Municipal Council - Regular Meeting

Kevin together for the boys. Um, just want to say welcome everyone. Uh, happy Black History Month. Um, and I'll just get into it. Statement of proper notice.

Adequate notice of this meeting of the Lawrence Township Council being held on Tuesday, February 17th, 2026 has been prior to the posting of the annual meeting schedule of said council in accordance with section 13 of the public meetings act. Senators was ordered to tronium the times and the principal packet on December 12th, 2025. May we have the inspiration. May we carry out our work at this meeting in a just, honorable, and sincere manner, always bearing in mind our duties and continuing to keep Lawrence a wonderful community in which to live.

I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Can I ask everyone to stay? Could I ask everyone to stay standing for one moment of silence for Jesse Jackson?

Thank you.

Miss Farmer here. Here. Mr. Kaki here. here. Mayor B here. Um, as we're all aware, well aware, uh, we have a vacancy on township council. Um, the Lawrence Municipal Democratic Municipal Committee had forwarded us three individuals, uh, to fill the council vacancy. Sam Baldo, Jeff Ellis, and Bonnie Flanigan Jigglio. Um, we had interviewed them earlier this evening and now I'm opening up the uh opening up for nominations. I'd like to nominate audio details.

Second motion on it. Motion to close nomination. Need a second. Second roll call. Miss Bman. Yes. Mr. Kaki. Yes. Miss Sanchez. Yes. Mayor Bobby.

Yes. Mayor, just a housekeeping. I think you need to have a motion for acclamation of candidate. You close nominations, but actually Mr. Scack for keeping us on the straight and narrow. Um, now that nominations are closed, uh, start have a roll call for Yes,

Mr. uh I'm sorry, Miss. Yes, Mr. Kathy. Yes, Miss Sanchez. Yes. Mayor, yes. Thank you. Thank you. And that's four.

NOW, CONGRATULATIONS. AND I JUST WANT TO SAY TO MR. STATE, MR. BEL, thank you for for putting your names in the hat. I know it's not easy. Um, you've probably seen us and been interviewed by us and had questions as asked by us and the municipal committee multiple times. So, thank you for your service. Please stay involved. Um, as you both have expressed to us, Lawrence Township is a wonderful place. So, we'd love to continue serving Guess we'll square you in this way. Raise your right hand.

All right. Ready? Repeat after me. I I do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution that I will support the Constitution of the United States of the United States and the Constitution and the Constitution of the State of New Jersey of the State of New Jersey that I will bear true faith that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and allegiance to the same and to the government and to the government established in the United States established in the United States and in this state and in this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people. And thou will faithfully And I will faithfully and partially and partially and justly perform and justly perform all the duties of council member all the duties of council member according to the best of my ability.

according to the best of my ability. So help me down.

CONGRATULATIONS. Sorry guys. Thank you. Give me a sec. All right, moving on. Special proclamations, recognitions, and presentations. The 2026 budget presentation. Kevin Pinsky, municipal manager. Thank you. Um, so this kicks off the budget, the formal budget review process by council. Um, our CFO, Peter Puriatus, is not here today, but we do have Christopher Hart, our municipal treasurer, who's here as well. Um, so what I plan to do is to take I think it's 15 minutes of time. So if at 12 minutes you think how long is he going to go on for, just know it's a couple minutes longer. Um, so I will be reading into the record my budget recommendation and then we'll do a very brief um budget update slideshow that will that'll just give a visual of the things that I am reading into the record. Um, first I just want to explain our process. Um, Lawrence Township operates under a council manager form of government established by the Faulner Act. Under this structure, the municipal manager is responsible for preparing and proposing the annual budget. The township council as the elected governing body. We use that proposal may amend it within the limits of state law and ultimately adopts if following a public hearing.

