e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e ready to the flag the United States of America and to the it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all good evening and welcome the April 9th 2024 meeting of the Jackson Township Council will now come to order councilman brelli here councilman Bernstein here councilman Chisum here Council vice president sergeant presid and council president cun here also present this evening is our business administrator Mr Terence wall as Clerk of this meeting I hereby publicly announc that in compliance with provisions of the open public meetings act adequate notice of this meeting has been advertised in the manner prescribed by law we move on to announcements proclamations I believe there are two this evening and Mr wall um actually uh councilman Bernstein is going to read the first one and I'm going to read the second one on behalf of Mayor uh Mike Raina thank you you're welcome Proclamation from the township of Jackson whereas the the basis of the continuity of any society is education and in the great town CH of Jackson the education of our youth is our PRI is a priority and where as in order to achieve its highest goals education must not only impart knowledge but also teach the students how to live forming and strengthening their moral character to make a better life for themselves as individuals and for soci and for society as a whole and whereas a global spiritual leader the rebi rabbi manakum Mendel scharen of righteous memory stressed that a moral and ethical education empowers every individual to develop their their full potential in making the world a better place and whereas such an education can nurture the unity of a diverse people through encouraging increased acts of goodness and kindness imbued with the awareness that even a single positive Act of an individual can change the world and Usher in an era of Global Peace and whereas April 19th 2024 will mark 22 years since the Reb's birth and this year begins the celebration of the 75th anniversary of his leadership of the kabad laich movement the kabad is an acronym of three Hebrew words for wisdom understanding and knowledge the name laich comes from the city which served as the movement's headquarters for over a century and means City of Love of All the ethical values which inform our civilization none is more important than love love of wisdom love of our fellow men of our fellow men and love of our creator the these values rooted in the seven Noah like laws have guided the kabad LA babich movement throughout its history and are the essence of education at its best and we shall be certain to pass on this pre this precious Heritage to all Young Americans and whereas education and sharing day is observed each year on the Reb's birthday in recognition of his outstanding and Lasting contributions towards the Improvement of Education morality and and acts of Charity around the world a day to pause and reflect on our responsibility to ensure our youth have the foundations necessary to live lives rich in purpose and fulfillment through service and good works and now therefore I Michael Raina mayor of Jackson Township County of ocean state of New Jersey Proclaim April 19th 2024 as education and sharing day in the township of Jackson and call upon everyone to work together to create a brighter and more promising future for all signed Mayor Michael Raina thank you thank you [Applause] want to call the rabbi n parsnik to accept it on behalf of [Applause] kabad thank you council president yes uh Proclamation Township of Jackson whereas libraries often the opportunity to everyone to connect with others learn new skills and pursue their passions no matter where they are in life's journey and whereas libraries have long served as trusted institutes striving to ensure Equitable access to information and services for all members of the community regardless of race ethnicity createability sexual orientation gender identity or social economic status and whereas libraries adapt to the Ever Changing needs of their Community developing and expanding collections programs and services that are diverse as a population they serve and whereas libraries are accessible and exclus inclusive places that promote a sense of connection advantages understanding Civic engagement and sharing Community goals and whereas libr libraries play a pivot role in the economic development by providing resources and support for job seeking entrepreneurs and small businesses thus contributing to local um properties and growth and whereas libraries make choices that are good for the environment and to make sense economically um creating thriving communities for a better tomorrow and whereas libraries are treated institution Treasures institutions that preserve our Collective Heritage of knowledge safeguarding both physical and digital resources for present and future Generations and whereas libraries are an essential public good and fundamental Institution for decomatic um social societies working to improve um protect the rights of education and literacy and promote the for the the free exchange of information and ideas for all and whereas libraries Librarians and uh um Library workers are joining Library supporters and Advocates Across the Nation to celebrate National Library week now therefore um therefore be it resolved that I Michael Raina mayor of the township of Jackson County of ocean state of New Jersey to hereby promote April 7th through the 13th to 2024 as national uh Library week in the township of Jackson and strong encouraging all residents to visit the libraries and celebrate the adventures and opportunities they unlock for us each and every day Ready Set library is there anybody here to thank you madam clerk thank you we'll continue with opening comments from Township Council council president cun good evening everyone it's wonderful to see such a great turnout for tonight's meeting I want to extend a warm welcome to all the residents of Jackson as well as our friends from the Westlake Community you you you your presence here is truly appreciated I would like to also express my gratitude for the hardworking dedicated and teamwork of the mayor Administration councilman Bernstein and myself for getting our 17924 on tonight's agenda it has been collaborative effort and I'm proud of of what we have accomplished together last week the economic advisory committee had a productive meeting we were pleased to welcome Mr uh William Alman as the newest member filling in the open seat for the MUA with 18 years of experience on the MUA board Mr Alman brings valuable insight to our community our meeting was well attended with representatives from the MUA and productive and it was productive discussions we're looking forward to our next meeting where we're planning on joining having joining the master plan with the master plan engineer hopefully the approval of the public relations service company tonight will enable us to enhance transparency and provide timely updates to the residents of Jackson after each meeting unfortunately the open space committee was unable to meet due to scheduled conflicts however remain committed to the work and continue to develop a road map and spreadsheets if anyone is interested in joining the committee please submit your uh citizen application to the mayor for the mayor's consideration your involvement is crucial as we strive to preserve um our Open Spaces once again thank you all for being here and it is great to see all of the support from the local Jackson Police Department here tonight um in support of uh one of the resolutions that's on tonight's agenda thank you very much have a great night thank you Council vice president Sergeant good evening uh thank you Miss  for your comments I appreciate that um as we all know bulk pickup is in full swing and uh as I drove around town I noticed that the piles are much larger than 4x4 by 8 feet and um with that I would just say try to ensure that your piles are within that size because Public Works is having a difficult time picking them up thank you and have a good evening thank you councilman barelli uh thank you clerk Moss uh first the public health and safety