e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e good evening everyone I'd like to call this meeting to order it is April 2nd 2024 um we are at the Howell Township regular council meeting this meeting is being held in accordance with public law 1975 chapter 231 open public meetings act adequate notice has been provided in the manner prescribed by law this agenda is complete to the extent known and form noral action will be taken I'll begin with a roll call councilwoman fiser here councilman gager here councilwoman odonnell here Deputy Mayor nadell is absent this evening mayor burer present thank you Mr clar is any reason to go into executive session this evening yes we have a couple contract matters to discuss thank you so this may I have a motion motion to go into executive session second councilwoman Fischer yes councilman gajer yes councilwoman odonnell yes Deputy Mayor Burger yeah thank you Deputy Mayor I still I still have excuse me mayor I I still have it a couple more months you can't take it you will 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 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 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 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 e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e evening everyone thank you for joining us this evening April 2nd 2024 it's actually um autism spectrum aware disorder awareness day um and I promised my nephew I would shout out to him so to Anthony Luca baby I love you um can we please have a roll call councilwoman Fischer here councilman geser here councilwoman odono here Deputy Mayor nadell is absent this evening mayor Burger pres thank you if we can please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance and have a moment of silence for fallen heroes unit stes of America stands one nation under God indivisible with liy and jce for all thank you um we have a proclamation for alcohol awareness month to be read by Christa ridle that way yeah good evening good evening I'm Christa riddle I'm the alliance coordinator so I do uh substance use prevention and mental health awareness for the town for those of you who do not know um April is alcohol awareness month so we have a proclamation um for this year whereas according to the World Health Organization in 2022 approximately 3 million people die each year as a result of harmful alcohol use and whereas approximately 16 million Americans were heavy alcohol users and 14.5 million Americans had an alcohol use disorder according to the N 2019 National survey on drug use and health and whereas 7 million adults ages 12 to 20 reported current alcohol use despite its illegality for this age group and whereas alcohol use disorders are among the mental disorders with the lowest treatment rate due to a lack of awareness denial stigma shame and limited access to support resources and whereas excessive alcohol use increases the risk of injuries and chronic diseases such as liver and heart disease cancer poor pregnancy outcomes and mental and behavioral disorders and whereas underage alcohol use can interfere with normal brain development increase the risk of alcohol use disorder across a lifetime and contribute to a range of negative consequences such as sexual assaults alcohol overdoses motor vehicle crashes homicides and suicides and whereas the how Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention and mental health awareness remains committed to Community Education and awareness on the prevention and treatment of alcoholism alcohol misuse and underage drinking uh now therefore Teresa mayor B uh Teresa burer mayor of the township of Howell on behalf of the township Council proclaims April 2024 as alcohol awareness month in Hal Township New Jersey and commend its observance to all citizens thank you at this time may I have a motion for minutes of March 5th 2024 i' like to make a motion to accept the minutes of March 5th 2024 may I have a second second councilman Fischer yes councilman gaser yes coun woman O'Donnell yes mayor Burger abstain thank you um we cannot vote on the next set so we're not going to vote on this till the next meeting correct because there not a core they were not there we we just yeah okay okay just to put that out there um are there any reports uh not from me just what we discussed in exact and then we have the budget presentation later so okay nothing for me nothing can we begin the meeting Mr Clark we have anything going on with the news as far as the PBA contract goes so we can't go into too much detail but we've we've had a meeting with them uh We've traded some drafts we are getting our draft back to them uh this week I anticipate and we're looking to hopefully have this settled by the end of the month okay thank you so at this time I'd like to open uh hearing of citizens and public comment on the consent agenda item and general matters so I would like to open up the floor each person shall first give their name and address to the clerk the council should be addressed as a collective body and not as individual members each person shall have one turn to address the council and comments shall not exceed a total of 5 minutes speakers shall be notified when their time has run and no time extensions shall be permitted um Mr Ry Berger uh Paul Ray Berger 147 honor Boulevard coming in here tonight to continually talk about truck traffic people speeding down my road uh had a real bad incident about two weeks ago uh my daughter and my granddaughter my granddaughter sitting right here she decided to come tonight CAU come flying by an insane amount of speed they were just getting ready to leave my house so I was worried about them pulling out into the street thought maybe they might get killed so I called the police department see if they could send the guy down you know just to slow things down uh the guy wouldn't send anybody out said it was wasn't important enough but I said well listen I got it on film I got a camera out in front of my house if the guy's not too busy if he's in any area could he stop by take a look at it the guy stopped by uh young police officer super nice guy I showed him all my videos the same ones that I've been showing to you people uh with the car speeding so then he said to me he says look I'll hang out I'll hang out for a little while if I got time sure enough we got it right on field matter of fact I Diane I think I sent it to her this afternoon I don't know if you got a chance to see it or not not but I almost had a head-on collision out there um guy I don't know what he's doing is any other lane thank God the person stopped it was real close to a head-on probably would have resulted in another uh fatality came real close last meeting I was at I wasn't even joking around when I said I'll keep a body count for you honestly I came very close to having to put another addition to it and I got it on film you could see it but the other thing I wanted to talk about is what I talked about last meeting was the corner of arold Boulevard of Lakewood Allenwood Road with the uh trucks not being being able to make that turn I brought in some pictures for you and uh you know just concerned about these trucks going head on into the uh school buses and I I gave you the pictures and I have a couple new ones here too in color but anyway when I had that meeting with uh Mr Clark over here uh and I I said the whole thing was nothing but a set up they had no intentions on helping me they were just trying to get rid of me but he made a big deal over a school there was a school there uh he made a big deal about the fact that the buses it had no bearing on anything the weight restriction on the road because he says because the students were all busted in but anyway the point I'm trying to make is he knew all about them buses right there's three schools around the corner Lake would probably about a mile mile and a half away three schools on ramtown Greenville Road you go the other way there's three more schools probably all with than a mile and a half but yet last meeting when Mrs O'Donald asked Mr Clark if he knew anything about that intersection with the he says no he wasn't aware of it but when it was convenient for him at that meeting he knew everything there was to know about them schools when it was going to work in his argument so I don't know what's going on here they did a uh study about a year ago uh I got the results right here there's uh 246 buses a week on that road trucks 1,182 trucks on a road uh multi how many I'm sorry how many buses did you say 246 thank you I'm going to give you this so you have it this is this is the most recent report okay and uh I don't know then they got motorcycles in here I don't know what that's all about who rides a motorcycle in January I don't understand that at all speed limit they got the speed limit at 39 miles an hour that's a complete fabrication the last time they did it was 49 miles hour I went out and bought a a uh um a radar gun every freaking car is doing between 40 and 50 miles an hour I don't know where they come up with this 39 mph stuff they got the track the trail is going faster than the course there's something wrong with this uh what's going on here so I guess my question is what the hell's going on around here I mean this this is what's it going to take they already the road was already a no passing zone one of the Geniuses at the police department put it back into speeding I had a head-on collision out there two little kids laying on the side of the road for what I understand one of them didn't make it Mr Robert thank you your time is ended it's up it's over all right well I got the pictures here's the um report so all right you can hand and and and and and the videos are there so I'm not making none of this stuff up we're going to take the people off the list first there yeah it it's okay you'll still get your opportunity let me know Ryan [Applause] Chelli thank you uh my name is Ryan chiarelli and I live at 183 West 6 Street uh my wife and I have lived in h for 3 years now um and this is is our first home we love our house and our property but for the last 8 months my property has slowly been damaged more and more 8 months ago in August of 2023 my neighbor converted from well and septic system to Public Water and Sewer within one week of the project being completed my yard and driveway began to flood my yard has been flooded ever since I've