Town Council Notifications - Regular Meeting

Adequate notice of this meeting as required by the Open Public Meetings Act was provided through the posting, mailing, and filing of the annual notice of regularly scheduled meetings of the Town Council on December 10th, 2025. The notice was on that date posted on the bulletin board in the municipal building, provided to the Westfield Leader and the Star-Ledger, and filed with the clerk of the Town of Westfield. Ms. Laumeyer, may I have a roll call? Mayor Brindle. Here. Council members Gilman. Yes, here. Here. Becker. Here. Kiefer. Saunders. Here. Adwar, Armento. Here. Venkatraman. Here. Please rise for the invocation which will be given by Councilman Venkatraman, and then remain standing for the salute to the flag. As we gather here today, let us be mindful of the diversity of beliefs represented in our community. Let us draw upon the values of respect, understanding, and unity as we deliberate and make decisions for the betterment of our town. May wisdom guide our discussions and compassion govern our actions. 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. Good evening, and thanks to everyone who is joining us tonight, both here in a person and via the live stream on the tube, the town's YouTube channel. As always, the replay of this meeting will be available on Facebook, YouTube, and TV 36. Public comment will be accepted in person only. Uh I'm going to make a few brief remarks before we begin tonight's agenda. Uh thank you to the police department and the Westfield Optimist Club for hosting another successful Easter egg hunt on Sunday in Mindowaskin Park, with support from the

fire department, the rescue squad, uh recreation, and DPW. We had a great turnout from the community for this popular annual event. I'd also like to thank everyone who stopped by my latest town talks last week at Lions Roar, where I enjoyed the opportunity to answer some questions, uh and enjoyed some casual conversations with our residents. Now that spring is officially here, I'm looking forward to the many town events scheduled in the weeks and months ahead. Tonight, we are introducing Westfield's 2026 municipal operating and capital budgets. Thank you to our bipartisan Finance Policy Committee and our professional staff who have worked diligently over the past 2 months to develop a fiscally responsible budget that reflects our shared priorities, the needs of our community, and our long-term responsibilities. We are fortunate to benefit from their expertise and commitment. Thank you. As you'll hear tonight, Westfield remains in strong fiscal health, positioning us to continue making strategic investments in our community. Public safety is a top priority. This budget supports continued investment in our upgraded 911 system, competitive compensation for our first responders, investing in technology to aid in public safety efforts, and expanded road and pedestrian safety initiatives. Some of this work is already underway, including the installation of flashing vehicle-activated stop signs and pedestrian beacons at key intersections throughout town. In addition, we are continuing productive discussions with the county regarding speed limit reductions on county roads throughout Westfield. Our investments in road work will also deliver necessary drainage improvements, including pipe size increases and new storm inlets. These measures reflect the input of our residents in areas throughout town that continue to experience storm water management issues. The budget also reflects our commitment to enhancing our parks and recreational facilities with the Tamaques Park plan advancing this year, and the upcoming installation of expanded parking and new facilities at Sid Fay Houlihan.

At the same time, like many municipalities across New Jersey, we are experiencing significant increases in non-discretionary costs, notably in health care, utilities, pensions, and sewer services, which has placed additional pressure on our budget. Therefore, the Finance Policy Committee has recommended an adjustment to the municipal portion of our tax bills, which for the average assessed home amounts to an increase of approximately $80 per year. This budget demonstrates a careful and measured approach balancing these external cost increases and broader economic trends with a high level of services that our town provides while continuing to invest in our infrastructure and our community. As you'll see in tonight's presentation, this budget positions us well for the year ahead and I remain confident in our ability to meet the needs of our community while maintaining long-term fiscal responsibility and stability. Following tonight's introduction, the public hearing and final vote of the budget adoption will take place on April 21st. Let's begin and I'm going to pass it to our administrator, Mr. Jim Gildea. Thank you, Mayor. Um and thank you uh to the public on TV 36 and the ones in the room here. So, we have a short presentation tonight for the budget. Before I start, let me just say uh I want to thank the finance committee. Uh we have a new mayor and council this year. Um it's a lot to learn in a short time. So, Councilman Vic uh and Councilman Becker, thank you for being on the committee and jumping in in with both feet. And Councilman Kiefer and Councilwoman Damagala, thanks for being uh people to calm them down the first being or 2 years. So, it's uh we had really great, very busy uh January, February. Uh we the finance committee meets multiple times a week and some on some Saturdays. Uh but it takes that long to go through and kind of learn the process and