of the residents we represent is of the utmost importance to the governing body um I see a lot of our police officers here in the audience tonight and I thank you for your service um just want to share with you of course God forbid for any emergency situations please call 911 of course but if you see something suspicious in your neighborhoods or anything or anywhere else in our town please report it to the Jackson Township Police Department at 732 928 uh 11111 uh like every year I look forward to hearing introduction of the municipal operating uh budget for this fiscal year I'm cautiously optimistic that this year's budget is a good and fiscally responsible uh plan for Jackson residents um also at the last Township council meeting I spoke of the activities our town has for kids well that would also go for older kids at heart um I read in the Jackson times about some cool events happening at the Jackson Senior Center located at 45 Conor Don Conor Boulevard right up the road from here to start off the week right on Mondays there are workout sessions at 9:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. for Forever Young also the crochet and Nick group uh meets every Tuesday at 11:00 a.m. and the popular game of majan is uh played on Mondays at 11:00 a.m. and Thursdays at 12:30 p.m. beginners are welcome uh Ceramics is on Mondays uh Tuesdays and Thursdays the instructor is there on those days from 10: a.m. to 3 p.m. so for more information or to register for uh these events and many other events you can call the senior center at 732 9282 313 anytime Monday through Friday uh between 8 :30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. or you can visit them on the Jackson Township website and check out their full calendar of events and activities just wanted to share that information with you all good seeing this uh crowd tonight and take care have a good evening thank you councilman Bernstein good evening and thank you everyone who came out um like council president qan said I had opportunity in being part of the economic advisory committee um we had an amazing meeting and um what really was very very special was the fact that we had so many different um parts of the Town working together on such a board we had members of the MUA we had members of various boards in the town and um I think having a mua a governing body here in the Jackson Township Council together working together with our Board of Ed and all the other functions at work um is extremely special and hopefully we'll continue to see positive results for all of Jackson also I just found out today and I don't know if this is public app but my understanding and Mr wall correct me if I'm wrong is that um the township recently closed I think in the past 24 to 48 hours on a the land swap um on the land on leeville um I think that's accurate and um I just want to really to thank um the administration for pushing through all the through all the challenges in the past year and a half to get there I don't think any anyone really believed it would end up happening but knowing that we had the mayor and Mr wall pushing and pushing um I think at uh that's accurate that's accurate okay I got the confirmation it's accurate so thank you Mr wallt and the mayor Rea for making that dream um become a reality um also I noticed tonight was um we gave a proclamation recognizing the library as I mentioned I think it was by two Council meetings ago um I was in touch with the Ocean County Library System about increasing um more access over weekends and it's something that they let me know about uh three days ago that they are in talks with their unions about increasing um more accessibility addition one more thing I just wanted to mention um Jackson EMS reached out to through council president cun um and the clerk's office about offering um Council the opportunity to get to know a little bit more about what they some of the work that they did I took them up on their offer I met with them last Friday together with council president um I was extremely impressed we have a lot of Heroes in our town who sometimes we don't even notice them but it's great to see them and it's great to some to learn a little bit about and I welcome everyone to get to know your emergency services because they're there when we need them and we're very very blessed here in Jackson to have them all working for us thank you and have a good night thank you councilman Chisum good evening thank you uh um appreciate the uh proclamations that were read out this evening it's always a good thing to see I certainly fully support anybody who is educating our children and giving them a well-rounded technical uh well I want to say liberal I mean a classical liberal education not the nonsense that is force-fed but I do certainly appreciate that and of course our libraries I always support that and like to see that happen every year I think it's the fourth time I've seen it and if you don't already bring your kids there they don't have a library card take them there instill in them a lifelong uh love of learning bring them in and have them real read real books I mean it's great you can read stuff online but it's not the same thing having that tactile piece of paper in front of you plus if they can't read cursive they can't read original documents what's going to happen to them you can be force-fed a bunch of nonsense and not know what the actual Founders and all of those that came before you actually wrote because you can't read it for yourself so uh those of you that are like me and like The Boys of Summer they are back baseball is in session so congratulations to that and looking forward to a nice summer uh I'd like to wish our kids in Holbrook and Jackson little leagues uh the best of luck we've had some pretty good Champion teams lately hope they can keep that going also for those of you keeping track Jersey Shore blue claws right hey Buster is now officially the the best favorite major or minor league uh baseball mascot so very good so you always get the good stuff out of the way first if you weren't paying attention Congress has tried to force again on us a carbon tax not good so if you don't think that that's a bad thing just think about what that's going to do so first of all thank you to Congressman Smith and most of the Republicans 222 of them that voted no against that but what happens when you have a carbon tax well first of all it's BS but if you have it it increases every energy price you have gasoline electricity natural gas coal home heating oil that affects everybody in the United States it's going to cost every good that manufactured here or abroad more because you have to transport that in those trucks where are they coming from well they're not coming from the Port of Baltimore anymore so what do you think that's going to cost you folks it's going to lead to more jobs and businesses going overseas where is that going to be Hello China can you say it right who's going to be hit the hardest it's the poor it's the elderly it's those on fixed incomes it is detrimental to American families and businesses and this is why we do not like the new idea of liberalism and what goes with that and of course King Philip can never disappoint point the day we had our last meeting you heard about it the next morning he decided your taxes should go up on fuel every year for the next 5 years that's right every year your gas pump prices are going up and so that summer fuel will be coming at you soon so you like it hey just remember if taxes are your issue New Jersey is just not your state so good luck finding your house down south folks everybody have a good night God bless thank you consideration of ordinances public hearing and final consideration this is the second reading of ordinance 12-24 entitled an ordinance of the township of Jackson County of ocean state of New Jersey authorizing the acquisition in certain real property from Jackson Township Board of Education pursuant to njsa 48 12-5 this ordinance was introduced on March 26th 2024 I need a motion to open the public hearing motion second all in favor I I I if any member of the public has any comments to make please address the council at the microphone