispatches for the police, fire and first aid departments.

Federal, state and county representation

Morris Plains is in the Eleventh Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 26th Legislative District.^[2]

Education

The Morris Plains Schools educate students from kindergarten through 8th grade. Public schools in the district are Mountain Way School for grades K-2 and Borough School for grades 3-8.
Students in grades 9-12 attend Morristown High School, as part of a sending/receiving relationship with the Morris School District which also serves the communities of Morristown and Morris Township (for grades K-12).
Private schools in Morris Plains include St. Virgil School, a Catholic school serving grades PreK-8 (including PreK3 and PreK4).

Notable residents

★ Some members of the band The Dillinger Escape Plan reside in Morris Plains.

★ Robert Martin, State Senator since 1993 who represents the 26th Legislative District.^[3]

References

1. Borough Council, Borough of Morris Plains. Accessed June 28, 2007.
2. New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government, New Jersey League of Women Voters, p. 61. Accessed August 30, 2006.
3. Legislative webpage for Robert J. Martin, accessed May 6, 2007.

External links

★ Borough of Morris Plains, New Jersey

★ Morris Plains Police

★ Morris Plains Schools

★ St. Virgil School

★

★ National Center for Education Statistics data for the Morris Plains Schools

★ Morristown High School

★ Morris School District

★ Regional area newspaper