The budget itself is not simply an internal financial document. It is a legally regulated financial plan governed by the New Jersey local budget law. That law requires the budget to be balanced, revenues to be certified and realistic, debt and reserve requirements to be met and property tax levy to comply with the state's levy cap limitations. In addition, our budget is subject to review by the division of local government services to ensure compliance with state standards. The process begins months before introduction happens. Department uh directors submit their operational needs for the coming year. This happens in October. Those requests are reviewed in detail by the administration and our chief financial officer. We evaluate prior year spending, contractual obligations, staffing levels, and capital needs and anticipated revenue such as state aid, local fees, and surplus. We also consider longtime long-term financial stability, including debt service, pension obligations, and health care costs. It's important to understand that the majority of the town's bud budget is driven by fixed or semi-fixed costs upwards to 70 to 80%. salaries, employee benefits, debt service, utilities, insurance, and legally mandated expenditures account for most of our appropriation. That means only a portion of the budget is truly discretionary from year to year. Once the proposed budget is finalized, administratively, it is introduced uh by the council at a public meeting. After introduction, is made available for public inspection. Public hearing is then held allowing residents to comment before council considers final adoption. In short, the Lawrence Township budget reflects three key principles. Compliance with state law, responsible fiscal management in alignment with the policy priorities established by this governing body. This evening's recommended budget represents the product of months of careful analysis and planning. And I look forward to working with the mayor and council through this process and answering any questions you may have as

we move onward. So this is the budget recommendation. As we present the 2026 municipal budget, it is important to acknowledge that Lawrence Township like households and businesses throughout our region continues to experience rising costs across virtually all areas of operation. Increases in goods, services, utilities, insurance, contractual obligations, and statutory mandates, many of which are beyond the township's control, have had a direct impact on this year's budget. While any tax increase is understandably unwelcome, there are circumstances in which adjustments are necessary to maintain essential public services and fiscal stability. The 2026 budget includes a 2cent increase in municipal tax rate, the first municipal increase since 2023. This measured adjustment allows the judge to responsibly address external cost pressures while maintaining and proving the service levels our residents expect. The total municipal budget is 60,469,152.37. The recommended municipal tax rate for 2026 represents a 2cent increase from last year and is 72. 1 cent equals $477,582.3. The amount to be raised by taxation in 2026 is $32,93,972.64. This is an increase of $1,93,79325. The levy cap bank available from 2023 2024 in 2025 is 6,716,286 and we will use zero to remain within the 2% tax levy cap. Note the 2023 cap bank of 3,486,786 expires this year, leaving a usable cap bank of $3,293,13.

The 2025 year end surplus balance is 21,283,54966 down from a 2024 year end balance of 22 million $91,31427 a decrease of $87,7641. The surplus balance remaining available after applying an amount as anticipated in 2026 revenue will be 11,968,54966, a decrease again of $87,76461 over the 2,25 remaining balance. The cash reserve balance for tax appeals is 8,19,4918. The decrease in outstanding debt continues. The 2010 closing balance was $30,797,000. The 2025 closing balance is $5,992,000, reducing our debt by $2,423,000 from last year. So 2026, we have budgeted another $2,423,000 in debt reduction. In addition, the year-end reserve bank balance in self health insurance fund is 1,573,667.93. The 2026 municipal budget appropriates $120,000 to fund this decrease. The municipal open space balance is 5,29,6925. Revenue. Revenues that support the municipal budget come from multiple sources and are placed in one of four categories. Surplus, miscellaneous revenues, receipts from delicant taxes, and the amount to be raised by taxation for current tax receipts. The amount of revenue from each category anticipated support the municipal budget is

controlled by state statutes and regulations. Those legal restrictions are in place to ensure the fiscal solveny of New Jersey municipalities. Generally defined statutory restrictions are as follows. One, surplus is limited to the amount available from fund balanced cash. Two, miscellaneous revenues are limited to no more than the amount realized in cash in the immediately preceding fiscal year for each revenue source. Three, receipts from del delinquent taxes are limited to the collection percentage realized in cash against receivable balance of the prior year. before current taxes are the default revenue necessary to close any gap in revenues to balance the budget against appropriations. The legal provisions that regulate the utilization of revenue in an operating budget must be applied alongside a local policy that anticipates revenues at levels that can be sustained in future budgets and that considers the replenishment of cash surplus. Receipts in excess of what is anticipated in the budget are credit to surplus year end. It is simply the regeneration of surplus. The development of revenue estimates must consider not only the current budget but also future budgets. Failure to craft a budget without sustaining revenues for future use will lead to diminished support of appropriations and increase the demand for taxation. This long-term approach has been applied to prepare the recommended budget. Cash surplus anticipated as budget revenue results from the fiscal activity of the immediate prior fiscal year. The amount of surplus to be applied as budget revenue comes from a known year-end balance. The significant contributors to generating a cash surplus are revenue realized in excess of amounts anticipated in the prior budget year. Laps 2024 appropriation reserves miscellaneous revenue not anticipated. Cash surplus is anticipated as revenue in the 2026 recommended budget of