state your name and address clearly for the record you will have five minutes and may only speak once seeing no one come forward and make a motion to close public session on this ordinance all in favor I I this is the third reading of ordinance 12-24 entitled an ordinance of the township of Jackson County of ocean state of New Jersey authorizing the acquisition of certain real property from Jackson Township Board of Education pursuant to njsa 48 15 12-5 I need a motion to adopt on third and final reading and advertise according to law motion second councilman burelli uh glad to be voting on this I hope the town will purchase more available and valuable land in your town to protect and preserve as up space for all residents and free for future Generations open space equates to saving tax dollars so yes thank you thank you councilman Bernstein yes councilman Chisum yes Council vice president Sergeant yes and council president cun yes the second reading of ordinance 13-24 entitled an ordinance of the township of Township Council Township of Jackson Ocean County New Jersey repealing ordinance 04 d24 and amending chapter 163 of the Township Code of the township of Jackson entitled construction containers this ordinance was introduced on March 26 2024 are in motion to open the public hearing motion second all in favor I if any member of the public has any comments to make please address the council at the microphone and state your name and address clearly for the record you will have five minutes and may only speak once seeing no one come forward and make a motion to close public session on this ordinance second all in favor I I this is the third reading of ordinance 13-24 entitled an ordinance of the township Council Township of Jackson Ocean County New Jersey repealing ordinance 0424 and amending chapter 163 of the Township Code of the township of Jackson entitled construction containers I need a motion to adopt on third and final reading meing and advertise according to law so moved second roll call councilman barelli yes councilman Bernstein thank you to Mr MCU and all of our Township uh department heads for working diligently to get it exactly what where we needed it to be so I vote yes thank you councilman Chisum yes Council vice president Sergeant yes and council president cun yes thank you the second reading of ordinance for 14-24 entitled an ordinance of the township of Jackson County of ocean state of New Jersey amending ordinance number 0324 establishing the salary range for all of the various officials and employees of the township for the year 2024 and thereafter this ordinance was introduced on March 26 2024 I need a motion to open the public hearing so moved second all in favor I I if any member of the public has any comments to make please address the council at the microphone and state your name and address clearly for the record you will have five minutes and may only speak once John Puchi 17 schol Road uh predicated on the uh the attachment to this ordinance can you tell me um how many of these um guidelines minimums have maximum um pertain to um contract negotiations with unions and if if that's the case do we have Labor attorneys negotiating those contracts and other than that how do these numbers come come up including members of the council and the mayor thank you sir I'm going to allow either the business administrator I think to answer that I'm sorry sir can you repeat the question I I'll be glad to terance thank you John what whate what's the predication for the maximum and Min and and minimum salaries and in this attachment and I noticed that we have asme to deal with yes now other than the unions okay and I'm I'm I'm and I'm I'm assuming there are unions that have to be contracts negotiated is that correct yes okay who does that contract negotiation do we have Labor attorneys that do that labor Council Administration we do have okay correct yes Bob Clark I'm sorry Bob Clark how can he be part of that did you say Bob Clark but yes it did oh I know him for years yeah the as AB mcder Master Murphy yeah that's who you have yes rbo yes great yeah because they're the best in the state anyway okay good so then other than I I'm assuming that these are have been have been negotiated correct correct okay other than that then who then all the other non-employees who who makes those salary ranges the salary well the salary ranges are required throughout the state to have a high and a low and they may be contractual they may be uh administratively guided so it depends on the title there are part-time positions in there as well as per DM some of the input may be from uh the Departments like for example we have members of the Jackson Police Department here for a uh class two officer there may be different ranges where one might start it maybe based on training and experience and that kind of thing so you work with the Departments and get their recommendations as well as make administrative decisions as far as the market so over time we've looked also at the market I'll use a different example the building department the subcodes Electrical Plumbing and building that that industry has been going through tremendous changes so we may Mark the market a bit better uh to make sure that we're competitive to attract and retain employees who yeah who who establishes that I mean is there some guidelines in the state that establish that or you know is that yeah how do you develop how where do you go to see the market on that I guess for that a bit of a loaded question but generally it's would be what are other comparable municipalities doing uh what's the market in any particular position uh there may be if it's non-contractual there may be a candidate who is uh who is has specific talents that that uh you're recruiting from another municipality so it's really case specific okay now what about the mayor and the council how's that come up that's a resol that is a decision that is uh approved in public there's an introduction uh you know the council makes a decision on that the range is again as I referenced earlier that's um uh based on what other municipalities are doing but you set a minimum and a maximum and the governing body chooses to see where they fall I mean there there there there's a lot of municipalities that don't come any close to the ranges I mean the low end of the range they do but not not necessarily the high range it where it's $35,000 and the mayor making almost 68 and considering these are listed as part-time jobs okay and I'm not so sure where the mayor is coming off taking his healthare benefits when he's got employment with the county with us at an a St substantial amount of money and he's the only by the way public official that's taking benefits from Healthcare benefits from the uh municipality but thank you for the explanation I appreciate it thank you thank you sir appreciate you seeing no one else come forward and make a motion to close public session on this ordinance second all in favor I the third reading of ordinance 14-24 entitled ordinance of the township of Jackson County of ocean state of New Jersey amending ordinance number 0324 establishing the salary range for all the various officials and employees of the township for the year 2024 and thereafter I need a motion to adopt on third and final reading and advertise according to law motion second roll call councilman burelli yes councilman Bernstein yes councilman ch yes Council vice president Sergeant no and council president C yes ordinances first reading ordinance 15-24 entitled an ordinance entitled calendar year 2024 ordinance to exceed the municipal budget appropriation limits and to establish a cap Bank pursuant to njsa 44-454 I need a motion to approve ordinance 15-24 on first reading and to authorize the notice of approval in public hearing to be held on April 25th 2024 motion second councilman brelli yes councilman Bernstein yes councilman Chisum yes Council vice president Sergeant yes and council president C yes council president are there any ordinances left for this evening 16 no it's ordinance 16- 24 okay I didn't receive any ordinances is there an ordinance on for this evening for introd introduction per for the