completely lost a quarter of my front yard some parts are up to nearly a foot deep and that's not an exaggeration by September 2023 less than a month after the project was completed I made how Township aware of this via your online request tracker request ID 1 00067 the ticket was assigned to Hal engineering department and the ticket is still open today and has not been updated once by Hal Township or the engineering department I followed up on the ticket over three times in the last seven months and still have not received a single update in writing about two months ago or I'm sorry after about two months of zero updates on the ticket I reached directly out to Justin Yos the deputy director of community devel Vel m in how on the phone he stated that he was already aware of the situation and has been discussing with the homeowner of my next door neighbor cuz my nextor neighbor does not own the house he rents uh he said give him some time and to hold off on doing anything so I gave Justin some time after another month I called back and was told the same thing to wait I mentioned hiring a company to fix the water issue and he told me not to do so because it was obvious that this was caused by the recent construction on my neighbor's property I should not be the one to fix this or pay for this according to Justin he stated that if the homeowner refuses to do anything the town would start writing Zone in violations still to this day I do not believe any violation has been written despite being told to do nothing out of my desperation I contacted ecosystems total outdoor Solutions based out a freehold the service manager came out to give me an estimate and they completely turned down the job due to the amount of water on my property in January of 2024 we contacted the sewer department because the water and the smell the sewer department came out and confirmed via a wand which I'm not sure what it is but it's some type of magnetic wand that they had that there does seem to be an underground pipe in my front yard running across mine and my neighbor's driveways and it drains into my neighbor's property and then eventually across the street into a creek another month went by without any updates so I called back in February of 2024 and Justin told me to come to this building and I did have a meeting with Justin he had a survey on file and that survey did indeed show that there is a drainage pipe running from house across to my neighbor's house and eventually draining across the street like the sewer department assumed most likely the construction crew blocked or crushed the drainage pipe on my neighbor's side of the property even if that was not the case Jason Justin stated that clearly the downstream flow of water has changed due to the recent construction on my neighbor's property I asked Justin what is being done about this and he stated again that if the homeowner refuses to fix this the town will start writing Zone inv violations to the homeowner of my neighbor's house still no tickets were written finally Justin reached out last month in March of 2024 and stated the Department of Public Works would be coming to my house draining the water finding the drainage pipe and putting in a camera in the pipe and if the blockage was found to be on my neighbor's side the homeowner of my Nextdoor neighbor's house would have two weeks to fix it a week later the Department of Public Works did come to my house they drained the water and they found a pipe the only drainage pipe that I know exists on my property although Justin who was at my house at the time stated that it's not the pipe in the survey when I asked about putting a camera in the pipe the Department of Public Works told me that that's not even possible even though Justin told me a week earlier that that was the plan we are now 8 month we are now 8 months since it started and 7 months since I've made how Township aware of this zero action has been taken against the homeowner and the standing water continues to get worse my wife and I can no longer walk out of our driveway get our mail or take our garbage to the curb without knee high fishing boots I can no longer mow part of my lawn that was once green and beautiful I've completely lost a quarter of my front yard delivery drivers are afraid to use my driveway because of the amount of water in the warmer months you can see bugs and mosquitoes along the top of the water besides the health hazard to me and my neighbors my wife is now 4 months pregnant with our first child and I'm already scared for the health of my unborn baby I've been continuously told to wait and do nothing absolutely no construction or changes were made to my property to cause this issue I feel as if I I feel as if I'm being lied to and gas lit by Justin and the town I've reached out to the Department of Environmental Protection the governor's office Mammoth County Mosquito commission as well as other County and State departments and I've received replies quicker from them than I have from how Township Justin made it a point to tell me last week that the Department of Environmental Protection has reached out to him I will continue to exhaust all resources until this is resolved and I am contemplating hiring a lawyer to take legal action I have photos uh before and after of my property here with me I've got the printed online request ticket that still has zero updates and I also have your time has ended thank you do you want any of the documentation I have you can hand it to me yes please I I I have a I have a couple of questions if I may I was just wondering if the homeowner did it thems or was asked to change over to well they were well and septic and then they went I have no idea I I'll get the is the ticket if there's ticket numbers in there I'll talk to Justin in the morning about it so and and the other one is if he is on sewer or well and septic oh are you on sewer or well and septic I am on public sewer and public water and it was converted before me and my wife bought the house okay but my neighbor just just converted last year de okay thank you dance Smith Scrat that may Daniel and you're good okay Debbie Smith oh same is there anyone else that wants to come up and speak who's not on the list your name and address for the record please yes good evening I'm a Christian daughter 11 mous Creek Court here in how good evening um backstory a little bit um I've been appointed as a how uh Farmers advisory committee member and in service to the community we decided we needed to bridge the gap a little bit between the community and and the farmers so a couple of us um established the how Farmers United Facebook website and I am here on behalf of how Farmers United and I won't read my statement now okay we respectfully request the how Township Council can you hear me formulate a statement to act in support of farms and Innovative farming initiatives how Farmers United was established to bridge the gap of communication between farmers public and representative council while establishing a positive interaction and encouraging growth and sustainability of our Farms serving to enhance farming potential hoping to help evolve our Farms with support of creative and interactive approaches allowing Farms to learn and support each other there are very bright and Powerful options for growth of our Farms when we have the support of our Township a big problem in our society is there are so many means of communication that information is easily distorted and important ideas get lost this Gap we intend toing Bridge our society cannot afford our farming needs to be overlooked and abandoned due to the many government and state initiatives now being used to develop Society we watch as Trenton aggressively is seeking land for mandated affordable housing acts and I lost my place here have plun of time that's okay yeah as corporations and llc's are competing for warehouse approvals while we encounter continuous harassment from lawyers threatening lawsuits we do not have much protection of land infrastructure and property struggling with managing their assets this has led to a political movement dictating the way using special interest groups and other resources empowering lawyers and corporations to have the bigger impact on our community development while leaving behind the most precious gifts that everyone SE sees namely our environment we need a definitive form of action plan from our Council to acknowledge farms and farming as our most beneficial asset we encourage our Town Council to use this resource how Farmers United as one reference in starting to get to know our Farms as powerful assets to this community a statement to act in support and protection of our Farms is impaired ative at this stage in Evolution for us all this includes all people benefiting from our highly commercialized Society please protect what is most important to us all we encourage you to do everything you can within your power to help sustain innovate and grow farming potential with public policy we encourage Farmers to use this resource to further collaborate and gain the momentum with a V wide variety of opportuni the farmers have we want our Farms to serve as a model to develop the best evolutionary course our society can take we are ready and willing to help you in the formation of such priorities let's not fail ourselves by failing agricultural development and all its potential let's not fail in communication the most basic human tool let's strive to allow agricultural potential to lead our way forward it is the most human thing we can do thank you all for listening and for making this a priority in your service to the howl Community we encourage you to share this with Trenton thank you thank [Applause] you good evening council members laen white 15 renway happy to report I've returned to my residence as of one week ago I'm back [Laughter] folks uh two things number one I want to speak in support of the farmers uh I was here at the last council meeting and there seemed to be a lot of interest and Outreach from the council members to uh address the needs of the farmers here and how um unfortunately our Township employees rather than going to the farmers and asking them what they need and then trying to give it to them decided on their own what they ought to have and therefore there's a big conflict there so I hope that the council members this evening will satisfy the needs of the farmers and