understand all the pieces. It's not your normal finance. And I also want to thank the mayor who has been in the office almost every day and uh he's been willing to jump in and learn um the process again uh as the mayor, which is important because um again, it's not your normal finance as you would have in in the public in the private sector. So, tonight we're just going to run through the mayor hit some of the points. We'll go into more detail here uh just so the public can um uh understand this a little better. And this presentation, by the way, will be posted on our website uh uh after the meeting. And again, for anyone who's interested, you can go on our website and find uh multiple years in the past of presentations, budget documents, audit reports, etc. Um one last thing, just to thank you for the some of the department heads that are here in the room, the chief uh Battle Louro, Chief Dokes, uh uh public works director Craig Gibson, Alan McGinley library director, Dan Hansen, Lauren uh recreation and assistant recreation director, Scott Olson and CFO, our assistant administrator, our public information officer. Uh we have a really great staff, uh those who are here and not here. And I think the committee sees that when we go through, we hear and meet with each one of them. Uh and um it's important for, you know, there's a lot of numbers up here, but we are in the people business. And we have great people who run the town and uh we also serve the members of this public very, very well. So, um okay. So, again, just some of the people, myself, of course, I've been here way too long. Um and uh we have Scott Olson who's our CFO, a phenomenal CFO. Uh and Heather, my assistant administrator here who's been with this in this end of the hall now after her days in recreation for I think over 3 years now uh doing a great job. But in addition to that, I mentioned the committee, Councilman uh Vic uh who's the chair of the committee this year, uh Councilman Drew Becker, vice chair, Councilwoman Damagala, Councilwoman Kiefer on the committee. That's important uh to have a good group of people that are willing to listen and learn. And then just lastly, we have um important Supplee Clooney and Rogan McCarthy. Um they're sort of behind the scenes and the committee

knows this and the council will hear more about this. Having an auditing firm that obviously does the audit independently is important. They also assist when we need budget assistance uh and the CFO is uh in communication with us as necessary. And Rogan McCarthy is our bond counsel. That comes into a lot of importance when we do our capital budget and we'll talk more about that in a little bit. So, we have a really great team. We're really lucky to have a great team. Um [clears throat]

Budget process. So, the we've been doing this process for quite some time, most of the time I've been here. It does work very well. Important to just highlight a few things and why this is important. So, couple things about the process. Parallel to the budget being formulated over the course of uh you know, late last year, early this year, uh is the capital budget. That's kind of goes in in parallel with this process. So, every municipality in the state of New Jersey must submit a 6-year capital plan as part of your resolution that you uh provide in the budget. We do that, of course. Um what we do spend extra time doing with the committee and the council is focusing on 3 years um because a lot can change in 6 years. So, we focus on 3 years uh so we can plan things out, budget accordingly, uh and also uh budget not only this year, but plan for next year. What is our town payment going to be? What is our debt service going to look like? So, we're planning strategically as we can. So, we focus on a 6-year plan, we focus on 3 years, and those things are what you might expect, roads, public safety, equipment, drainage, etc. Parks and recreation as well. The actual municipal budget process starts with the department heads. Um late in the year, we're closing out our books, talking to the CFO, uh fin- finalizing things of that year's budget, and then they're formulating their following year's budget. And then we meet independently, Heather and I and Scott, with every department head talking about their needs, their desires, the things that went well, things that didn't go to go well, staffing proposals, all the sorts of things. We work on that last 2 months of the year. And then in January, we meet with our um auditors and and bond counsel about how we ended up the year, what our future debt service is going to be. And that then leads to the finance committee meetings where we come in and we talk about exactly how the previous year ended, where we're starting off with, um and um and you know, obviously with the financial experts. That puts us on a level playing field for the future uh of this calendar year budget. Now, we are a calendar year budget town. It's a little

strange. We're approving and adopting our budget in April by state regulation and yet it's been in place since January. We're operating on a temporary budget. Uh most every town operates the same way. That's a state regulation. So, um we are um we plan uh we we work on the budget. Right now, we're operating on a temporary budget. Uh but again, department heads start everything. We then meet with the finance committee as it says here, January 29th was our meeting with the financial experts, auditors, etc. Uh had a great meeting there. We then meet with department heads from January 21st through March 13th. That's usually twice a week, sometimes three times a week. Department heads come in, present, questions are asked, detailed sheets are reviewed, proposals uh uh are considered. And then um after the March 13th meeting, uh we then wait uh Governor Sherrill, new governor, just like every governor, makes the budget address. After the budget address, usually two or three days after, uh the every town is afforded the opportunity to see what their state aid would be. Um as an FYI, state aid hasn't changed for anybody in 10 years. It's been the same number, but nonetheless, we had to wait for that confirmation. So, we did that. We then incorporate that number or any other grants we may have received into the final budget documents. We then, you know, explain to the finance committee and the mayor the details of the final proposals. And then that brings us to tonight. Uh we basically have proposals. Tonight is what's called by law introduction and approval. But it's not adoption. Okay? It's just the terms are important. Introduction and approval. The budget is introduced to the public. And what that means is we're introducing to the public to be have the public have a chance to see it, review it, uh and come back on April 21st is the public hearing and adoption tonight. Public can actually speak to the budget that night, ask questions. The council can hear those questions and the council ultimately adopts the budget on the 21st. Uh so again, the budget process we've been having here uh it works very well. It's very thorough. And again, the finance committee really uh gets heavily involved with this, which is great for the for the departments and myself.