roadway yes yes okay it was sent you were away Friday and Monday so I don't know if maybe it's in Jacqueline's email but it was definitely sent okay I'm sorry we checked this after afternoon we I wish you would have asked me before the meeting I would have forwarded it we definitely but I definitely sent it okay thank you ordinance 16-24 entitled an ordinance amending ordinance 10-24 of the township of Jackson County of ocean state of New Jersey to delete permit parking on any County Road I need a motion to approve ordinance 16-24 on first reading and to authorize a notice of approval and public hearing to be held on April 25th 2024 just for transparency before everybody votes I just want to make sure that everybody understands one what it's about this is an ordinance that we had for permanent parking when I had sent it to the county um to for them to adopt it there was some language in there that it was reading that it was also permitted uh parking on the county roads and that's not you're not allowed to do that so therefore Council um revised it and re removed that verbage so it is not a new ordinance it's the same ordinance um that was adopted previous viously we just had to uh change the wording so I just want everybody to be clear on that so that way there's no um miscommunication so I'll make a motion second councilman burelli yes councilman Bernstein yes councilman Chisum yes Council vice president Sergeant yes and council president cun yes thank you next item on the agenda is the second public hearing for the community development block grant program for calendar year 2024 in accordance with the guidelines set forth the township is required to hold two public hearings for the purpose of soliciting ideas and applications the community would like to see presented to the Ocean County Community Development block program this hearing will enable the township to select and prioritize applications for the Ocean County Community Development block grant program and the first hearing was held on March 26th of 2024 I need a motion to open the public hearing motion to open the public hearing second all in favor I I thank you if at this time if any member of the public wishing to speak on this topic and bring forward their suggestions please address the council at their microphone and state your name and address clearly for the record you will have five minutes and may only speak once seeing no one come forward on this on this uh I guess resolution uh our ordinance I make a motion to close public session second all in favor I I I we'll now move on to uh calendar year 2024 Municipal operating budget presentation overview from our business administrator Mr Terence wall Go sir okay thank you so much does that work okay very good good evening everybody I want to thank everyone for being here today especially for Jackson Police Department to to to follow the riveting Municipal budget presentation I I I know you're here to drill into it for a couple hours with me appreciate that uh so I wanted to um for for for folks that are are interested um the my name is Terrence wall I'm the business administrator I'm here on behalf of Mayor Michael Reena to uh provide a budg budget presentation for consideration for the governing body um when introduced this budget will be available to the public and online so from this date there'll be a public Hearing in late May and from this date any questions you may have from the public and obviously the council uh from this date you're able to have this document and and uh ask any questions that you may have so what I'm going to do to try to do here is go through a presentation for you uh which is not two hours um the Jackson Township budget presentation for 2024 I do want to express my appreciation to our Chief Financial Officer Sharon pinkava and assistant Municipal Treasurer Patricia schwark thank you so much for everything that you do you could always tell by the level of stress on the Departments how tight the budget is kept each and every year so thank you for everything that you're doing to help make sure that Jackson Remains the best place to live work and raise a family it's appreciated so I'm going to move right along the budget is a year round process it's not just today it's not just the introduction it's not just the public hearing it's every day each and every day all of the Departments working together to ensure that they're utilizing tax dollars efficiently so today if the council would introduce the budget they would consider it and then there going to be an adoption in late May and then there's a forecast in a close out as you get towards the end of the year but all the while during the season and the seasons we're preparing for the next budget as well it's not simply one year it moves on and on just by way of background the state of New Jersey dictates the budget process they dict take the financial management and all the accounting practices of all the municipalities across the state so they're very strict rules regarding that are our Auditors here I they are here okay so we're audited every single year um and their job is to dig into the numbers to drill into how we're doing what we're doing are are we making our deposits on time are we following Financial guidelines appropriately that's their job but their job is to tell us what we're doing right and what we need to do better and they're here this evening as well as a finance team in the event there are any question that we can ask or that we can answer for you so we follow the all the processes and the legalities of the state the Department of Community Affairs approves all budgets and all the financial statements and all the audits that you just heard a moment ago the municipal budget has two principal components it's an operating budget which is your day-to-day so to speak for a lay person and the capital budget capital budget would be items that have a significant useful life they may be fire apparatus they may be buildings they may be uh SUVs for the police department those kinds of things Road improvements milling and Paving which Jackson has scaled up tremendously if you're traveling on Jackson roads you've seen the great work of the county and also municipality and ensuring Safe Streets for your families and also the emergency services that you you may need to Avail yourselves of police fire and first aid so it's also organized into two expense categories salary and wages and also other expenses the budget must always balance revenues and expenses the budget process is affected by different fiscal years for example we are calend calendar year whereas the state of New Jersey is State fiscal year July 1 through 6:30 the Board of Education similarly is July 1st through 6:30 as well we're calendar year January 1 through 12:31 now first let's look back at 2023 a little bit the township had miscellaneous Revenue exceeding the budget totals by approximately 1.3 million that's from interest on investments and deposits also increases in fees and permits unanticipated Revenue was 1, 18076 41 that included off-duty search charge rental registration a solar farm lease gas and fuel reimbursement and a Tower Rental also want to share with you the fees and permits that were anticipated were 350,000 we received over 483,000 okay so so as far as what we're budgeting we try to be conservative and you see oftentimes the numbers are coming in far better towards the end of the year interest on investments and deposits we anticipated 583 th000 we received over 1.7 million in 2023 also off-duty search charge 339,000 rental registration 157,000 solar farm leas is 120 120,000 that is gas and fuel reimbursement of 112,000 and the Tower Rental of 111,000 you got want to go through the expenses a little bit typically you'll see the what's budget and what's expended there's a differential there we're coming in lower 20123 is a little bit more unique 2023 budgeted is 56,2 183 it's showing 56 742 is expended and that's because 2023 was very unique in several different ways one is that we had to book the revaluation process if you live in Jackson you're familiar with it it's a multi-million dollar project 2 point approximately 2. 