$9,315,000. Surplus is 15 and 4100s% of total budget revenues. Miscellaneous revenues are from known and recurring sources. Permanent fees, interest, income, and state aid. The amount of revenue from this category is limited by statute to not being anticipated in the current year's budget in excess of what was collected from the same identical source in immediately prior year. Miscellaneous revenues are 296100% of the total budget revenues. Receipts from delinquent taxes are payments on outstanding prior year receivables and tax title leans held by municipality. The year-end tax receivable balance is 1,337,1282. The 2026 budget anticipates 1,150,000 as revenue from this source. The delinquent tax revenue is 1 and 900s% of the total budget. Property taxes are the amount necessary to balance the budget with revenues equal to appropriations. Property taxes, also referred to as the amount to be raised by taxation, are the difference between the total of all budget appropriations and the total of anticipated revenues. The amount to be raised by taxation in 2026 budget is 32,93,972.64. This is an increase of 1,93,79325. Property taxes is 53 and 800% of the total revenues. When calculating the tax rate, it is necessary to know not only the amount of taxes to be collected, but also the value of taxable property in the municipality, also known as the net valuation taxable. The 2026 net valuation taxable is 4 bill775,820,300. This is an increase of 21,361,000

over the previous year. The increase in the taxable value, though 35% less than last year, helps to support budget growth. The new taxable value results in a tax rate of one penny, equaling $477,582.3. The recommended municipal tax rate for 2026 is 672, a 2cent increase. A residential property owner with a property valued at the 2026 average residential assessment of $289,900 will pay $1,948.13 or $73 more in municipal property taxes. Appropriations. While crafting the 2026 recommended municipal budget, the challenge remains in implementing financially efficient services at an appropriate level. The New Jersey municipal budgets are restricted by law appropriation cap to limit designated appropriations from increasing no more than two and a half% of the cost of living adjustment, whichever is less or with exceptions. For fiscal year 2026, per the NJDCA, the cost of living adjustment was 2%. Below is a significant are the significant increases in our appropriations. Complete health benefits inside and outside caps is 1 million 380,8401. Salary and wages 1,146,500. Pension contributions to PFRS and PERS $217,82659. Uh insurance $156,66055. MCI recycling $66,485. Social Security and Medicare 49,000. So the total of our appropriations from last year to this year is $3,17,31255.

The recommended budget includes $55,000 to Lawrence Township unemployment fund, 120,000 to the self- insurance trust fund, and 51,000 to Lawrence Township accumulated sick leave trust fund. These are consistent annual uh annual budget contributions. Lawrence Township Municipal employees are provided health benefits or may qualify for a cash payment in le of those benefits if they meet the applicable eligibility requirements of the healthcare program. Health benefits are provided through the New Jersey state health benefits program which dict dictates specific benefits and co-ayments. Employees contribute a percentage of the premium from their applicable coverage and the salary levels guide these percentage contributions. Employees will contribute $1,980,886146 towards their health benefits. The employee group health insurance appropriation increased to $1,380,89041 26% 26.32%. The appropriation increased due to rate changes, participation and new hires. Lawrence councel employees are members of the public employee retirement system, police and fire retirement system and defined contribution retirement plan. Participation in these systems require contributions from employees and the employer. Police and fire employees contribute 10% of their salary and civilian employees contribute 7 and 500%. for PRS and 5 and 12% for the DCRP. The employee rates of contribution are 36 and 7500% for police, 16 and 3600% for PERS and 3% for the DCP participants. The 2026 appropriation for the PFRS is 2,353,78. PES 1,328,4269