ensure their viability going forward second of all well uh this story of my neighbor over here with the flooded front yard reminded me that last summer new storm order RS were issued by the state and this Township was supposed to conform to them they have I believe a year to do so well that was last summer now it's April and I haven't heard word one about it in the meantime we continue to have projects approved under the old storm waterer Rags which are obviously inadequate or there wouldn't be new ones that were sent down by the state to us to conform to so I'm just wondering what's going on with that and you know as my grandma said the cow's already out the [Applause] barn is there anyone else that would like to come up and speak good evening Betty valet gimble 97 Victory Road owner of Sanam Brook Farm it's been two weeks since the mayor and council members assured the farmers this would be FASTT tracked had we not reached out on Thursday to um Mr Clark we would not have heard anything it's been 26 days since our submission of the letter 124 days since the initial meeting with councilwoman odonnell when the proposed ordinances were pulled due to the op opposition from local farmers Some Farms have met have been met with resistance from this same Administration as far back as 2015 and 2016 and 18 Bear Creek Ury came before you the council on October uh 2021 and July 2022 to plead to do business and we told the master plan would be addressed would address it the master plan did address events in 2022 yet those who developed those proposed ordinances have not Incorporated it you commented at our last Farmers advisory committee meeting councilwoman odonnell that you were surprised and thought that there would be more Farmers involved we have been involved unfortunately farmers are also in fear of retaliation we've been meeting for four months in homes green houses and farm workshops we've mailed 163 letters we've developed the how of farmers United and established a Facebook page we've developed a well-organized oppositional letter supported by New Jersey Law and New Jersey Code as requested by the township manager Joe Clark we delivered I'd like to refer to the letter a couple of points we requested a revision to the proposed definition of farm related special events because the the township is grouping the Agri tourism and direct marketing activities okay with special events they are not the same okay we agreed that weddings birthday parties anniversary parties and other Milestone events that that do not relate to on-site operations of the farm are considered special events so we need those separated because we do have a right to farm and that includes direct marketing and Agri tourism the small scale related events for 30-year guests we had disagreed because this was a restrictive approach stifling growth and sustainability and represents more government intervention than necessary to achieve the town's objectives most importantly this place is undue Financial hardship and conflicts with the intentions of the governing body of the state of New Jersey who envisioned fostering sustainability and viability in the Right to Farm Act and the agricultural retention and development act although the township maintains that 30 was the number that they were comfortable with again we requested 100 guests they also maintained that municipalities uh were going to be held the municipality was going to be held liable well we do know that M municipalities have certain immunities and are protected by the personal injury under New Jersey statute title 59 as um Larry white said earlier the warehouses continue to submit applications despite our Administration having not adopted the new storm water regulations set for forth by the state no one is stopping them because the town isn't ready Matt Howard said it's costly and the town shouldn't be the first to do it I guess he's waiting for other count towns to adopt first no one stopped those huge house rental parties during the shutdown until an ordinance was adopted why are the farmers being held hostage until an ordinance is adopted what's the status of the proposed ordinances what law firm is reviewing the letter would also like to know who developed the proposed ordinances to begin with and we also request a meeting to review the revisions prior to introducing the new ordinances thank [Applause] you good evening mayor and Council mark p 2 Castle Court hello hi um well I mean when I came here in January of 23 when councilman gazer and councilwoman fiser and councilman Nell is not here were sworn in I vividly remember um Everybody spoke and you guys said really beautiful things uh the most the one thing that stood out to me most was you talked about quality of life was going to be your priority when you got on Council and and I didn't plan on speaking tonight but I came here tonight and I see all these farmers and other people that are coming up and what are they talking about they're talking about quality of life issues you have a gentleman Mr a Berger here who who's been here how many times talking about the speeding on Arnold Boulevard I don't believe that he's coming he's making this up I mean we've all everybody that lives in this town is driven down Rand off to Arnold to cut over ramtown everybody knows that they're speeding on that road I mean I probably have sped down that road before so they have you on video now so I mean like you know like come on you know what I mean like let's let's let's take a look at this and see what we can do even if we just lower the speed limit at like you know five or 10 miles an hour something you know uh you know I talk I hear this gentleman talking about the the flooding that's going on in his property it's not just his property I mean there's people that are up in the Fairfield Road that are talking about how they're still flooding on that road after they built the Rock Solid Warehouse there was another gentleman talking about on uh that how there's flooding over where the FP Howell uh project is being built there was a some I'm trying to remember um the the the Kelly that were here after how Family Apartments were built and how their their place got flooded I mean this is not these aren't just isolated issues I mean there's there's a problem with the storm water management why haven't the regs been updated they just approved the turac project up on uh off of West Farms Road 458 units under the old storm water regulations like why didn't we get our our regs in place before you build us a residential subdivision with 450 units I mean I I just there's a lot of things that make me scratch my head and wonder what is going on and you know I didn't again I didn't plan on speaking tonight but you know you guys know I follow a lot of the local issues I come up here and I speak I talk to several of you privately you know from time to time about different issues I think we have a good rapport I think you all know that I'm coming from a good place an informed place and before I forget councilwoman odonnell I want to extend my condolences over the passing your father I saw it online and I and I and I did reach out and send you a message but I I I don't know if you got it you're welcome um so you know I that's that's my main concern but when it comes to the farmer stuff because I know obviously there's a lot majority of people here tonight are about the farming stuff you know I I looked at the master plan recommendations from May of 22 that talked about uh a recommendation that they allow uh banquet uses on qualified Farms up to 200 guests it's there in your master plan you guys are the policy makers of our town they're the professionals that guide you through these decisions But ultimately it's up to you guys to adopt policies ordinances that they're responsible for implementing and enforcing and if it's your vision that there should be uh qualified Farmers should H be able to have events uh certain Farms that want to host weddings and parties or what what have you it's right there in your master plan you can at direct your Administration to draft an ordinance that's consistent with the recommendations in the master plan because that's the policy that you want in town and you can tweak and add some other language in there that maybe buttons up some issues but that if that's the quality of life issue that you want then you can go ahead and address it how you see fit since you are our elected officials we're busy working raising families and we rely upon you guys to be to lead this town with ordinances and policies so that's really all all I have to say tonight but you know I understand it's things aren't easy at times but please make continue to make quality of life that priority that you said that you would thank [Applause] you oh good evening Elaine Taylor Maxum soued Road I'm the chairwoman of the farmers advisory and uh everyone has very eloquently spoken so I'm just going to follow up with a few H things um of course we're asking for your support and realistic help with the ordinances and the amount of people that you know we can have at events that's a given we all know that um we uh we you know we need support from you and the residents and everyone in the town to help support the farmers all of our endeavors because we work very hard and I feel that at this point in time we have to think about how important it is for everyone to support our local farmers and to have everyone shop locally you know support their Farmers as much as possible so I I just can't express enough how important that is for everyone thank you thank [Applause] you good evening my name is Mary pahra um 171 Route 537 I'm from coltsneck I happen to own a small business myself the coln General Store in Delhi um I'm here tonight because as a fellow small business owner um you know a few weeks back I happened to stop over at the hery I was looking to have my sister's bridal shower over there and then that's when I really started getting caught up as to what was going on with the farmers here and it just it made me very sad it made me so sad to hear that and especially after covid and everyone's lives were affected no matter what your jobs your businesses your families I myself am still every day digging my way out of all the income that I had lost from Co and I feel like to put these restrictions on these other businesses that have families and employees that are trying to get by