2 million and change and that is that should be done on or about next year that's when the assessment letters will go out but that project got booked in 2023 Additionally the master plan process which is a requirement every municipality needs to undergo a ma master plan process we are undergoing that process now that's added an additional 273,000 to the 2023 budget and also folks have read over the past few months uh a number of pieces of litigation have been settled and processed and that included an amount of about 475,000 as well which is what why that is showing those figures for the 2024 budgeted amount of 59 m1842 12073 you're seeing that many of those items are statutory health benefits and pension workman's comp and liability emergency authorizations and judgments and also contractual the gentleman Mr Puchi earlier was referencing contracts you want to pay a fair wage to attract and retain key employees to make sure that the Community can prosper and grow and that's precisely what we have done here you can move along now by the way anybody who's looking for the last slide I can tell you the average assessed home is going to have a decrease in $7.70 and the function of that is because the valuations of the community from positive uh Revenue generating ratables uh there's a reason when you hear about having positive ratables and and and proactive and productive development the notion is that it stabilizes taxes well in this case even though the bud goes up 2% as far as the expense side the average homeowner is going to have a reduction in $77.70 this year uh for their Municipal portion um go slide thanks a lot so there's the 20124 proposed Municipal budget summary it shows the total of 59 m184 to 2073 on the revenue side and on the expense side 59 billion 1884 to 2073 and it's bundled by miscellaneous anticipated Revenue delinquent taxes the fund balance or Surplus and the amount to be raised by taxation and on the expense side is a salary and wages which is typically the largest largest line in any municipality the statutory expenses Debt Service the reserve for uncollected taxes and other expenses next slide thank you very much so now here's where the comparison is it makes it pretty clear you have 2023 2024 is proposed and then the change the tax levy is showing 2% which is fairly standard across the the state is that me or did you do that okay sorry um many municipalities may have a flat budget or a budget cut and that kind of thing uh it's very specific mayor arena there are no budget gimmicks the numbers are the numbers you have to fund the the goods and services that are required by the folks that live and work in uh in Jackson Township the difference though is the the assessed valuation overall has gone up about 170 million significant so that Ur to the collective benefit of the Jackson taxpayer and that's why you're seeing a reduction in $7.70 so the municipal tax levy is showing a change of 2% the tax rate is showing a a reduction of 46% the average property valuation of the average home and then you could do the math for your own home was 33,6 A8 in 2023 and it moved up a relatively modest 33 2,937 87 in 2024 in the proposed budget looking at the municipal tax on the average property which I reference a couple of minutes ago in 2023 at 16682 in 20124 1660 and 32 a um reduction in $77.70 the number that drives that to help understand that and of course from this meeting tonight call my office uh call the finance team we're happy to answer any questions you have by email or phone or in person the assessed valuation you'll see uh 7 Bill 54,1 1469 7 b226 9349 you see that differential there the 226 and the 0 054 that's your 170 approximately and that's showing a change of 2.45% the impact on a penny 75415 to 722 693 which an increase of 2.45% next slide please total expenses by category this is just simply a breakdown and by the way this presentation will also be online so you can download it you can look at it if you have questions similarly this will be online as well building and planning Debt Service Capital Improvement General government insurance Public Works Public Safety Recreation the reserve for uncollected taxes and statutory expenses totaling 59 million1 184,000 22073 next slide please go to the back go one slide back if you can by category I just want to shed a little bit of um a little bit of light on those numbers in building and planning engineering includes NJ do Grant economic advisory committee historical commission Planning and Zoning uniform construction code with the building department includes commercial building standards unsafe structures committee housing inspection rent leveling board and code enforcement on debt service and capital Improvement that's Bond principle and interest and also down payment for bonding General government is Administration purchasing Human Resources Township Clerk and Board of Health Office of the mayor Town Council Finance data processing which are Our IT department the tax collector tax assessor legal fees municipal prosecutor Community Alliance and drug abuse commission for the disabled including Grant going green committee Environmental Health commission Animal Control Office of the Golden Age accumulated leave trust salary and wage adjustment utilities and fuel which includes lowp judgments and legal settlements matching funds for Grants Municipal Court revaluation and the master plan was set on what's called a 5-year emergency that's how they divide it out over five years on insurance is liability workers comp employee Group Insurance Health waiver and unemployment public works as many of you know it's streets and Roads Road snow removal recycling buildings and grounds Shater commission motorpool Community Services act Street lighting Landfill Recycling partnership and tonnage grants and legler post closure Public Safety as you can imagine and thank you all for your service everyone it's police dispatch OEM and grants as far as a line item in the budget Recreation is a recreation department in park maintenance and the rut the reserve for un collected taxes I mentioned earlier salary is pension and and uh the F amount thank you next slide this is simply shows the property class breakdown a vacant land residential Farm commercial industrial and apartments and it gives you an idea how it how the town breaks down and that changes obviously from year to year next slide please so let's look at the entire estimated property tax bill of a Jackson Township resident the local school is the bulk as as it is in every Community essentially the local school district number Municipal purpose tax county purpose fire districts and Municipal open space so you see the the municipal purpose tax is a is a relatively small piece of the pie uh but this gives you an idea and a breakdown of where where your tax dollars go how you break it down and again this will be online so you can take a look at it uh later on tonight or tomorrow next slide please proposed Levy increase is 2% estimated annual increase average home is a decrease of $7.70 period um each and every day the Departments do a fantastic job of trying to rain in over time and make sure that every dollar spent is a dollar well spent and wisely spent and we can we have an audit trail of every single dollar that of your tax dollars that goes out to a good or service of something of value which is public record anyone is entitled to it happy to share it it'll give you an idea it's precisely where every single dollar goes and every single dollar I can share with you is very very well spent on your behalf next slide much of the disappointment of some of the audience that was the last slide and okay so on behalf of of Mayor Arena presenting the 2024 budget for your consideration thank you very much for your consideration and thank you for the folks that were out here uh listening tonight of where your dollar is going here in the township of Jackson thank you very much for listening appreciate your time tonight thank you I would just like to make a comment if that's okay um I just say Jackson Township and the county both recognize the cost of services um are escalating however locally we held the line as you just saw at 