and DCRP is 9500. State of New Jersey fully administers the pension system. Lawrence Township is build annually from the employee share of the pension liability to PFRS and PES. The systems are valuable are valued on prior wage levels two years prior for PERS and PFRS. The UN Lawrence sewage authority provides sewer treatment services to Euing Township and Lawrence Township. The cost of that service is controlled by Elsa and is portioned to each municipality based on flow levels received at the plant. Each town will pay the debt service on specific projects that benefit its community. For 2026, the annual charge for Lawrence Township is $6,239,5526 with no rate increase to the end users Township residents. The appropriations paid from sewer service fees collected separately for real estate taxes. The appropriation for debt service includes appropriations for ban bond anticipation notes interest in the amount of $237,680 $18,389.31 cents in lease payments related to police vehicles. statutory ban payments of $290,74310 and 2,132,256.90 may ban rollover payments to further decrease the township's outstanding debt with an anticipated settlement date in 2028. The reserve for uncollected taxes is a non-spending appropriation mandated by state law to collect sufficient cash through taxes to meet the school, county, and municipal tax levying requirements. The appropriation is needed to close the gap between the current taxes anticipated and 100% being collected. This appropriation is 4,46,19861, of which approximately 12.61% 61% is attributable to the municipal portion of

the tax report. I want to thank Peter Kiraatus and our financial uh staff uh with putting this together and all our department heads who participated in the process. I left in front of you uh the recommended budget which will be available online through our website. I left for you a supplemental budget review materials that has been produced over the last couple years that kind of targets specific areas of interest for that you've identified to me and um we'll just briefly if I can give you the budget schedule. So tonight, February 17th, we're doing the recommended budget. March 3rd, 2026, department head presentations. March 17, 2026 is the introduction of the 2026 municipal budget. And April 21st, 2026 is the public hearing adoption. I'm going to ask Chris, could you go up and we're going to just do the slideshow that'll just put a visual to some of the numbers that I threw at you. Yeah. Okay. And this this slideshow will also be available on our website in the finance department. So if you click gez I can't see that. All right. So this is a broad view of our revenue sources against our appropriation sources. And so the use of surplus I've identified is 9,315,000. Uh the uh in revenue anticipated is 17,95,179173 to link with taxes 1,150,000. So what that does, we put those three numbers against what our appropriations total is and the difference has to be um made up through the amount that we are

need to raise for taxes. excess municipal tax levy which is 32,93,97264. So our total budget as you can see from both sides revenue sources and appropriation is 60,464,15237. Now some of you have seen in the past our budget has gone up I think as high as $68 million. That's that's through generally driven by our grants that we receive from year to year. We we receive different amounts of grants. one year we had a really good grant year. So grants are put into the budget, but they also can increase the total budget because they're on both sides. Their their revenue and their appropriation. So looking at that number alone, you can't really identify um whether or not we our spending is to the point where it's problematic. That's just a number um that gets us very close but doesn't really take into consideration the grant game that we have in Lawrence Township. Next one. And this just gives a brief description of our levy cap and appropriation banks. We tend to not be able to have to use our our banks too much if at all. Um major revenue sources surface we're using VAM at 9 9,315. Elsa state aid. State aid has been very very consistent over the last no like I don't know 5 10 years. It's 4 million 31,31698. This is something that I can tell you concerns a lot of um CFOs and municipal managers and business administrators who are crafting budgets from year to year. We don't know what our state aid will be um from year to year. And it gets more speculative with the instability that we're kind of seeing in with states like us interacting with the federal government. Federal government provides