[clears throat]

Um so, just a a quick recap on what information we know from 2025. Uh we don't know all the details yet for 2026, but it's beginning to come together. Uh for 2025, total tax collections was over $197 million. And all that money came through this building in the tax collector's office. Um so, where do your taxes go? We collect it here with where the tax collector agency. Um 62% of it gets sent right to the school system as you might expect. They have 10 schools in town, seven elementary schools, two middle schools, a high school. They obviously command the majority of the town's tax bill. So, 62% goes to them. Union County gets 20% and 19 for their operations. That 1% is the open space tax. So, 20% altogether. That money comes in and goes right out to them. The town, for all the services we provide, we keep 16% of your tax bill. Uh and the library, of course, Alan McGinley's here. They get a 2% piece. Uh which is the town has always provided the library the statutory minimum. There's a formula the state requires libraries to be funded. Uh and some many, many years ago that when the library needed it, uh there was more given, but uh the library is in a very healthy position and if you've seen what the library has been doing, it's been great with the taxes they've been getting. So, so really, 16% is all that this body Um might like to have control over more of it, but they don't. So, see, our budget is is based on that 16% uh numbers. Everything we're talking about tonight is 16% of your tax bill. Uh and again, uh this is where your taxes went from last year and we'll we'll know more in the next month or two where the taxes are going to go in 2026. So, let's just talk a little bit about the tax impact 2025 to 2026. So, on the on the municipal side, just the town portion, all right, the 16% portion. So, little little com- a comparison here. Um so, on the left-hand

side, 2025 numbers, our total budget, total appropriations was 54 million 393 and change. The revenues that came in of things that we generated on our own were 22 million 856 and change. And then the difference between the two becomes the tax levy. That's what we need from the taxpayers to balance the budget. Last year that was 31 million 537 and change. That produced so of your um the municipal portion of your tax bill last year for an average assessed home which was 826,700. That's the average assessed home in Westfield in 2025. The town portion that was $3,034. So $3,034 of your $18,948 tax bill last year was the town portion. The rest was school, county, and library. Um so that's last year. Now moving to 26, what changes? Well, our budget changes. Uh the revenues went up slightly but not very much. That means the tax levy went up. Um and so that's the 32 million 523 number you see there. The assessments also go up. So the your assessed value out Thankfully, we live in a town where property values rise. So your the average property assessed or average assessed property in town in 2026 is no longer $826,700. It's $832,500. Uh so we have an increase in values. So the total ratable value of all properties in town increased pretty significantly actually. That helps produce a lower tax rate to the resident. So right now our estimate based upon what we know of the town's portion uh that the town's portion as the mayor indicated before about an $80 increase $3,114 of the total tax bill will be the for town purposes. We say TBD in that last box because as of today, we know what we're proposing the town is. Uh we've heard what the school's proposing. We've

heard what the county's proposing. We know the library's number, but we don't know for sure yet what the total average tax bills are going to be. Uh it's going to be more than last year that we know. The question is how much more, but we know that our piece is going to be about $3,114 of whatever the average tax bill. That can go up or down by a couple dollars depending on whatever else's piece is. But um we think that's very reasonable for what we provide. And also reminder, we've had uh some flat budgets the past couple years and that obviously something that's not sustainable. So um anyway, that's a quick look at some of the um comparisons to last year. Uh and by the way, $80 uh is $6.67 per month. So when you break it down on a monthly cost, it's it seems to be very very manageable for town purposes. And I would argue and we'll talk about it in a minute all the things we provide uh to the residents is uh is uh supplement most of the things people depend on. So

[clears throat]

how does our budget function? What are the revenues? What are the appropriations, the expenditures? So on the revenue side, that's sometimes the hardest side of the budget because the appropriations of course we control a bit of it. A lot of it is not controlled. We'll go that in the go into that in a minute. On the revenue side, a couple things to talk about. So uh the biggest piece of the pie there you see is surplus. That's a conversation every year. $6,840,000. Important to note that is uh the same amount we used last year. The committee felt strongly that they didn't want to increase it. They didn't want to decrease it. They wanted to manage the tax rate. But they also wanted them to as the mayor indicated before has to be fiscally responsible for the future year. Do we have enough for next year? Do we have enough for the year after? So that number is same as last year. But you see other pieces here. State aid $3,109,000. That number's been flat for almost a decade. It's a nice piece of revenue for us, but it has not changed up or down. So that's something that's been stagnant but still helpful. Delinquent taxes um delinquent taxes don't be fooled. We have excellent taxpayers in this town. We collect a very high tax rate, but things do happen in a given year. So out of 197 million uh or more than that this year, the anticipation amount and that number comes from a formula that we get from the annual financial statement. Um $1.5 million is expected. Usually we meet that number or slightly exceeded, uh but that's an important piece and you see it's a pretty large piece of our revenue number. Uh we have shared services and grants another thing to talk about here for a minute. We have uh one of the probably model shared services in the entire state of New Jersey, our regional health department. Of that 1 million 57,000, 1 million 16 of it is for shared services. Towns reimbursing us for us providing services to them. So Westfield Regional Board of Health provides services to Mountainside, uh Scotch Plains No, sorry. Mountainside, uh Fanwood, Garwood um Roselle Park, Summit, Chatham, Chatham Borough, and a few others. We are the lead agency and so those towns pay us for our services so that our costs in town are slightly lower than it would be if we had our own own