2% increasing with the Positive new ratables and the added assessments it brings we are reducing the impact on the average home by nearly $8 for 2024 $7.70 this is due to the efficient participant participation with mayor R's Administration the council and the Departments who work hard every day to keep Jackson the best place is to live work and raise a family thank you so much uh Mr wall I appreciate your presentation thank you very much council president for those that are interested the we'll have a public hearing on May 28th so it's plenty of time to look at the budget um and the um and it's essentially a presentation I got to tell you I I've worked in a number of communities I would argue that Jackson Township is one of the most fiscally responsible communities in the state of New Jersey absolutely barnone and that is knowing quite a few different municipalities so hats off to the council the mayor and and all the staff the finance office thank you again for all the hard work that you do it's much appreciated have a good evening than you thank you I need a motion to approve budget resolution R1 170-20 on first reading advertise the approval synopsis and notice of second reading and public hearing to be held on May 28th 2024 motion second councilman barelli I want to thank uh administrator wall for presentation of the municipal budget and um despite the uncertain economy that we're in where everyone is paying uh for almost everything like food and gas particularly our Township Vehicles when it comes to fueling up and all that and with other expenses I'm glad to see there's a cut in the municipal tax rate and Jackson Township still maintains a very good double A+ uh credit rating yes thank you councilman burn so also I want to thank the administrator Mr wall and mayor Rea and his entire team I think I saw Miss Novak in the back um for really putting in their their fullest to get get us to where we are and thank you and I vote yes thank you councilman Chisum I would also like to thank the administration but especially our finance team Trish and Sharon thank you very much for the hard work back there and yes thank you Council vice president Sergeant yes and council president C again great job yes thank you bills in claims motion to approve or hold the bills and claims motion please motion please yes second councilman burelli uh have on vendor numbers uh d l01 uh NJ d04 uh njs uh 04 r04 sta 28 and sta 76 yes to the rest in thank you thank you councilman Bernstein yes councilman Chisum stay on B1 18 and rut4 yes to the rest thank you Council vice president Sergeant yes thank you council president C abstain on RCS 002 yes to the rest thank you consent agenda I need a motion to approve the listed resolutions under consent agenda motion please motion second councilman barelli uh yeah clerk Moss actually I have a question regarding uh one of the resolutions um r177 d24 I I don't remember receiving any proposals for that service did we re was there more than just one proposal that came across for consideration for this position there were three proposals that were submitted um and that's this was the one of the three that was chosen okay was this the was it the lowest bid uh each of them talked about hourly rates uh all about the same um and I can't recall what each of the numbers were but they were all in the general same same range okay um Also regarding resolution thank you Mr McGuckin uh regarding resolution r178 d24 uh when the public safety director position came up and was proposed I expressed you know concerns or reservations about it I voted no on it I still have um some reservations concerns about it and you know considering that we have a police chief already however I wish officer candido um congratulations and um I also um wish you very well in your new position and I hope you work work very well with the police chief and the entire police department for the benefit of all Jackson residents and their safety so yes to all the resolutions including those two thank you councilman Bernstein so um I before I vote I just want to really to thank um again Administration and the clerk's office for putting us all together um I had opportunity and it's great to see a local media site um who's local in town to to be involved and to hopefully get out some of the wonderful things to make our town more transparent and give give our residents information in a timely fashion also I also want to congratulate the officer Canino who's in the in the crowd over there um it's great to see you here it's great to see all the men and women from the Department here and I vote Yes in everything thank you councilman Chisum Well everybody's already uh familiar with my views on larger governments and uh I'm against that in every way shape and form however I was already uh expressed those views but since we have uh appointed a new uh safety director I do wish officer candido the best and I hope that uh everybody gets what we're looking for and a smoother running department so yes to all thank you Council vice president sergeant yes thank you council president cun thank you um I am just going to make a comment regarding resolution 17724 transparency is the Cornerstone of a good government and by enhancing our communication channels re reaffirm our dedication to openness and accountability I'm confident that the involvement of a Public Relation service company will enable us to better serve the needs and uh interests of our community while also promoting trust and understanding among all stakehold holders in regards to resolution 178-degree his exponential leadership skills edra Leon I am excited to collaborate with you and impelling the police department towards greater achievement in Pro progress congratulations sir um I yes to [Applause] everything at this time we move to public comments on any topic if any member of the public has any comments to make please address council at the microphone state your name and address clearly for the record you have five minutes and may only speak once good evening Joe candido obviously appointed the new public safety director thank you [Applause] um thank you um first I want to thank the council uh Marena uh and the entire Administration for the great work that you guys do and for supporting this um it I'm looking forward to working with everybody and being transparent and moving us forward and getting us more Progressive than we are right now uh second I want to thank the men and women in the Jackson Township Police Department without them uh I wouldn't be who I am uh they are a am amazing group of men and women that work in this department with such talent and we're going to make it shine even more working together and communicating together guys we're going to do a great job um I also want to thank the retired guys because there's a few of them here um I've learned so much from them and they've taught me so much and made me the cop that I am and the leader that I was when I was a union president I like to thank them all uh to my family uh for putting up with 25 years of not being home on the holidays not being home at night um bringing bad news to them about their F friends at times that was tough but I love you thank you and it's my neighbors that are sitting here that's my second family they're an amazing group of people and they've supported me as well thank you thank you sir congratulations [Applause] well that's tough to follow up I'll keep my comments briefing but on behalf of the men and women of PBA Anda just state your name oh SOA President John Rodriguez thank you on behalf of the members of PBA and SOA 168 uh we would like to thank the council and the mayor and administrator wall as well for all your help in getting this done and getting this getting us to this point there is no one better suited for this position you have made an outstanding choice and we all look forward to the progress that the police department will make under the leadership of director candido so thank you thank you [Applause] [Laughter] sir anyone else anyone else hello um Carissa from 37 Birch Drive Congratulations by the way but I'm here on a different topic um so I just wanted to follow up as far as my bamboo situation