a state with uh federal funding and I think our state aid has some kind of uh impact on what they distribute um to municipalities. If they're getting less from the federal government, we we could anticipate getting less. Next slide. These are our major appropriations. These are the major costs for our budget. And uh a lot of these um we can't we can't control. We wake up on January 1st, 12:01 a.m. And um a majority of these are it is what it is and we have to figure out ways uh to keep pace so we can continue to deliver the services that our um residents expect, residents and business expect. Next. And this is our um tax rate from year to year. You can see the difference 0 72 from 652. The difference is 2 cents. The school rate. This is our debt service. This is what we're going to be rolling over. 5 million 942,000. And we've always said over the last couple years that we're targeting the end of 2027 to be debtree. and it it seems to be on target for that. So, we're well situated. If we have any capital significant capital improvements, we'll be a town that has um I think top-notch financial stability. And this is some of our capital budget. Um this is what we need to uh spend to keep ourselves able to provide the services. police non-p police body cam digital storage AI body cam incident report transcriptions police AI served and software public safety equipment body of vehicle cameras and fire rescue equipment next

and this is a part of our capital budget continued these are some this is where a lot of the money is going and you can see our um our fire apparatus. Um we are saving towards a new fire apparatus road improvements. Okay, next. And this is what the pie looks like. We're at the top left. 21104. The 5320 is the state. I guess we got to change the names there. Chris, remember that

category names? Um, and the brown is the county. And up there, that slice of green is our open space tax. Okay, that's it. What do you got next? All right. So, there there we have it. I've given you these documents for review. I'm available to all of you whenever I've already met with all of you individually to discuss what I was presenting you today. So I'll be available to you throughout the process. We're going to make all of these documents um available to on our website for people to view the transparency purposes and the next date we will have department heads come in and provide the presentations. I get um any questions from council.

Um just real quick um having gone through something similar before the you mentioned the average um tax increase for the homeowners would be about $73. Can you just shed some light on what a home's assessed value is versus what a home's like value Zillow value is? Oh yeah. So for property assessment purposes um in Lawrence Township, our average value is 289,900. That's not that's not market rate value. That's that value that uh the first value that I indicated was the value that we use um to establish a tax rate in the tax bill for each property.

Is there a place homeowners can go to find their assessed value, the assessed value of their home?

Tax assessment office. Yep. available for that. It's also available online as well in our website details. Any other questions for council opportunities both publicly and privately? So, um thank you Andrew. Um with that public participation 5 minute limitation Good evening, Mayor and Council. Uh, I come before you tonight to comment on the $3 million whistleblower lawsuit that the council

I'm sorry, if you could just say your name. Oh, great. Please. Thank you.

Uh, that the council put a press release out on. Uh, in regards to the press release, I disagree with the wording that no township funds were used for the settlement. And the reason for that is that that $3 million settlement was real and paid for by taxpayer funded premiums by the municipalities that are members of a joint insurance fund, which Lawrence is a member of the chair. So, there were some taxpayer funds that involved in that. In regards to the lawsuit, I uh I read the complaint and found a concerning deposition that the council needs to respond to. I'm not going to get into the details tonight since the council has not had time to read it. I am however going to ask each of you to sit down with me to discuss the contents once you have read it. Um such as Councilman Kaki, you always say you'll sit down with people to talk. Well, you know, now's the time. Um, I know Mayor Bobby, you'll get back to me. Um, but I would like to talk to everybody after they read it. Uh, I have the relevant pages of the deposition for you to read. And, um, I just want to sit down and have a conversation with everybody. That's all. It's for you. Thank you.

Uh, thank you for your time. I appreciate it. Thank you, Mr. P, for the homework assignment. Look forward to seeing you. Thank you. I appreciate it. Anyone else public comment review and revision of the agenda? Mr. Do we need a close session? We do not.

Thank you. Now, do we need to amend the agenda to remove it or just not? Uh, it's standard to be on there. You probably for record keeping you you should remove it. Okay. Motion to remove the session. I was going to ask, can I can I get a motion to remove 18 H8 from the agenda? Not on there. Say if needed. There's no number. Oh, we didn't.

No, there is a number. Oh, there's no there's no resolution, right? Resolution. It's just always going to be on there if needed. Agenda amended to. So, we don't need the county yet. Okay. Thank you.

I will move on to eight minutes of previous meetings. separately. Yes, I do these separately. Make a motion to uh the adoption of minutes for our regular meeting December 2nd, 2025. Second.

