page_title: Holmdel Township, New Jersey
section_title: Local government
hierarchical_section_title: Holmdel Township, New Jersey / Government / Local government
caption_attribution_description: AT&amp;T's Holmdel lab complex, including its trademark water tower.
context_page_description: Holmdel Township, often referred to as simply Holmdel, is a township in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 16,773, reflecting an increase of 992 from the 15,781 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 4,249 from the 11,532 counted in the 1990 Census.
  Holmdel Township was formed by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 23, 1857, from portions of Raritan Township. The origin of the township's name is unclear, with some sources indicating that it was named for the Holmes family, who were early settlers of the area, while others point to Dutch language words Holm and Del, meaning "pleasant valley".
  Holmdel is located 15 miles west of the Jersey Shore. The township is notable, among other things, for its historical and present connection to Bell Labs. Important evidence for the Big Bang was discovered at a Bell Labs facility in Holmdel by Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson, both of whom won the Nobel Prize in Physics for their work here. In addition, former Secretary of Energy Steven Chu earned a Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on laser cooling in Holmdel.
context_section_description: Holmdel Township is governed under the Township form of New Jersey municipal government, one of 141 municipalities (of the 565) statewide that use this form, the second-most commonly used form of government in the state. The Township Committee is comprised of five members, who are elected directly by the voters at-large in partisan elections to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with either one or two seats coming up for election each year as part of the November general election in a three-year cycle. At an annual reorganization meeting, the Township Committee selects one of its members to serve as Mayor and another as Deputy Mayor. The Township Committee exercises control over the conduct of municipal business by means of legislation through ordinances or resolutions, approval and adoption of the annual budget and the formulation of policy to be carried out by the staff.
  As of 2020, members of the Holmdel Township Council are Mayor Gregory Buontempo (R, term on committee and as mayor ends December 31, 2020), Cathy Weber (I, term on committee ends 2022; term as deputy mayor ends 2020), Thomas Critelli (R, 2021), Rocco F. Pascucci (R, 2020) and Prakash Santhana (I, 2022).
  Deputy Mayor Serena DiMaso left office in January 2012 to fill the vacant seat of Robert D. Clifton on the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders. Joseph Ponisi was selected to fill Dimaso's vacant seat and took office in January 2012, then was elected to the remainder of her term in the November 2012 general election.
caption: AT&T Holmdel and water tower
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