department by itself. So that's important to note. Sewer fees again, we're collecting 2.9 million in sewer fees, but that's not the full bill. We subsidize close to half of it on the budget. So that's roughly a little bit more than half of the of the fees we collect and we're still obviously not charging residents the full amount. Court fines comes from just what you expect, fines, parking tickets, uh you know other tickets that go on in town. Construction permits very healthy and this is a sign of a healthy town. When people are investing in their homes uh and they're and redoing their homes outside and inside and of course new homes, that number is a very healthy number and it's slightly increasing every year. 1 million 475,000. Parking permit meters and permits just again, that's the money we take from the pay stations and on-street meters and the permits per year. Uh and uh so that 1.5 million there. Uh miscellaneous licenses and fees. We have the town clerk here. Her department takes in lots of miscellaneous fees. A lot of departments take in fire, police, and so forth. Um take in a lot of different fees and licenses and that's 1.1 million. Interest on investments 944,000 is anticipated this year depending on how the markets do, what our our CFO is able to do. We I we could try to exceed that number. And lastly, senior housing leases and a lease and pilot revenue. Um obviously so senior housing that is 990 989,000. 709 of that is the senior housing lease. Okay? That's the agreement we have to 30-year lease. That's a payment we get. 280,000 of that is the pilot revenue. We only have one pilot in town. It's the Westfield Crossing pilot which is still only in its in its second year. It's in its infancy. Um it's not stabilized. So the amount of pilot money is not very large. It will grow over time once it becomes fully rented and stabilized. But right now of that 989, all we can anticipate in this year is 280,000. The good news is we know that number's going to grow, but obviously it doesn't grow overnight to a big number. It'll grow over time, but um if anyone that there's been discussion of pilot money, it's a whopping $280,000 in this whole

revenue puzzle. Not a very big number right now. So again, that's just a little snapshot of our revenues, where they come from, and how we use them. Uh then of course that helps us to pay for the appropriations. So again, our budget this year is supposed to be $55,642,991. And this is a little uh and we talked about this in the finance a little more we believe accurate approach here of how it we should break this down into categories. So as you can see, as you might expect, the two almost 50% of our budget is spent on public safety and public works. Uh and that's what you might expect. Police, fire, public works, construction department, uh engineering, infrastructure works. So 48% of our of our budget goes toward that. Everything from police dispatch, crossing guards, um parking division, uh pensions, fire hydrants, also public works. Our conservation center, we have one of the best conservation centers around in the state. It does cost money to operate. Um so that's a cost there. Maintenance of roads and sewers um parks and fields maintenance, downtown maintenance, forestry management. Uh we the most requested item we get every single year in all my 25 years here is about trees. Uh pruning, take downs, plantings, assessments, you name it. It's It's It's and that's what makes Westfield Westfield. We are known for our tree-lined streets, canopies. We take a lot of pride in that. We have a forestry division just dedicated to that. And of course um um uh fleet management. Something that the public might not understand uh except for the big fire trucks that Chief Dogs has which we can't um work on because of specialized certifications our public works department has a mechanic shops that take care of almost every other vehicle in this town. We save a lot of money by doing that. We actually return police cars out in and out with sewer with oil changes and so forth. All the vehicles for recreation, Board of Health, public works,

uh police. Um so that's something that most towns can't say and we have a excellent staff and it's only been enhanced under Director Gibson and and the productivity there. So that's been great. In addition to those big expenses, uh of course as you might expect, we have we have 11 other departments that operate that make up about 10% only 10% of our budget. That's my department. It's It's recreation, planning, zoning, health, finance, clerk, assessor, collector, court, and legal services. A lot of services for 10% of of 16% of your total tax bill. So I think we do pretty well managing that. As the mayor alluded to earlier every town in the state of New Jersey, you don't have to look very far online or newspaper and find that every every municipality is suffering for two main things this year. Utility cost increases and health insurance increases. Uh we luckily are not part of the state health benefits plan. So when you read in the papers about state health benefits going up 34 or 24%, we are not part of that. We switched to a self-insurance plan five or six years ago. We have very good experience. While we're in experiencing an increase, it's very well managed compared to what those things are. And you don't have a choice when you're state health benefits. That increase comes through. Either you leave the plan or you accept that increase. So but despite that, we're seeing increases in health insurance and utility costs and sewer costs and other and other items as well. So those are things that we get the bill and we have to actually pay it. Last two things here, um capital improvement fund. Uh that's money we put in the budget every year to use as down payment money on capital, which we'll talk about in a minute. And lastly, utility costs, as you might expect, uh, water, electric, gas, phone, street lighting, um, fuel, sanitary sewer treatment, your RVRSA. Uh, I'll say that the new members of council and the mayor, um, they're all surprised to learn. So, if you had to take a guess, what is the combined cost to the town between fire hydrants and street lighting? You'd be might surprise be probably be surprised to know it's a million dollars between the two. So, the town must pay roughly a million dollars to the Board of Public Utilities, those those entities, American Water and EPS, and you know, like every other town does.