um I just wanted to see where we were at I know we did like the quotes and everything so I just kind of wanted to see where we're at with everything I also haven't really heard um what we're doing on my property specifically I know there's been talk about possibly doing the spraying and stuff on the township property but I'm just trying to see I know I spoke with um the attorney last week as well and I had mentioned like maybe we can you know take care of this I've been dealing with this over a year now back and forth with the township so I'm just hoping now that it's spring and since we've already cut the Groves I Know This Ss redundant but I'm living this this is my life this is my home so I kind of I'm trying to um get that taken care of and I know um when it comes to like legal and stuff like that it becomes one of those things where like I understand the township budget and stuff doesn't want to have to come out of that so I just I'm trying to see where we're at do we have any if I may yes sir oh thank you council president thanks for coming in how are you nice to see you um so I from the last time we spoke I I didn't receive the proposal yet but my I haven't seen the proposal yet okay U so but that said I think we should just set up a meeting you when if you have time later on this week with uh Mr balinsky and I I'll contact the vendor I haven't seen the proposal so I didn't have anything to respond or react to did you get m that I forwarded you from them directly from mine cuz I followed up we spoke and then I forwarded you mine yeah we're just missing I'm missing their email to me but what we can do is set the meeting up regardless and then we'll we'll connect it before we meet but you got my email that I forwarded from them the propos I need to I just I need a communication from them directly and then book it and then book the meeting but but we're in the same place we'll set up the meeting and then we'll dovetail that together so I I just need I need a direct communication from them from them so you need me do you need me to reach I'm just not no like I'm I'll call them in the morning okay and same vendor that you're speaking with and I'll ask them to to complete the task that they were charged with has there been like another um discussion with anybody else as far as like what we're doing for like my property cuz I know that part's been up in the air as far as like them I keep hearing that you don't go on private property which I understand this is a very unique situation um but it's also been I've had my house two and a half years I've been in communication with the township for over a year now so it's just kind of like the town the essence it's a legal question but the township isn't typically a private landscaper bamboo is a special uh class of grass I suppose uh it's a very unique thing but I think that the next step would be just as I mentioned uh regardless of the fact that I didn't get their email yet we'll operate on yours I'm going to call them tomorrow I was head of the meeting anyway but but the legal question that townships are not typically private landscapers right no I understand it's not like I'm asking about like weeds or anything crazy it's becomes like I said it was like and I know it's not you guys like this is from years ago this Grove was like over 40 years old so it's well before your your guys's time but I'm not asking you to take responsibility for their lack of maintaining the property which was Township property I'm just asking that you hear where I'm coming from and I think that I think the business administrator said that he's going to set up a meeting and I think that maybe we should have the meeting and then reconvene after that meaning because it sounds like so the way Administration works if you don't mind he needs to the from the vendor it has to be sent directly to him it can't be a you would be considered sending it to him he he has to get it directly from that vendor so once he gets it from that vendor and I believe that with DPW will have a meeting with um Mr balinsky and and I think that's your next step I know that you I I understand your problem you know I know your problem um I know who sold you your house so I I I have your back history so I think let's get that meeting like Mr wall had said and then re visit once you have all the ducks in a row for that yeah and just add one other item just you're here spending your time to come here tonight we did interact with the public works in regarding securing the the the Border materials for that type of type of issue and we can talk about that at the meeting as well okay and then also I um I know some of the public works are there and like I'm not sure if one of them is like frustrated about the situation or whatnot but he seems a little sassy I always like check in and like hey does anyone need any water like I'm always so friendly to everyone I don't give any want a hard time but the one I heard him like you don't realize you can hear from inside the house you're in my back like you're basically in my backyard I can hear you and I can hear what you're saying and it's not very nice and it's I'm I'm a peaceful person I understand that I might be coming to you guys a lot calling you guys a lot but it's also my home and it's also you know a danger to my Foundation I know it sounds like you guys probably think I'm being dramatic but it's not like when you look up Roots it's already at the back of my house and like you were saying with budget like you guys just redid the roads you just redid the like water gas it's at the street like I'll say three things one you're a taxpayer your right to say what you wish two impolite talk is not permitted and I'll handle that internally and three we'll set up that meeting this week okay thank you thank you ma'am thank you have a good night good evening my name is Lindy eager natal I live at 15 Pine Valley Road I am president of the Board of Trustees of the West Lake golin Community uh on behalf of the Board of Trustees and the 1421 homes in Westlake I wish to thank the council for their support for the resolution adopting an amendment for the affordable housing spending plan ordinance 179-22 a special thanks to the mayor council president jennif fun and council member Morty Bernstein for all their work and assistance to making this happen the ordinance will have two fold benefit the Westlake North Campus residents will be benefiting by less traffic traveling through their and our community but most importantly number two the residents of the affordable housing complex The Muse will now be able to enter their homes without the need to go through West Lake gate while I cannot speak for the residents of the Muse I am certain they are grateful to finally have their own access into their own community so again thank you very much for your support for the betterment of both communities thank you ma'am we appreciate you thank you good evening Council Donnie Adelman 206 will Point Jackson um been here a few times and I've asked a few questions seemed like being light on answers so I have two questions for you tonight and if possible I'd like to have my time held Reserve so that this way could follow up number one what must be done to remove Mr Raina from office he is not serving the full residence of Jackson there is a mechanism in place I've asked I'd like to know what that mechanism is number two it seems that there's a big uh use of the words transparency and openness in this town but it's not really the case case in point this broadcast right now is being and sent over you two kids which is the inappropriate for for this ca for this council meeting or any of the board meetings anything to go with public government in this town there is no commentary being allowed because of two reasons number one it's on YouTube kids and number two apparently some people some members of the council find that turning public commentary on would be detrimental to the best interest of the Town regardless of what the open public meetings act say so I'd like to get those two questions answered and I'd like to have a chance to follow up upon those answers I wrote them down I will get back to you I I can't