Township Council - Regular Meeting

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I hereby call this meeting Howell Township Council to order. Opening statement, please. This meeting is being held in accordance with the provisions of the Open Public Meetings Act and adequate notice of this meeting has been advertised in the manner prescribed by law. This agenda is complete to the extent known and formal action will be taken. Councilman Councilman Nadel? Here. Councilwoman O'Donnell? Here. Councilman Rubel? Here. Deputy Mayor Fischer? Here. Mayor Leggio? Here. Mr. Gross, is there a executive session now? Yes, there is. We need to go in, so resolution R-26-175. Motion. Second. Councilman Nadel? Yes. Councilwoman O'Donnell? Yes. Councilman Rubel?

Yes. Deputy Mayor Fischer? Yes.

Mayor Leggio? Yes. I hereby reconvene the Council meeting on May 12th, 2026. May I have a roll call, please? Councilman Nadel? Here. Councilwoman O'Donnell? Here. Councilman Rubel? Here. Deputy Mayor Fischer? Here. Mayor Leggio? Here. Will everyone please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance and a moment of individual prayer? I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. Start off with some proclamations. Sue. National Police Week, Peace Officers Memorial Day, May 11th to the 17th of 2026. Whereas there are approximately 900,000 law enforcement officers serving communities across the United States, including the dedicated members of the Howell Township Police Department. And whereas Peace Officers Memorial Day was created on October 1st, 1961, when Congress authorized President John F. Kennedy to designate May 15th to honor peace officers. The week of each year during which May 15th occurs was proclaimed National Police Week. And whereas the police officers of America work devotedly and selflessly on behalf of the people of this nation, regardless of the peril or hazard to themselves, these officers safeguard the lives and property of their fellow Americans. And

whereas during Police Week, tens of thousands of law enforcement officers from around the world converge on Washington, D.C. to participate in events that honor law enforcement officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty. And whereas the names of these dedicated public servants are engraved on the walls of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C., where members of law enforcement, survivors, and citizens can gather to honor those who gave their lives in the line of duty. Now, therefore, the governing body of the Township of Howell does hereby proclaim the week of May 11th to the 17th of 2026 as National Police Week and May 15th as as Peace Officers Memorial Day in the Township of Howell and encourage all citizens to recognize the dedicated service of the law enforcement officers of Howell Township and across the nation. Um Is Brooke here for the Apraxia? Proclamation? Here she come. Hey, Brooke. She's coming down, kid. He's so cute. Okay. Apraxia Apraxia Awareness Day, May 14th, 2026. Whereas, May 14th, 2026 marks Apraxia Awareness Day, during which awareness will be raised throughout Howell Township about childhood apraxia of speech, an extremely challenging speech disorder that affects 1 in 1,000 children with a third having a genetic causal basis. And whereas, childhood apraxia of speech, or CAS, causes children to have significant difficulty learning to speak and is among the most severe speech deficits in children. And whereas, as the act of learning to

speak comes effortlessly to most children, those with apraxia require early, appropriate, and intensive speech therapy, often for many years, to learn to speak. And whereas, without appropriate speech therapy intervention, children with apraxia will have diminished communication skills and are also at high risk for secondary impacts in reading, writing, spelling, and other school-related skills. And whereas, such primary and secondary impacts diminish future independence and employment opportunities and challenge the ability to become productive contributing citizens if not resolved or or improved. And whereas public awareness about childhood apraxia of speech is essential for families of children with this neurological disorder and the professionals who support them to achieve the needed services for those learning to use their own voice. And whereas our highest respect goes to these children and their families for their effort, determination, resilience and the face and resilience in the face of such obstacles. Now therefore the governing body of the Township of Howell does hereby proclaim May 14th, 2026 as Apraxia Awareness Day in Howell Township to increase awareness and understanding of childhood apraxia of speech. I'm going to give this to you. Okay.

[applause]

On to acceptance of minutes from previous meeting. Move to accept minutes. Second. Councilman Nadell? Yes. Councilwoman O'Donnell? Yes. Councilman Rubel? Yes. Deputy Mayor Fischer? Yes.

