The Council’s agenda focused on three resolutions related to the Borough’s financial management. The first resolution, 2024-1, was the adoption of a temporary operating budget for 2024, which permits the Borough to spend 26. 25% of the annual budget until the official budget is adopted. This resolution passed uneventfully as part of the Borough’s routine financial procedures.

Significantly, the Council addressed Resolution 2024-43, which involved approving installment payments for supplemental assessments owed to the Middlesex County Municipal Joint Insurance Fund for years 2001 to 2011. A public comment by Thomas Jak highlighted concerns over the financial burden of lawsuits on taxpayers. Jak pointed to a recent settlement related to the insurance fund that involved a $67,500 waiver and questioned the cumulative effects of insurance policies and mismanagement on the town’s finances. Mayor Larry Fox and the Council discussed the relevance of these concerns to the resolution, with the Mayor clarifying that the Borough had not been a member of the Middlesex Joint Insurance Fund since 2020.

The discussion brought to light the successful negotiation that reduced the Borough’s financial obligation from an initial invoice of nearly $225,000 to a lower amount and enabled a three-year payment plan without interest, thanks to the attorney’s efforts. Council Member Al Gubitosi commended the attorney for the adept negotiation that significantly lessened the financial impact on the Borough.

Another topic of note was the temporary Debt Service resolution for 2024, which raised questions about the lack of principal payments in the sewer and beach utility budgets. It was clarified that the payments in question were for bond anticipation notes (BANs), which typically do not require principal payments in the initial years but only interest payments, with the requirement to transition to permanent financing within ten years.