have them tonight because I mean I'm I have to write them down and I'll get back to I have to look into it I will look into it okay to be clear yes not as a public menace not as disrupt this meeting but next meeting if this is not on regular YouTube with commentary turned on all right we will go under look and express myself under the rosenvelt versus the state of New Jersey precedent and I will get that broadcast taken off of YouTube kids and you'll have to deal with the Attorney General's office I'm assuming as to why you're violating the public guidelines that were sent out in 2020 and adopted as full-time past covid that you guys I understand the trepidation I understand that uh social media is a disaster with this town I understand that the residents Express themselves way too freely I guess would be a nice way to put it but you can't limit the transparency you can't limit the First Amendment and whether or not it leads to more lawsuits well I guess you might want to budget more for that because apparently one of the things I heard with Mr wall is somehow we had like a half million dollar Surplus on one of the accounts you might want to reinvest that for some short-term use thank you so much I look forward to hearing those answers thank you sir I appreciate it have a nice night stay safe everyone thank you trainer Sergeant 155 Wild Dunes Way Jackson um when I was here two weeks ago uh council president cun misu me for the person that was asking about the pickall courts yes I apologize for that and the tenant course I apologize it wasn't me actually what we spoke on was the fact uh the pscj the meeting yes that you were having with pscj um as I had stated to you my heating bill is over $320 a month my house is ,700 square F feet Yes my thermostats at 69° constantly and I have a brand new heating system in uh my home amongst other things are there do you have any more planned meetings with PSC and G well the thing is is we were going back and forth and I think that you're I I believe that you're talking about New Jersey natural gas that's what we were talking about right yes not psng is your electric yeah but I thought you had said that you were having no I had said that the county commissioner were looking to meet with um The Electric Company because of services not being provided um as quickly and they were working on that um councilman um Commissioners said they gave was working on that but when you when I had spoken with you you had asked me that at the at west lake at the meeting but when we had spoke when you were talking I I think you were referring to your gas bill and I had advised you I would probably call um the gas company cuz something sounds like I remember I had said I think maybe you have a leak or something cuz it is astronomically High um and that's what I had advised you know that's what I would tell anybody um that has that high of a bill when it comes to a 1,700 s foot house and having do you see any time I I do not I believe I I did ask and I there are no other servic is coming in other than not that I'm aware of I don't understand the question so so that she's saying she she was mistaking electric for gas there is no other gas company coming in no not that I'm aware of unless no and some of my neighbors have g bill was over $500 a month you know what maybe we'll um you know what let me I have your information you've email I've spoken with you and you've got I I'm going to speak with the business administrator and a couple other people and then I'll get back to you okay thanks much appreciate all right council president just briefly I don't believe we're on YouTube kids at all just to to the other gentleman's question and okay I just want to that thank you good evening Dan pic 17 Alaska Avenue and Jackson I just want to commend public works for the amazing job that they're doing cleaning up the bulk in my Development I've been there for 46 years the guy the whole department is doing an outstanding job this time I want to commend them thank you very much thank you sir I'll make sure that they know that they're watching so they know John Puchi 17 show wrote Terrence uh the last uh council meeting I brought up the $7 million litigation expenses that we paid out over the last seven months uh and and and the attorney and you assured me of the risk management uh tell me uh first of all Financial people haven't gotten back to me with where that money has come from yet so this is ongoing so and you told me that you have Tak care of at the last meeting that hasn't happened however have we noticed any increase in any of our insurance premiums since that time uh in other words has any of our um new premium years started which would reflect any types of increases as a result of those payouts uh no our state health benefits which is separate from that went up 7.7% approximately January and is on track to look at about 25% in the beginning of next year year so we're taking a hard look at where our benefit structures are located but as far as the joint Insurance Fund that's a three-year plan I believe what about any what about we must have other liability insurance or don't we or we just have the Jeff we're part of a pool yeah that's it that's our total liability insurance well that's in the pool but if we have different product lines there's disability product line there's a medical product line okay okay product line yeah yeah but when when it comes to when it comes to that type of litigation um you know where does that stand with that type of insurance I receiv received a call back from the the GIF today because I I I take your question seriously and I want to be accurate because well there are a number there are different parts to that question which deductible is applied in which year which and there there isn't simply one case right um so there it's a nuanced question that is deserving of a full answer not just a quick answer this this and this right as far as the rates we're in a pool um and so we impact other municipalities they impact us and so it's no I fully understand that okay yeah my past experi I haven't seen I haven't seen not tied directly to our claims no I haven't seen that not D tied directly to and I guess tell me when when you have a discrimination lawsuit where where is that coming out of what what what what pocket does that come out of is that that's is that is that a form of a liability is that the way that's considered and as a general answer any case we receive is sent to the carrier and they determine whether or not this coverage or not as very fact specific I'd have to refer it over to the attorney but it's a that's a very fact specific item I can just share with you any litigation that the municipality receives we send it to our carriers and then they will go over the terms and conditions of the contract and they'll let us know what the coverage is and what the limits of liability are on that particular item but that would be I'd be generalizing if I gave you a specific answer to a general question okay thanks what about what about that Mr attorney what what would you say would that as Mr wall indicated we have different types of coverage okay for different types of claims okay and it would be a specific type of claim not every claim of ret of uh what was the question you asked I I I said discrimination discrimination well there's different types of discrimination that and depends on different types of coverage um so it would be very fact specific to the allegations okay so there isn't an umbrella for that kind of uh joint The Joint Insurance Fund we're also part of the municipal excess liability fund which is a excess liability coverage above the GIF right all also public entities um that cover us okay thanks just to add on our our policies are public records so if you if you reach out i' be happy to coate them and and and provide copies of the actual policy documents can you get somebody back from the fin department to get back to be one of these days sooner lat thank you thank you sir seeing no one else come forward and make a motion to close public session second all in favor I motion to close second all in favor I have a good night have a great night everyone thank you