and to make ends meet in an economy that is so tough these days places are closing left and right people are losing their jobs every which way you turn it's like this is just keeping your foot on the neck of someone who's already down as hard as they are you I'm begging you for the sake of all of them if you want to you know change your wording a little bit because I understand that some Farms are bigger than others and all but this is their livelihood let them have the Fighting Chance to provide for their families and their employees give them the chance to do the right thing please I beg of you thank you so I I I I just have to say something honestly you know what maybe wait to remark until after everybody's had a chance to speak mayor I just wanted to clarify that we are supported hello everyone Susan Springer Bear Creek Ury Evelyn so sorry to hear about your dad we know he was a farmer here in how I'm not going to take long I have um copies of um a lot of comments off of our petition which we've been running now for three and a half years I've given you all copies at you know past meetings we're up to um 5,625 signatures so I'm not going to take any more time to read them I'm going to hand them out or elain and she'll give them to you and you can all read them before you go to bed tonight and please they're all people in your community who are dying to help the farmers preserve the rural beauty of howl we have an opportunity to do that and we're just asking you to help us survive thank you um I have a comment about something your name and address for the record am I allowed to speak now your name and address for the record yeah sorry um I'm Gabriella green um I'm 242 Larchwood I didn't know all this was happening tonight but I'm totally in support of what everybody's been saying about the Farms I think that's super important to our community um I've actually come tonight to ask you to pass a resolution that honors the sanctity of life and ensures the path to peace as an American citizen I feel outraged and heartbroken that I unwillingly play a part in funding the killing of Palestinians through my tax dollars and even more so knowing that the people in Congress refuse to listen to what a majority of Americans want which is a ceas fire and for humanitarian Aid to get to the 2.3 million starving and forcibly homeless citizens in Gaza I know people jump to bringing up the hostages taken by Hamas whenever the topic of a ceasefire comes up and that this has been the justification for what Israel has been doing these past 175 odd days however there are over 9,000 Palestinians in unjust detainment 3,765 of them are in administrative detes held without charge evidence or Doe process and among those are 227 women and also 460 or children so when people justify Israel's brutal assault and unjust killings of over 36,000 people in Palestine not even addressing those being killed and bombed and taken hostage in the West Bank where there are no Hamas terrorists how can we not look as well at all of the Palestinians that were being held by Israel and still are being held by Israel to this day how can we call for the release of hostages taken by Hamas while simultaneously turning a blind eye towards not only the incessant brutal killings and starvations and displacements of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank but also of all the people taken captive by the IDF soldiers reaching out to our New Jersey politicians day after day has shown me just how unjust American politics really is how little they care for what we truly want there are hundreds of calls from my comrades every day to our Senators and Reps and only one rep in New Jersey has called for a ceasefire if our politicians refuse to do the right right thing I implore you to show that the community of Howell stands on the side of humanity and to call for a ceasefire many people feel it's anti-semitic to want The Siege on guaza to end but how can it be anti-semitic to want to save more people from dying horrible deaths there is a complete difference in being a supporter of what Netanyahu is doing to being part of the Judaism religion and people have been trying to blur the line since October 7th and some sort of way to weaponize any retaliation against what is going on by calling it an attack on their religion when that is obviously not the case a ceasefire is our first step to getting the hostages back on both sides and more death will not solve anything why can we not negotiate diplomatically in a way that nobody gets bombed and starved and displaced and tortured we have learned time and time again that war is not the answer it does not bring our country Justice does not do anything but bring about unnecessary death to Innocents that is once again what is happening in Palestine with the US finding it completely we are paying with our tax money for these inhumane actions so we not only have a responsibility morally as cens but also as taxpayers in this country in Howell Township alone 666,666 895 to bomb Palestinians that money could be used on our community instead we could help house families that are low income help feed th help feed those who are hungry help fund our education system and so on to put things into perspective every 10 minutes a child in Gaza dies having done the math recently the amount of children that have died since October 7th in Gaza is more than doubled the amount of students in our schools in Howell this is a war on children this is a complete Act of genocide and if Netanyahu truly felt this was the only way to aieve to to retrieve the hostages while were multiple Israeli hostages who were being let go killed by the IDF soldiers themselves why have there been countless amounts of children sniper shot in the head to get that type of accuracy you know exactly who it is you're targeting and I know for a fact that a young child is not some sort of evil terrorist new polling data shows that 67% of Americans Republican and Democrat alike want a ceasefire and our politicians still refuse to represent us so that is why I have come to you today hoping that our community can join alongside the other Brave communities in New Jersey and the US that have called for a ceasefire despite everything I implore you to please be brave enough to stand against what those in power want us to to come to and to instead stand alongside the other communities in New Jersey that have called for a ceasefire so that we can band together as people and stand for what is right for the sanctity of human life and for an end to suffering on both sides of this horrific attack we need to show as the community of Howell that we stand for what is right for what is Humane and implore our government to stop funding the war with Gabriel your time has ended thank you I I sent um a copy of the resolution through the the Gabriella thank you thank you we have [Applause] it is there anyone else coming up to speak John leg9 Livingston Drive you know I've been uh been thinking about a lot of this stuff with the farming going on you know the past probably six months a year because I'm I'm also on the planning board and I see what went on with the master plan and and uh some of the demons that were done and that we voted on which is great for the town but the farmers have a right to get this stuff done in a in a in a more a speedy fashion I just don't understand all the red tape so you know there's there's an old saying let's ask for forgiv forgiveness instead of permission right a lot of stuff is going going on in town that isn't asking for permission to do what they're doing they're going to ask for forgiveness when they get caught so my recommendation to the farmers is if our professionals don't want to get it done if the council don't want to get it done as a team then just do what you guys want to do on these Farms okay make your extra money raise your Revenue whatever you have to do to support your families and if you get caught then you ask Mr Howard and Mr Clark for forgiveness after the fact because I see a lot of stuff going on in town that's not being handled as far as houses that are single family that have six seven families living in them now businesses that are being run out of out of homes okay I go around town every day and it's the same houses I've contacted Mr Clark he's not here today I mean not Mr Clark Mr Howard to defend himself multiple times and nothing is being done so if nothing's going to be done by the professionals then all your Farmers go out have your parties raise your money and when they send you a letter to cease operations tell them to go take you where to sun don't [Applause] shine is there anyone else at this time Patty Kelly 615 Fort Plains Road Howell this is just crazy beyond belief I try to vote the right people in but obviously I keep making the same mistakes affordable housing we needed the numbers my yard is flooded my quality of life is done other farmers You're Building warehouses their quality of life is going to be done because their Farms are going to be flooded making laws against vaping shops because parents can't parent their kids but waiting for the farmers waiting and waiting to feed their families with their farms and you guys are dragging your feet waiting waiting for what uh I just don't understand anymore my yard is a mess drainage basin That was supposed to be a drainage basin is now draining into the township and County property flooding my backyard my horses my leech field my septic tank my neighbor's septic tank my neighbor's basement my basement never 30 years affordable housing went up college educated engineers it won't go south it won't run downhill we'll give you a makeshift BM that we think will work well not working you put too many buildings in there to begin with and didn't care fire trucks Don't Be aren't able to turn around in parking lots they have to go out the ins you're doing it all over town and you continue to continue to do it over and over and over again I watch it on YouTube I watch the planning boards the zoning boards it's the same thing from 10 years ago when we were fighting that the affordable housing was too much too many buildings in one spot I understand we needed the affordable housing we needed the numbers we don't need these warehouses we don't need the numbers uh maybe the money but quality of life is being ruined for the farmers for the community Sunnyside Road in Fort Plains that's