It's a required Board of Public Utilities expense. Every municipality is required to support the infrastructure in their town that provides a service, street lighting and or the fire hydrants as inch feet of water main, the water main underground serving the hydrant. So, something that when you come on the council learns like, I got to spend a million dollars on this? I would not do other things, but that's something that every town's required to do. So, gives you a sense of where, um, this money is spent and and, uh, again, I think we're managing as best we can with the, uh, challenges we have. So, that brings us to the capital budget, uh, which is outside of the operating budget, but it's tied to it. Part of the operating budget puts the down payment money down on projects like this. So, also being introduced tonight is the capital ordinance. And what's included in here is, uh, really six topics, six items or six categories, uh, infrastructure and facility improvements, roads, sewers, drainage, all and we have a very large number this year. We have over 40 roads that are going to be touched either in full or in part, uh, with storm water enhancements, drainage enhancements, uh, and and milling and paving, which is a big deal. And I think I mentioned in the in the, um, previous meeting if we're able to get done all the roads we planned this year in addition to what the utilities are doing, by year's end, town of Westfield will have all 100 miles of road that the town owns paved since 2019. Uh, that's really remarkable. Now, half of those roads have been paved by the utilities because town councils in the past have to change rules that when they cut into the road a certain number of feet, they are required to pave that entire section of road or entire road. So, the great news is a lot of that cost has been on the utilities, uh, but our roads really have never been better even though the winter was not not kind to anybody, um, for road, uh, work, but, uh, we're going to be in very good shape by year's end. So, that's the big cost. We have public safety items, police and fire obviously need, uh, replacement items, technology, cameras, um, uh, equipment, etc. That's the 216,000 and change. Facility improvements, uh, we have we we work in a beautiful facility here. We have firehouses, we have public

works facilities. Uh, they are aging buildings. We have roof replacements, roof repairs, things to do inside, uh, this year. That's 450 for those items. Uh, equipment and vehicles, that mostly this year makes up, um, uh, public works. We're replacing equipment and and, uh, trucks that have to be replaced, um, in addition to parking meters downtown. So, our parking meters on street, uh, are older. The company we've been using is going out of business, which most towns use. We have to make a switch, so there's some money in there to partner up with money we had from last year to, um, replace all on-street meters this year, which will be helpful and it'll be new technology available as well, which is great. Um, last two categories are traffic and pedestrian safety improvements. These are things that come out of the Public Safety Committee, Councilman Gilman's committee that basically when they meet, things come up. People, you know, we we do analysis, we do data analysis, uh, flashing stop signs, new stop signs, flashing beacons, pedestrian activated beacons. Those kind of things when they come up, if you don't have a budget for it, you can't do it till the following year. So, we put money aside, so when something comes up and if it means we can do it, we actually try to do it in that calendar year. So, that's that $70,000 there and that goes a long way. And lastly, recreation and parks improvements. So, um, we've continued park improvements here. Uh, we put money in every year for same kind of thing where if things come up during the course of the year that are small things, we have money in the budget to actually do a park benches, uh, water bottle fillers, you know, water whatever may be, we can do that. That's in addition to larger projects we'll talk about in a second. And of course, we have money in for design uh, work for the, uh, pocket park we're going to do put forth. We we purchased property last year with grant funds, 200 South Avenue, corner of South and Central. Uh, part of our grant requirements are to design a new pocket park there, um, for beautification and pedestrian enhancements there. So, that'll be designed this year. So, that's included in what's being introduced tonight. Uh, and then the projects that are underway from last year or previous year's budgets, Houlihan and Fe parking lot and comfort station. As a matter of fact,

that project's out to bid as we speak. Bids are due mid-April, so we're hoping to get good bids there and, uh, award that project soon. The fuel system at public works, that's been replaced. We're rolling it out now. The old system underground, as per DEP requirements, must be, uh, decommissioned. That's in process. Quimby Street design plan, the committee is meeting again very soon and designing that, uh, that streetscape, uh, down on Quimby Street and then that'll be a project we do next year with capital. Uh, Tamaques Park design plan, same thing. Committee's been working, uh, for a while there. There'll be some public information shared very soon about concepts for the public to have reaction to. And then that'll likely be a phase one that will take place in 2027. Uh, demolitions of the two properties we purchased, uh, both firehouse number two, the house next door to that, and the, uh, middle Mr. Gallup on the corner of South and Central. And lastly, the cell tower installation after litigation is finally over. That is planned to be installed this year. So, those are some of the projects that were previously approved or underway will be taking place this year in addition to what we actually have, uh, have approved up there. So, it's a lot of information in a short time. That's $5.4 million for capital, $55 million and change for the operating budget, um, and we're still just 16% of your tax bill. So, uh, I think you're getting a lot for your money. Um, lastly, um, I know Councilman Vic and or the mayor may have a few comments at the end here, but reminder to the public, this is the beginning of the budget process to the public. Um, we introduce tonight, we approve, it's out there for the public to be advertised. We have a email address, budget@westfieldnj.gov, if people have questions, you're more than happy to email us. We do get back to everybody. And our website has the budget documentation on it. You can look at last year, previous years, look at this year's information. This presentation and the budget document introduced will be posted there, uh, by tomorrow, um, and then, uh, as the process continues, more information will be posted as we go forward. So, that's all I have there and, uh, thank you very much. Uh, thank you, Jim. I I just before I pass it over to finance chair, um, Councilman Venkatraman, I