Mayor Leggio? Yes. All right folks, we're going to be reversing this agenda tonight. We're going to put the budget first. And then we will be we will visit the ordinances after because the we need to get the budget through. And um so I'm going to make a motion to you know, move the budget uh part of our agenda to now. I'll make a motion to uh readjust the agenda order. Second. Councilman Nadell? Yes. Councilwoman O'Donnell? Yes. Councilman Rubell? Yes. Deputy Mayor Fisher? Yes.

Mayor Leggio? Yes. So, on to the hearing part of the budget. I'm going to make a for public comment. Can I please have a motion to open open public hearing? Motion to open public for the 2026 budget. Second. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Who would like to come up and speak on budget only? We will have other parts of the meeting to discuss ordinances and regular uh public comment. No one from the the public wants to talk about the budget.

[laughter] Really? Yes. That's all I WANTED TO HEAR. [applause] WE'LL TAKE IT. WE'LL TAKE IT. YEAH, THAT'S RIGHT. Don't ask twice. Oh. All right. Merry Christmas. [laughter]

Make a make a a motion to club close public hearing. Motion to close public. Second. All in favor? Aye. All right. Well, there's no need for a response to public comment. So, thank you all for coming out. Um on to resolution R-26-173. Are we going to vote? Resolution determining that the township's budget for the 2026 fiscal year shall be read by title only. Motion. I'll second that. Councilman Nadell? Yes. Councilwoman O'Donnell? Yes. Councilman Rubell? Yes. Deputy Mayor Fisher?

Yes. Mayor Leggio? Yes. Resolution R-26-174. Resolution assuming responsibility for budget examination of the 2026 municipal budget and certifying that the 2026 municipal budget has fulfilled all necessary statutory requirements. Motion. Second. Councilman Nadell? Yes. Councilwoman O'Donnell? Yes. Councilman Rubell? Yes. Deputy Mayor Fisher? Yes. Mayor Leggio? Yes. Resolution R-26-153 Adoption of the 2026 municipal budget. Motion. Motion. Second. Councilman Nadell? Yes. Councilwoman O'Donnell? Yes. Councilman Rubell? Yes. Deputy Mayor Fisher?

Yes. Mayor Leggio? Yes. And the budget is adopted. All right. Reports from the township officials. Mr. Gross. Thank you, Mayor. I I just wanted to mention to the public it's what a what a beautiful day today as we approach summer. And as [clears throat] Excuse me. [cough]

As we approach summer, um historically because of um staff summertime hours, the township has been closed on Friday afternoons during the summer. Um I'm pleased to announce that uh we we're going to be doing a a different schedule for our summertime hours with the staff this year and as a basis of that uh the township off- some township offices will not be closed on Friday afternoons. So, we'll be open our regular hours to the public. So, I wanted to make sure the public was AWARE OF THAT. [applause]

ALL RIGHT. ON TO THE HEARING OF CITIZENS AND PUBLIC comment for consent agenda and general matters. Is there a list? Uh before we go on, I I just need a few more people to go into our overflow room. We keep having more and more people in here. We're reaching capacity issues, so please we need more people to go back into our overflow room. These are fire code occupancy standards, so I I need everybody to listen. And during public comment, people are welcome to come from the overflow room back in the here when it when you want to comment, but until that time I need people to go into the overflow room. Thank you. What? Uh they're saying overflow is full. Oh. Overflow is full. Full of seats or people standing? It's overflowing. One moment.

[applause]

Otherwise, we're going to have to move the meeting. Right? It's for the county now. I I need to tell them Okay. Certainly, they can come. Okay. Like Yeah. Okay.

Would you like that motion? Folks, we need a motion for a recess. The police officers need to do a head count in this room, the overflow room, and the hallway to make sure we're not exceeding our capacity. So, please be patient. Motion to recess. Second. All in favor? Aye.

[snorts]

All right, everyone. Sorry to announce we have over capacity at in this room and our overflow room, our additional room is unavailable tonight. So, we are going to have to cancel the rest of the meeting because we can't meet our open meeting requirements. Uh, these ordinances that I feel a large majority of you are here for tonight will be rescheduled in the future. I don't have a date to tell everybody. Um, they'll be advertised online once rescheduled and we will likely reschedule in a larger venue. Mayor, I'm going to need you to adjourn the meeting. All right. Motion to adjourn? Motion to adjourn. Second. All in favor? Aye.