going to be your next mess of flooding guarantee people aren't going to even be able to use Fort Plains Road when it rains like this because of Sunnyside and Fort Plains and because of the affordable housing mess you're doing it again and again and again and again people come and fight people come and argue people come and plead tell you over and over again and over and over again I hear the same things the same things I don't come to the meetings I watch them afterwards or watch them on YouTube and I get annoyed all over again cuz it's the same old same old but yet everybody that's elected in quality of life keep our Farms keep our land and you do the exact opposite that's all I have to say thank [Applause] you hi Leslie shal 22 Mill Road I own a q Farm Rescue animals um my husband and I are fairly new to this Township we moved here approximately I would say four years now um when I was a little girl we didn't have much and my father used to put us in the car on a Sunday and take us up to the country to look at animals they were free to perhaps get a bag of apples um because it was cheap and that stuck with me and so when we were looking for property um my dad was able to help us purchase a farm in Howell mom county is not easy to live in the taxes are extremely high quality of life um it's it's going downhill I I love this area sometimes I take a drive on a Sunday just to look around and I see all these Farms it's it's beautiful and um I just feel like this this shouldn't even be a matter um in this day and age um it's so hard for Farmers to make a living not to mention like health insurance they have to pay their own I can't even imagine in this day and age um how they're making it so I am in full support of um the farmers in this town and hoping that a resolution is made made soon thank you is there anyone else that wants to come up may I have a motion to close the public comment motion to close a second second all in favor I I I I started to say before and I and I want to say it again I I doubt very much that any body sitting around this entire day is against the farmers that's not what this is about it's not what it's not it's about safety and we're trying to figure that out so I know that it might not be as fast as you might need it to happen but each each Farm is different there's can a farm fit the parking or not fit the parking are you going to parking on the street versus these are all questions that we don't have all the answers to I am in full full full support I would love to be able to go in and have a dinner party but I just want to make we're trying to make sure that it's just done correctly who's going to have a kitchen who won't have a kitchen who's going to have food brought in in there are so many different variables just if you look at that on that side of the Ledger it's not as as quick and easy to say we're going to to make that change public comment is closed well I'm just again take it for what it's worth I believe in the Farms I believe in this town and I've never once um voted for anything that was not good development so that being said sure So Mr Clark yeah I'll jump in so with regard to Mr Ray Berger and the speeding I'll note that for the record Arnold Boulevard's a 35 mph Road it has been for about 20 years we are doing targeted enforcement out there we're looking to put up different signals we've done probably more traffic studies on that road than any other Road in town so I will speak to the police chief again I understand what he's saying but that video uh that he sends is an all too common problem on a lot of our streets and we're dealing with it wherever we can um so that is something that I will speak to Chief star in the morning uh Mr uh sarelli I have his information I'll talk to Justin and reach back out to him uh the Farms generally we are working on the rags it is not as simple as taking a broad statement in the master plan and then tweaking it the there has to be as the mayor noted some kind of rational regulations in place that accounts for a lot of different factors now we had originally proposed something back at the end of last year uh that met with opposition so wound up being pulled and I will note for the record just for the people out there who may think we sit on our hands and do nothing it took us two months to get a response from Miss Taylor to have a meeting so that wasn't until February and we have been moving as quickly as we can since then we have been looking at the law and I will note that that seven-page letter um and it's no offense to whomever wrote it because there was clearly a lot of time and effort and thought put into it but there's a lot of flaws in it that we need to work through so you know obviously we're having Miss hary look at it and we're having her work through it and we're having her sort of put together what we can and can't do we have to talk to our planning board attorney uh which we've done in terms of getting his guidance on what the ml may or may not allow in this situation because let's not forget what we're doing doing here is we're carving out an exception to it we're creating a permit for certain parties that doesn't exist right now if you guys were to do nothing then every Farm here would have to come in for either site plan or a use variance there is a way to get to do the events that they want to do we're just trying to streamline that process and no other municipality in the state as far as I know has done this yet so we are in Uncharted territories we are moving through it as best we can and with full cognizance of the fact that there are different size farms and different size events that are going to require different types of regulations and unfortunately that does take time and you know that's where we are with that um I would not recommend contrary to what Mr legio said don't just have the parties you know it's it's probably not the best advice and in terms of the storm water RS that Mr White had referred to I'll talk to to Matt and Justin about that and we'll figure out where we stand with regard to that there there are some wrinkles uh under those new uh rugs that we're working through right now um and then one final thing I not sure who it was but somebody said that we uh we have title 59 immunity for stuff that we do not in every case and if we willfully disregard dangers of these events and that you know we could find ourselves without immunity which means then that the taxpayers are on the hook as a result so it's another reason for us to proceed a little bit cautiously so that's um and then in terms of Miss green I I admire her passion on the issue and I'll let Caitlyn handle that one uh yeah so I'll jump into uh Miss Green's comments uh thank you for coming it's always really nice to have an informed citiz ciary uh commenting on these issues when you I have a copy of the proposed resolution that you forwarded so we thank you for that um processes to get resolutions in front of council is doing exactly what you did tonight you come you speak um you can give us copies of proposed resolutions um it'll to be be up to council if they want to move forward with it or not um but you're welcome to come back to Future meetings and uh public comments always open for you Joe I have a question for you I I know we we speak at length about this with you all of us we talked about it tonight about these uh uh Farm ordinances do we have any light at the end of the tunnel with those yes yes so we did speak to Mr Karo our planning board attorney uh we are coming up with a couple things first the the permit process that Mr Howard had spoken about where you party people who want to have parties will be able to come in and apply for a permit rather than go through site plan we're looking to ease up on some of our site plan checklist to make it a little bit easier for these arms to hold events and then only in the you know the most broad narrow of cases would we say you have to go in for a full use variant so we are trying to create a whole uh regulatory sort of um protocol here that's unique to Farms now part of the problem with doing that is if you do something for one set of people you're not doing it for another and we have to be excuse me certain that we are a able to do this in a way that's that's fair across the board and if another business were to come into town and challenge it uh that it would survive a legal challenge not an easy thing to do because on the face of it you are favoring one set of residents potentially over others um so you know that's the type of needle that we're looking to thread I think we can do it it is taking more time than I think most people are happy with believe me I don't know anybody on this side of the podium that is happy with where we are with it I I know that everybody on the Das is reaching out constantly to keep us moving which we're doing so you know we've heard everybody loud and clear and we're moving as fast as we can to get the regulations in place while we're still protecting the town Mr Clark could we address Miss Kelly's concern of affordable housing and how that's affected the flooding in on the fort Plains Road area sure I I will have to speak with uh Justin I think that that is by how Family Apartments so I would have to go back and dive into that file and take a look exactly what was approved and not um I recall her being at meetings in the past and that there was some action taken to improve the situation so I will look into that and then I'll either have a report at next meeting and before then I'll share it with all of you as well so that you're aware of it but what I do remember is that it didn't really improve that I I don't know I don't know what exactly happened so I will have to look back at it okay may are we doing our reports now as well if you want Council sure well right well let me just back up with um with reference to the farmers uh and the concerns uh there's a meeting every month that I've gone to since November and um and I still urge the group to meet possibly even in smaller groups with Administration uh possibly to uh narrow down on things as you know and we've gone over this at every meeting the the different types of FS will have different standards by virtue the fact of size uh and the type of special events so this is all about special events that the state said could be done on certain Parcels there has been nothing taken away from a farmer