Yes, Mr. K. Yes, Mr. Green. Don't think I turned it on. I'll just yell. Yes. Mayor. Yes. I have a motion for motion for the adoption for regular meeting December 16th, 2025. Second. Miss Farmer. Yes, Mr. Kaki. Yes, Miss Gria. Abstain. Miss Sanchez.

Abstain. Mayor B. Yes. Uh motion for AC for a special meeting December 30th, 2025. Second. Farmer. Yes. Mr. Kaki, yes. Mr. Ker, abstain. Miss Santos, yes. Mayor, yes.

No, no bids. So, we'll move on to introduction of ordinances. Have a motion for 10 A. 10 A. Introduction of ordinance number 255-26. Ordinance amending chapter 435 of the Lawrence Township administrative code entitled vehicles and traffic designation of one-way traffic pattern for public alley. Second. Thank you. Yeah. This this designates a one-way traffic pattern for a public alley between Pear Street and Strawberry Street. This arises from a request from nearby property owners. Was investigated, considered, and recommended by our municipal engineer. Thank you. Any questions for council at this moment?

Miss Farmer. Yes. Mr. Kaki, yes. Miss Glo, abstain. Miss Sanchez, yes. And mayor, yes. No audences for adoption. Manager's report. I don't have anything. You sure? I mean, you probably had 15 minutes. Thank you. Attorney's report. Mr. Clerk's report.

Hey, sh. There's no unfinished business. New business. Appointments to committees and boards. Is going to make a motion for public safety. Let's get to that. I would like to nominate Christopher Lair for a 2-year unexpired term on policy. Make that motion. Second.

Mr. Farmer. Yes. Mr. Kaki. Yes. Miss Gio, abstain. Miss San Dress. Yes. Mayor, yes. And was there another member? Okay. All right. Councilman, do you want to do you want do you want me to to share that or do you want to share that with the public? Okay. Mr. Mr. M you would like to hold that for till next meeting just to do a little more. I believe that was those were the only two for this evening. Um unless

those were the only two. Okay. Thank you. Um participation three. I'm going to close public participation. Now we'll move on to 18 resolutions. Okay. I'd like to move to block 18A through 18 H7. Second,

Miss Farmer. Yes. M. Yes.

Yes. Mayor Mayor. Yes. Council initiatives and less. I know it's early in the year, but

uh I just wanted to mention a few things. Um, growth and redevelopment met on February 10th. We do have a job fair tomorrow, uh, February 19th at the Quaker Bridge Mall from 5 to 7:00 p.m. So share with your friends and families who uh, family members who may be looking for employment. There will be a lot of good opportunities to speak with people there. Um, we discussed plan some other events we're planning uh, throughout the year, some things around AI for business owners, stuff like that. Um the wars alcohol and drug alliance also met a few weeks ago and uh NAMI has some events coming up that I'll have more information about probably next time uh including a family def family seminar and a fundraiser in May. So um and we did welcome Dasher to our alliance. So that was great. And discuss some um good services for people struggling with substance abuse that are available now. So,

all good things. Thank you. Anyone else?

Okay. Um, I just want to say thank you so much. I'm very excited. Um, I've served on recreation for a long time. So, I just wanted to say if you know, thank you so much to rec uh the rec department for the um the candle light walk at um Colonial Lake. Hopefully, people were able to go out and see that. Obviously, there's many more wreck uh events coming up, but that one that just happened. Um, and then I don't know if you're going to mention the fire. You got it. Okay. So, thank you so much. Um um just that I shared with you all um I sent it to the clerk. The 250th committee of Barnes Township is looking to um banners for L 206. So we'll be talking about that more in the future, but you have now um a drawing of what that looks like.

Wonderful. Thank you. Yeah, I was just I was going to mention the uh public safety committee is going to have a meeting tomorrow here, correct? At 6:30 to discuss the uh the fire service. Um we're going to have our new consultant here. Um so so it should be a good informative uh opportunity for the public to wave and also hear what the consultant's already been working. So look forward to seeing you all here tomorrow at 6:30. With that, I will entertain a motion to adjourn. Second