just want to thank the hard work and I I saw this kind of from the side, uh, but our finance committee did such an amazing job and spent so much time. So, uh, so Councilman Venkatraman, Councilman Domagala, Councilman Pekkar, and Councilman Kiefer spent an incredible amount of time, energy, and effort trying to get this right and I think they did a wonderful job. So, thank you to to our committee. Uh, and I know that, uh, Vic has a few comments. Yeah, just just a couple comments. Um, first I want to I want to thank, uh, our town administrator, Jim Gildea, and and our assistant town administrator, Heather McMahon Ferraro. They have done a really incredible job, uh, coalescing months and months of work, uh, into this really thoughtful presentation that Jim just walked through in the last 30 minutes. Uh, so so thank you guys for for all the hard work there. Um, you know, it's as Jim pointed out, it's been a rigorous, deliberate undertaking for the past several months, um, with many late night meetings and it starts with all of our great department heads submitting their budgets and, uh, going through the appropriate, thoughtful, judicious review, which they absolutely did. Uh, and so thank you to to all the department heads. And then, of course, our our meetings with our CFO, Scott Olsen, our audit team, and then again, all the department heads to make sure that, you know, what they put forth is prudent and responsible for for the town and and it absolutely was and we appreciate all their hard work. Uh, and then I just want to, you know, really thank our finance policy committee, uh, meeting, our team, uh, as as Mayor Brindle just pointed out, uh, Councilman Kiefer, Councilman Domagala, and our vice chair and Councilman Pekkar, really just collaborative work, uh, for the last several months, uh, just pragmatic, fiscally responsible. That's the approach we took throughout this process. And then just last comment, obviously as Jim pointed out, uh, this is just an introduction to the budget, so we, of course, would, you know, hope that the public takes some time to read through all the work that we put into the decisions that we've kind of put forth and we welcome your

feedback. Uh, thank you, everyone. Thank you, Councilman Venkatraman. Yeah, Mayor, before we before we move on, can I say one thing real quick? Thanks. Thanks. Uh, first of all, I echo everything that you guys said. I think it's a I think it's a great budget and then a lot of work did go into it. Um, for the public certification or or benefit, I wanted to just touch on one thing and that is, um, the concept of the surplus that we run every year. So, when we set the budget, we inherit a surplus from the year before. Um, and there's a little bit of a tension involved in how to treat that surplus because part [clears throat] of being, well, in order to be fiscally, uh, responsible and prudent, you want to do a couple things. You want to keep taxes as low as possible, but you also want to make sure that that surplus survives and is robust enough to head off any problems in the future. So, on one hand, you don't want to raise taxes while the town's sitting on piles of cash cuz it seems kind of unseemly. But on the other, of course, you want to have a bit of a nest egg for tough times. Now, I wasn't here for this, but my understanding is during the COVID years, during the financial crisis, 2008, town had town, uh, you know, had lean times and and was tough. So, the surplus is an important element and it's something we deal with in the in the in the budget committee and it's not always easy to get it right. And when I first joined, um, on the finance committee, I my first budget I worked on was 2024 budget. We inherited like a record surplus because it was a one-time shot of revenue we didn't expect, so we were able to keep taxes at zero and everyone was really happy. The next year, we did the same thing. We kept taxes at zero, we had a good surplus, but we kept dipping into it. And this year, we have, you'll see, obviously we raised, uh, you know, we had to assess taxes, um, but we use as much of that surplus as we comfortably can and I would say for the next year that I'm going to be on the committee that's something always keep an eye on is to keep that surplus as healthy as possible for future years and and it just I know people are focused on taxes, but I just hope you understand that that yin and yang part component's important too, which is we do need a Nastic to be a vibrant town and to be secure in case times get tough again.

So, that's the only thing I would say it just not it doesn't jump off the pages and not everybody goes on the website and studies all the data. So, I just want to talk about that. Thanks Councilman Kiefer. Okay, anyone else? All right. Uh may I have a motion to approve the minutes from the town council conference and regular meetings of March 10th, 2026? So moved. Uh Councilman Gilman, second? Seconded. Seconded by Councilman Venkataraman. Any discussion? Uh all in favor? Yes. Opposed? The motion is carried. Now it's time for open discussion by citizens. Uh anyone may come up to the microphone and speak to the council on any subject on which this council has jurisdiction. Please state your name and address for the record and limit your comments to 5 minutes. Good evening. My name is Jean Lambert. I live at 528 Grove Street. The Tamaques Park design plan was recently published, which means you will soon be approached by representatives of the artificial turf industry, who will try to convince you that their products are sustainable, save water, and mitigate climate change, but those claims are not true. The layer of artificial turf that looks like grass is actually a plastic carpet, something on the order of this one. The polyethylene used to make artificial turf carpets is produced from ethane, a non-renewable fossil fuel that is extracted from the earth via hydraulic fracturing or frac- fracturing or fracking, a process that uses and contaminates enormous amounts of water.