for right to farm so that's a that's a different level and we all realize I know the farm was certainly realized is the right to farm is totally different than the special event um situation so um if the public is wants to you know dive into this a little further probably the uh Farmers advisory and preservation committee which is now joint I'm sure public can attend if you would like further information but we need to key down further and that's from all sides from farmer side from Administration side from council's side if Council doesn't understand something um I'm happy to go to Every meeting I'm happy to attend even smaller meetings and um you know I said to Mrs Taylor anytime you want to meet with Administration with just a few people I'm happy to do so uh just try to give me a day's notice uh so that I can rearrange anything if need be uh anything we can do to expedite I am happy to try to assist and I realize it's a long process when the state said that they would allow special events they just said that we'll have special events and there were no guidelines and the county says you can do special events but you must adhere to the Township's rules and rs you can have special events but nobody has any guidance so it falls to the township to do many things protect the farmer protect the neighbor that you're having the event next door to to protect the rest of the township that may or may not understand that what affects a a special event on a farm doesn't mean that a retail store gets the same um caveat for that special event so I know the farmers do understand that um it's a multi-level uh situation ation and I'm going to call it a problem because with the state saying you can do it without giving guidance that was extremely poor on the states and really negligent that there was no guidance from um really from the a board they just said you can do it just make sure you you have to go back to your town first so um you know if you keep following the wheel it'll keep going round and round as we all see so it's frustrating on every level it's disappointing that here we are in April and we don't have a resolution when we started in November so as we all know grow season's already started people that want parties they would have already booked I mean this has turned into um a bad situation for everybody that's trying to get ahead we also know that special events cannot be held by every Farm in every instance by the same level that wasn't the intention that the state had that's not what they said and that's not um the extension of farming that they were looking to give to the farmers to enhance their income because as we all know farming is extremely expensive um so it's a multi-level problem and as much as H has always been a forming Community we're losing it and we're losing at a rapid speed not because of special events we're losing it because the environment of this country has changed to such a horrible level that farming is um no longer uh carried from generation to generation you can no longer be a farmer um just by working hard you know if you're going to do a big farm you need big equipment you know combine is not um a $5,000 used tractor you know you can be looking upwards $800 $900,000 it is a brand new horrible world for farmers um uh secondly um I want to remind everyone that um in May first Thursday of may we have National Night of prayer which we host at Howell Township every year and we'll be doing so again there are some flyers on a small table near the restrooms you're invited to take one I I'm asking you to consider U marking your calendar to come out um that night and to share some thoughts um to be with the like-minded people that are thankful and um every year we have several different clergy that come several different religions are represented I think last year we had five um there's not only prayer and thoughtfulness but music and certainly um Community gets to share with each other uh something that lacks in and all communities and I would say across this country which is a reverence and a respect for a fellow man and for God so I would ask you to consider coming out that day what was the date of that again May 5 May 5 um no I'm sorry Thursday May 2nd I'm sorry um and lastly I just thank everybody that's reached out to my family and myself about my dad um I appreciate those words um he was in Virginia at the time so we had a service in Virginia and we'll be uh having the last service in New Jersey so it's been um several week process which has kind of been a little longer than uh than probably most situations but I do appreciate the people have reached out it's been very nice and um my father was 101 so he's he spent most of his life in New Jersey but the last 30 years in Virginia and for the reason that he had a small farm in Northern H and they built 10 houses behind him and with that he said they're crowding me I'm leaving so he went to Virginia and bought 60 Acres so I do get it and I I hear you loud and strong I mean he really made a huge change in his life because he could not um he he felt he couldn't continue to form in the way that he always formed if he had 10 brand new um what he calls the mega mansion houses behind his farm which I now laugh because that's sort of like the standard home that's built in most cases but at any rate again thank you very much my entire family is very grateful uh for your words and your support so thank you rad or s at this time may I have a motion for resolutions are 2 does anybody want to pull out a resolution to vote on it separately okay may I have a motion on the consent agenda r24 133 through 24-44 I'll make a motion to move all of those resolutions inclusive second councilwoman fiser yes councilman gager yes councilwoman odonnell yes mayor Burger yes yes thank you okay resolution 24145 amending the 2024 temporary Appropriations pursuant to njsa 40a semi no 4A colon 4-20 prior to the adoption of the 2024 Municipal budget motion to move resolution 24145 second councilwoman fiser yes councilman gajer yes councilwoman Odon yes mayor burer yes thank you the resolution passes unfinished business um ordinance 04-07 and ordinance to extend the municipal budget appropriation limits and to establish a cap a cap Bank njsa 4A colon 44514 may I have a motion excuse me we need to open public hearing open for public hearing would anybody comment on 2407 can I have a motion to close public motion to close public second all in favor I I motion to adopt H motion ad need a motion to adopt we need a motion I move to adopt ordinance 24- 07 second councilwoman fiser yes councilman G yes councilwoman odonnell yes mayor Burger yes thank you um I would like to open to the public for ordinance 24-8 an ordinance of the township of how the township of how mouth County amending section 3.7 of chapter 7 traffic of the Township Code of the township of how would anybody like to speak may I have a motion to close motion to close second all in favor I I like to make a motion to adopt o 24-8 second councilwoman Fischer yes councilman gager yes councilwoman odonnell yes excuse me mayor Burger yes thank you ordinance 24-9 ordinance setting forth and amending and supplementing the salary range schedule for the salaries of certain officers and employees of the township of how I'm opening to the public may I have a motion to close I'll make a motion to close public second all in favor I may I have a motion to adopt 24-9 I'll make a motion to adopt ordinance uh 2449 2409 oh second councilwoman fiser yes councilman gager yes councilwoman o'donell yes mayor Burger yes thank you introduction of ordinances 24-10 ordinance amending chapter 57 Article 2 domestic animals and amending chapter 139-3 license registration and permit fees of the Township Code of the township of Howell may I have a motion to introduce 24-10 motion to introduce ordinance 24-10 second councilwoman fiser yes councilman gaser yes councilwoman oddon yes mayor burer yes at this time I would like to go over the 2024 Municipal budget I believe we're going to take a 5 minute break okay yeah why don't we take a short break I'll get it set up and then we can just perfect come back any e e e e e e e e e e e e are we ready okay I'd like to introduce the 2024 Municipal budget uh budget presentation from our manager and CFO all right it's late so I will try and move through this as quickly as I can while still making some sense so we will go through our typical Financial background so in last year um we anticipated a surplus refresh of million or so dollars which we did our miscellaneous revenues were higher than anticipated and that includes some of the extras from permits fees things like that our state aid remained flat uh our other revenues basically flat delinquent taxes we had quite a bit come in at the end of last year um our property taxes doing very good and our reserve for uncollected taxes was as expected uh which left us with an anticipated number of 59 million for the year and a realized number of 66 so our tax collection as you can see was 98.33% increase which is a very good rate here is our current fund Appropriations and this is what we had in the budget including chapter 59 those are our expenditures so we were 2.2 million to the good at the end of the year so we had uh appropriation reserves of 2.1 and then certain Appropriations that we had tagged were cancelled completely so that was at the end of last year there dates uh debt statement summary um you know we are always in very good shape when it comes to that our statutory net debt is of the end of last year was 83.6 Million uh the percentage of that debt to our three-year average equalized valuation it's not even a percent or a 8.78% so our borrowing capacity is tremendous our maximum borrowing capacity which is 3 and a half% of our equalized valuation basis which is $9.5 billion we could borrow up to $333 million we have statutory debt of about 83 million so we have a lot of Headroom if we ever needed to borrow which we do not and here's uh the slide illustrating our current fund Debt Service just draw attention so you have our general obligation bonds of 49 million Capital leases of 6.9 million and our bond anticipation notes of 16.8 million it adds up to slightly less than our statutory net debt because there are certain amounts of debt that have been authorized by ordinance but not yet bonded so this is a reflection of where where we actually are versus where we could theoretically be and then for 2023 our fund balance which is more collo colloquially known as Surplus is very healthy uh we started last year with 11.7 million we used 5 million which was a fairly conservative amount that left us a subtotal of almost 7 million this year we refreshed the Surplus about $7.8 million from a a variety of sources um which left us with an ending balance of $14.6 million so we could safely use more than last year in this year's budget while still having an $8 million balance for next year um you know I'll go into a little bit more detail but we are in sort of unprecedented times in terms of certain things like insurance rates we got hit with a huge rate increase last year gas and asphalt are still trending High um this year it was our liability insurance that was higher than normal so having a healthy Surplus is very helpful to us overall for these sort of unanticipated spikes then we are into our 2024 budget as always we'll start with SE utility um do you want to walk us through the SE util so I'll have Lou walk us through the SE utility sure the um just a similar recap of um of the performance that the utility had last year uh we anticipated uh $650,000 in Surplus uh the um SE fees uh were achieved and exceeded um our payments from New Jersey manual um sorry from New Jersey America water on par as well and um the miscellaneous Revenue interest uh on investments is obviously we're we're in a high um High interest rate market right now uh a significant amount of connection fees uh to the utility so we were able to out of the uh out of the 7.48 that was anticipated we realize 8.8 so another good draw back into Surplus um and a summary of the 24 I'm sorry the 23 Ser utility Appropriations uh 7.48 to was approved in the 23 budget 6.89 was spent which left uh 590 um left at the end of the year uh there was um certain um expended uh that was unused that was rolled right back into Surplus this year so it leaves us with an appropriation reserve for this year of 202 uh for 202 for of 175,000 and a little snapshot of the sewer sewer utility debt um and the proposed budget for the Ser utility is increasing about $150 ,000 H it most under the other expenses is our payment to the um uh manisan River uh subid Authority for our annual cost usually there's an increase every year by The Authority that's passed uh passed through by the Ocean County uh Utilities Authority um so a lot of that is is encapsulated um and we're build on an estimate to actual and uh in the first quarter of this year we are usually good for a $500,000 credit so um and that's you know stood par this year a as well um and and um based on the amount of um as you'll see in the next slide or so um there's obviously a significant amount of surplus in there to um to be able to handle um this increase and this is the the proposed uh back slide so this is the proposed budget for 7, 632,000 revenue and Appropriations as you can see we're anticipating 650,000 in Surplus a minor increase on the the sewer fees anticipated new jerse American water is flat as far as anticipated and we are conservatively anticipating 172,000 in miscellaneous income and um the breakdown across salary and wages other expenses Debt Service and capital Improvement fund and a snapshot of our Surplus we started last year 2023 with 2.76 we used 650,000 in last year's budget and we were able to regenerate almost 1.9 million which leaves us with just under uh $4 million in this year utility which again is a healthy Surplus to have in the utility as well and in this year's uh budget we are using the same um 650,000 all right thank you Lou so that brings us to our Municipal budget and as always I put out the timeline it's going to be introduced tonight advertised April 6th our public hearing on the budget will be May 7th and our proposed adoption will also be on May 7th and so our budget goals this year was much the same as last year we wanted to take a conservative approach to budgeting we want to minimize the impact of the national economy and inflation want to provide coste effective high quality services to Residents and create a maximum quality of life we want to develop a long-term capital plan and invest in long-term capital Improvement so that we can maintain facilities replace assets as needed improve our road infrastructure and proper planning it builds in predictability and prevents us from having to absorb spikes and capital expenditures uh which leads me to probably my most important point the use of a responsible amount of surplus in this budget means we're going to have some left for next year when we're also going to need it you know we're we're anticipating obviously increased costs um we're hearing and we continue to monitor a potential increase in health benefits cost again so having that cushion much the same is with the households very helpful so our ratables again increased this year 2023 it was 9.8 million and prior to county certification so right now we're at 10.9 million 10.9 billion so we went up 1.1 billion that's an 11.49% increase so just quickly to run through our demographics we have 18,000 households about three people per household median income is high it's about 8% higher than Monmouth and 33 higher than all of NJ the average assessed value of a house in howl is now $543,000 um the average State value is around 365,000 that's as of 2022 the average tax bill in this town last year was 8766 compared to Monmouth County's average of 10,000 plus and the state average of about 9500 a chart showing where your tax dollars go so you see most of that $8,700 average tax bill will go to the schools that's $3,900 right there that's H to 8 your Regional High School it's about another 18% our Municipal portion is approximately the same about 17.8% the county about $1,000 or 12% the followed by our fire districts each district is a little bit different but on average they're about 5% and then open space which is about 1% and I'll know for the record and again I'll thank the voters for passing the referendum in November that will enhance our ability to fund and acquire open space so thank you tax rates calculated in this manner so you have the total amount that we need to raise divided by the total assessed value of all taxable property in the township so there they that gives you your tax rate um for this year our Municipal tax rate is32 that's equal to 30 cents of tax on every $100 of assessed property value so bottom line and this is probably what everybody's waiting to hear although the average household assessment Rose from 488 in 2023 to 542 in 2024 the average homeowner this year should see a slight decrease of about $6 in the municipal portion of their taxes compared to last year um once again we are compliant with all applicable caps here's the components of your Municipal budget appropriation so we have salary and wages are by far our largest amount that's across all of the sectors in the township um we're changing about % our other expenses um Lou would what are those uh made up of if you can just give us an idea it's I mean basically everything that's cover is the umbrella sorry sorry um it's basic you know um stuff of nature that's not covered by insurance or Debt Service statutory expenditures so um funds that we spend for um you know supplies and and and utilities tires for the vehicles gasoline stuff of that nature everything that's in this uh slide specifically everything that wouldn't fall on their salary and wages and insurance and all the other items listed so truly a a basket pretty much yes so you see our insurance as i' said it did rate it the our rates did increase this year um our debt service has also gone off um overall we're seeing about a $2.3 million increase um about 4% and here's a further breakdown on salary and wages so our contractual salary increases for civilians for our police the contractual step increases uh for both the civilian and the police and for those of you you who might be wondering what a step increase is it it's it's our Union uh agreements have charts in them the steps so if you are at xrade in an X year of employment you will get this salary as your base and then the next year it will increase by X dollars it's some agreed upon amount between the union and management so that's uh that is what that covers so we have promotions uh due to retirements and resignation ations we've had quite a few retirements and resignations this year and I'll get to that our proposed new employees are code enforcement in public works we have a little bit to say about that part-time wages and overtime the Delta on that is about 41,000 uh I will again acknowledge chief staro he has been working very hard in the police department to moderate overtime and he's done a tremendous job as I'd mentioned we had retirements designations replacement transfers that was far in way our biggest savings we hate to see people go but the savings are significant for this year um and that has led to the total salary and wages increase to sort of be in the position that it's in new hiring we are again as last year we're not hiring a lot of new positions we haven't created a lot of new positions we have two Public Works labor and we have four Code Enforcement Officers um the new code enforcement officers we anticipate that the cost of those hires will be offset by additional Revenue we are looking to uh Institute a yearly landlord co uh that will obviously there will be a fee for that and so we anticipate that this should be Revenue neutral um and it shouldn't end up being a drag on the budget some of our other expensing increases he said the the GIF uh liability workers comp property Auto cyber all of that went up this year uh we did work with them we we just colloquially I guess again we uh increased our deductible on the liability side and that allowed us to save $100,000 in premium so that was uh you know that was something that helped moderate that cost health benefits again went up um our leas payments and police department other expenses were relatively flat our road maintenance costs uh they went up this year direct install program costs we anticipate that's front loaded that will overtime flip to where we're saving as a result of participation in the program um and again some of the statutory expenses pension Etc increased this year our debt service again went up um and that gave us a total of about 2.5 million