The ethane is transported to a processing facility, where it goes through a polymerization process and eventually becomes pre-production pellets or nurdles. The nurdles are melted and chemical additives containing carcinogens and endocrine disruptors, including plasticizers, UV stabilizers, flame retardants, and pigments are added to the liquid to provide the finished product with a var- variety of characteristics. The liquid plastic is extruded to form yarn [music]

that will become the blades of plastic grass. PFAS is used as a processing aid and has been found in all the samples of artificial turf tested by the Ecology Center and Peer. PFAS bioaccumulates in plants, animals, and people. It has been linked to cancer, nervous system toxicity, immune dysfunction, thyroid, and cardiovascular diseases. About 40,000 lb of plastic is used to create an average size artificial turf carpet, which is equal to about 46 million plastic straws, or 3.2 million plastic bags, or more than 2 million plastic bottles. Worn-out synthetic rubber tires are ground into crumb rubber, which is currently the most common infill. It holds the plastic blades upright and provides cushioning. More plastic grass fields Most plastic grass fields require a minimum of 150,000 lb of crumb rubber infill, or about 300,000 jars, like Greg just held up. Each artificial turf carpet contains millions of blades of plastic grass. Due to the wear and tear of sports activities and exposure to the elements, the blades of plastic grass break apart into increasingly smaller pieces, becoming microplastics, pieces of plastic less than 5 mm in length, which do not break down or biodegrade. The microplastics and the toxic chemicals they contain, including PFAS, migrate off the field and into the air, soil, groundwater, storm drains, and into the food chain, and end up in human organs, including the brain, lungs, and testes.

On warm, sunny days, artificial turf heats up, becoming a heat island, contributing to the likelihood that athletes will experience dehydration, heat exhaustion, burns, and blisters. The plastic carpet off-gases carbon dioxide, methane, and other greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. It is an impervious surface that will channel stormwater into Westfield's already overburdened storm drainage system. The plastic carpets have to be replaced every 8 to 10 years. There is a myth that plastic carpet is 100% recyclable, but that is a false claim. There are no existing artificial turf recycling facilities in the US, so worn-out plastic carpets end up in landfills or illegally dumped. Unlike artificial turf, which was first used as a sports surface about 60 years ago, natural grass has been in existence for millions of years. It is grown from seeds, not plastic pellets. Natural grass cools the air, filters pollutants, and acts as a carbon sink, sequestering carbon dioxide in its root mass and soil. It is time to show that Westfield truly cares about kids by enacting an ordinance that bans artificial turf and by directing funds to the installation of high-use natural grass athletic fields that have been designed to withstand athletic activities and are maintained using organic and regenerative maintenance practices. Thank you for considering this. Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Lambert. That was Mrs. Lambert. Oh, you Oh, as well. If you don't mind.

Yeah, thanks. Hi, Greg Lambert, 528 Grove Street. First, [clears throat] thanks for all the work on the budget and really clear presentation. Happy to have been able to hear it. Um I have a couple of environmental concerns that I want to bring to the council's attention tonight. First is the excessive idling of automobiles, particularly in the vicinity of schools at dismissal time. Um we live near a school, so I can vouch for this. Parents and caregivers arrive as much as 40 minutes in advance of the end of the school day. The vast majority remain in their cars with the engine running the entire time. This well exceeds the 3 minutes of idling time allowed by state law. Perhaps some signage on the streets in the vicinity of all the schools would be an appropriate starting point to remind residents to follow the law. Second concern is related to the artificial turf fields in town. As you've just heard, there are many issues stemming from the materials used in these plastic fields. Another issue not previously mentioned is the excessively high cost of ownership of these plastic fields. This is an important consideration for residents, especially with the large tax increases coming from the Board of Education. I'd like to illustrate the environmental pollution from these fields with examples from right here in Westfield. Players carry these pollutants off the field on their clothing, shoes, and skin. Rain washes the plastic and rubber pieces off the field and the wind [clears throat] lofts them into the air and carries them away. The Sid Fay Houlihan sheds gross amounts of microplastics into the environment. It's easy to scoop up this pollution by the handful around the perimeter of the field. Similar issues exist at Kehler Stadium,

which I know is Board of Ed property, but still illustrates the the point. Um the microplastics can be seen out on the sidewalk on Rahway Avenue. What's worse is it gets washed into the storm drains and out into the Robinson's branch of the Rahway River. This is the nature of artificial turf fields. They all pollute the environment far and wide. I'll email each of you some images to uh tonight to illustrate what's been happening on our on our fields. Um with clear evidence that the existing artificial turf fields are polluting our town, we need to look in the mirror and ask ourselves, do we want to knowingly add more plastic fields that will pollute our environment, or do we want to preserve our remaining natural spaces? The answer from the Tamaques Park survey that was conducted last year clearly showed that residents significantly preferred natural grass field over artificial. I've heard some myths and legends about certain areas within Tamaques Park, where only artificial turf can be used due to concerns about soil contamination. But does it really make sense to use more toxic chemicals to cover the existing contamination. The alternative is to remediate any known contamination. That's what was done at to the playground next to Lincoln School many years ago. Natural grass fields with drainage and irrigation could be built on top of these remediated areas. I hope that the design firm, the committee working on the Tamaques Park renovations, and the town council will reject any thoughts about adding more plastic grass to our town to help keep the environment clean for our kids and grandkids. Instead, invest in new and existing grass fields to maximize their potential. Thank you.