our expense decreases interest on bonds went down our Cali Bill expenses so the Kelly bill is a state law that when you have a planned unit development with a homeowners association you can enter into what's called a Kelly agreement uh and basically what you're doing everybody who lives in a planned unit development pays property taxes so they also pay HOA fees so the Kelly bill is designed to prevent a double taxation on those residents and municipalities pay back to the HOA the cost of the service um at the Township's rate so they're being reimbursed for the cost so if they do snow removal for $100,000 and it costs a town 20 we write them a check for 20 so that the residents or their property taxes are going then towards that service just like everybody else's and then we just have some of the other ones we have Town Hall maintenance and supplies down our contractual billing allotments to the first aid squads because we're working to revise some of our agreements that dropped this year and and then various other budgetary decreases LED added up to about $100,000 our Revenue sources for the budget surplus as i' said we're going to increase it by about $1.6 million for this year our revenues are up about 200,000 state aid was increased by about $400,000 uh we expect it to be a one-time this year only increase our grants to 2023 it was at 184 2024 as of right now we're at 121 so there is a Delta of about 63,000 but as they come in and we do our chapter 159 additions throughout the year we expect that number to catch up or exceed last year's our other revenues um are about the same projecting them to remain flat delinquent taxes uh we have a change this year about 100,000 which leaves us with a total amount to be raised by taxation of 33 m165 788 which is unchanged from last year so our major budget challenges as I said we had Insurance uh GIF liability increased uh we increased our deductible it doesn't put the town in any increased risk but it does save us money uh we're keeping an eye on state health health benefits gas and asphalt they're starting to Trend a little bit downwards our patch program has been a complete success um and it sort of helps us stretch the roadwork dollars in that manner so to help us out with inflation and supply chain issues we've been doing a lot of Leasing and with some of the large DPW Machinery so for example a bulldozer rather than purchase one if we don't use it frequently we try and stack our work up and then we'll rent one for a week or two weeks or a month a lot cheaper and we can get all of that work done and then we just send the bulldozer back so where we're headed um we've added a lot of townwide events this year we're going to look for more uh in the fall and throughout next year because of the vision of our voters and the approval of the open space reper referendum we're currently seeking and we're working on the uh purchase of several open space Parcels one thing I do want to highlight um and it's not just this year and last year budgeting over time in Howell has been has been very good we've had a difficult economy with covid and just a lot of the other sort of drags that have been um within not withstanding that our Moody's Bond rating was increased so our cost of borrowing and going out in the market is cheaper as a result and I give L full credit for that so that is a great job uh our demolition program we are pulling down a lot of isour uh we're getting rid of those houses or Tractive nuisances and it's they diminish people's property value we're looking to revise rental ordinances we want more control over the units we're still working on truck roots in town this is a massive undertaking um and it's going to require more work before we come up with something and ultimately it goes to the state for approval so we are still in the very initial phases of that um the efficiency study I know that we've had request for that we are in the process of instituting a Fair number of uh recommendations some of them don't fit they're not appropriate for the township not withstanding uh what's said in the study and some of those we're just uh we're not going to be able to implement but for example our bulk pickup program we're we're to we've totally redone it and we anticipate it year-over-year to save 50 to 75,000 um and that's at a minimum so we're working with our our planner we want to look to do red development areas along routes 9 and 33 where commercial development may be most appropriate um again and this is as timely as tonight we are going to work we're going to get some sensible regulations in place for the farmers we're we're going to there's there is a Heritage in Howell for farming and we want to honor that and we also want to make sure that the Township's protected so that's one of our primary jobs right now um tree expert shade tree Commission we have planting plans being developed now we're going to look to get them going in the fall um we did not get the grant last year for solar panels on the roof we're going to go for it again we think that that'll be a great opportunity for us not only to get a new roof but to get sort of a green energy approach on top and canopies out in the parking lot so we're working right now and this goes to what councilman gazer had asked we're working with the PBA we have a great relationship with them um we're going to have the PBA contract finalized shortly these they one of our greatest assets and we're going to take care of everybody as much as best we can affordable housing our next rounds coming up we're working on reestablishing deed restrictions we successfully closed uh a deal with friendship Gardens to do that and that already Banks 100 credits for us um we're trying to figure out what our potential share and number will be in 25 and then we're going to fight we're going to we're going to talk to some developers we are not going to and we're not going to have massive development though um you know we have a new lawn place that we're looking at now to see what impact that has uh we'll talk to Andy barar about it and as always the only reason that we're all sitting here is because of the residents and so we want to most importantly we want to continue to listen to the public um and ensure that how remains a beautiful and desirable place to call home and that is your 2024 budget I had a couple of questions is that okay sure okay um so the town hall expenses in 23 was budgeted 477 and we Ed 461 why did we go to 591 this year the I believe the um the uh I believe the uh direct install costs were included in that for the uh direct install for what so it's the energy saving program we we met with the gentleman from uh jcpnl to go over what's going to be done in town hall replacing boilers replacing some of the generators it's a substantial overhaul that over time will save a substantial amount of money so there's an increased front loaded cost to it and then I think by year three or four it flips back around to where we're saving substantial money okay um the pilot program in 23 we budgeted 350,000 and we realized 253 and in 24 we budgeted 250 why is the number going down there was a pilot program there was a pilot agreement that came off of um the agreement ran its course and expired so now they're back onto regular taxation I was unaware of that in budgeting that in the 23 budget um as a result we collected Less in Pilot Revenue but we did collect under under the under their regular taxation under State Statute I can't anticipate more than what was realized in the previous year and that's why that's why it was budgeted as is thank you you're welcome [Music] um I'm not sure if I read it correctly but I I think that I did did so the fire prevention position is a part-time position was that going from 31,000 to 75,000 or was I did I read it did I cross the no I think I think they may have asked for that kind of latitude under it but we're not paying our part-time for PR prevention person 75,000 it's allocated for in the budget okay and so at the end of the year I would expect most if not all of that increase to peel off okay so and then I guess one more is with the um increase of expenses for Town Hall will everybody all the tenants be sharing in the cost of those expenses or is it just us that will be uh I'm actually working on redoing some of our leases for our tenants right now and that's something that will be considered in those leases thank you yeah just to key off of that so we do have built into all of our agreements um we have our Square footage and then we have our common area or Cam charge so but this would be something I would say an appropri not it would be like an assessment almost right not really a it's we're we're structured a little differently here so yeah I mean yes yeah I think that that's how you could consider it but given sort of the legal structure of it's yes and no got it thank you Mr Clark I have one question for you yes budget go up did it go down or is it flat stay flat thank you are there any other questions no I just wanted to be on May 7th when we um do the budget publicly where are we going to hold that we do it here at the meeting okay yeah that's a regularly scheduled meeting I'm sorry I'm sorry yes okay so I guess there's no other questions may I have a motion to approve resolution R2 2446 certifying compliance with the United States equal opportunity commission's enforcement guidance on the considerations of arrest and conviction records and employment decisions under title 7 of the civil Rights Act of 1964 may I have a motion to approve 24146 I'll make a motion to approve may I have a second second councilwoman Fischer yes councilman gager yes councilwoman odonnell yes mayor Burger yes thank you resolution 24147 introduction of the 2024 Municipal budget as presented may I have a motion to introduce the budget motion to introduce the budget resolution 24-14 7 second Council Fischer yes councilman gazer yes councilwoman odonnell yes mayor Burger yes thank you um our next regular meeting date would be April 16 at 6 o'cl if there's an executive session and regular session would be at 7 um thank you very much for the presentation I thought it was very nice ly done thank I appreciate um the time that you took and thank you for meeting with me and explaining the whole thing so at this time I would like um a motion to adjourn motion to adjourn second second all in favor I I I next oh I just said that