Thank you. Anyone else? Seeing no others, I close this portion of the meeting and move to bills and claims. Councilman Venkataraman. Thank you, Mayor. I'd like to move bills and claims in the amount of $813,637.30. May I have a second? Second. Seconded by Councilman Armento. Any discussion? All in favor? Yes. Opposed? The motion is carried. Uh next on the agenda is reports of the standing committees beginning with the finance policy committee. Councilman Venkataraman. Thank you, Mayor. I have 12 resolutions, seven of which I would like to move as a package. One resolution authorizing the chief financial officer to refund recreation department fees. Two resolutions authorizing the chief financial officer to draw warrants for overpaid taxes. Three resolutions authorizing the chief financial officer to draw warrant for construction permit overpayment. Four resolutions authorizing the chief financial officer draw warrant for board of adjustment escrow monies. Five resolutions authorizing the affordability assistance grant pursuant to the town of Westfield's affordability assistance program for a tenant of an affordable housing unit at 2111 Echo Lane, unit 2111. 2111. Yes. Six resolutions authorizing acceptance of the revised budget introduction and adoption dates as issued by the local finance board. And seven resolutions providing that for self-examination of the 2026 municipal budget. May I have a second? Second. Seconded by Councilman Saunders. Uh any discussion? All in favor? Yes. Opposed? The motion is carried. Next, I would like to move a resolution to adopt temporary to adopt the temporary capital budget.

a second? Second. Seconded by Councilman Domagala. Any discussion? Please call the roll. Councilwoman Gilman? Yes. Domagala? Yes. Pecker? Yes. Keeper? Yes. Saunders? Yes. Armento? Yes. Venkataraman? Yes. Mayor Brindle? Yes, the motion is carried. Uh number nine resolution to introduce and approve the 2026 municipal budget. May I have a second? Second. Seconded by Councilman Saunders. Any discussion? Please call the roll. Councilwoman Gilman? Yes. Domagala? Yes. Pecker? Yes. Keeper? Yes. Saunders? Yes. Armento? Yes. Venkataraman? Yes. Mayor Brindle? Yes, the motion is carried. Number 10 resolution to introduce and approve the 2026 special improvement district budget.

May I have a second? Second. Seconded by Councilwoman Gilman. Please call the roll. Councilwoman Gilman? Yes. Domagala? Yes. Pecker? Yes. Keeper? Yes. Saunders? Yes. Armento? Yes. Venkataraman? Yes. Mayor Brindle? Yes, the motion is carried. Number 11 resolution authorizing the chief financial officer to make a budget transfer. May I have a second? Second. Seconded by Councilman Armento. Please call the roll. Councilwoman Gilman? Yes. Domagala? Yes. Pecker? Yes. Keeper? Yes. Saunders? Yes. Armento? Yes. Venkataraman? Yes. Mayor Brindle? Yes, the motion is carried. Number 12 resolution to approve temporary emergency appropriations. May I have a second? Second. Seconded by Councilman Domagala. Any discussion? Please call the roll. Councilwoman Gilman? Yes. Domagala? Yes. Pecker? Yes. Keeper? Yes. Saunders? Yes. Armento? Yes. Venkataraman? Yes. Mayor Brindle? Yes, this motion is carried. I also have two ordinances I would like to move on first reading starting with general ordinance number 2026-11, an ordinance for calendar year 2026 to establish a cap bank. Uh NJSA 40A uh 40-45.14. Uh may I have a second? Second. Seconded by Councilman Armento. Any discussion? Please call the roll. Councilwoman Gilman? Yes. Domagala? Yes. Pecker? Yes. Keeper? Yes. Saunders? Yes. Armento? Yes. Venkataraman? Yes. Mayor Brindle? Yes, this motion is carried. Last on first reading, I would like to move special ordinance number 2026-01 bond ordinance to authorize the making of various public improvements and the acquisition of new additional or replacement equipment and machinery, new information technology equipment, new communication and signal systems equipment in, by, and for the town of Westfield in the county of Union, State of New Jersey to appropriate the sum of $5,415,000

to pay the cost thereof, to make a down payment, to authorize the issuance of bonds to finance such appropriation, and to provide for the issuance of bond anticipation notices in anticipation of the issuance of such bonds. May I have a second? Second. Seconded by Councilman uh Domagala. Any discussion? But uh please call the roll. Councilwoman Gilman? Yes. Domagala? Yes. Pecker? Yes. Keeper? Yes. Saunders? Yes. Armento? Yes. Venkataraman? Yes. Mayor Brindle? Yes, this motion is carried. Councilman Pecker, please move the code review and town property ordinance. Thank [clears throat and snorts] you, Mayor. I would like to move on first reading general ordinance number 2026-12, an ordinance authorizing the execution of a lease agreement with Vango Westfield LLC for the Mills, Ferris, and Pearsel house. May I have a second? Second. Seconded by Councilman Saunders. Uh any discussion? Please call the roll. Councilwoman Gilman? Yes. Domagala? Yes. Pecker? Yes. Keeper? Yes. Saunders? Yes. Armento? Yes. Venkataraman? Yes. Mayor Brindle? Yes, motion is carried. Councilman Venkataraman, please move the public works committee resolution. Thank you, Mayor. I would like to move a resolution awarding contract for various landscape materials for the Department of Public Works. May I have a second? Second. Seconded by Councilman Armento. Any discussion? All in favor? Yes. Opposed? The motion is carried. May I have a motion to adjourn? So moved. Uh Councilman Saunders, second? Second. Seconded by Councilwoman Gilman. Any discussion? All in favor? Yes. Opposed? The motion is carried. The meeting is adjourned. Thank you all for being here.