Start again. Good evening. Township council workshop meeting is now called to order. May 5th, 2025. Mayor Dano, lead us in this flag salute, please. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the
republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Madame clerk, please call the notice of public notice. Statement of public notice. Take notice that adequate notice of this meeting has been provided in
accordance with NJSA10 col4-8 and NJSA 10 col4-10 as follows. A notice of the meeting was permanently posted on the bulletin board at the municipal building located at 225 Main Street, Little Falls, New Jersey on April 29, 2025. A
copy of the notice was sent to the North Jersey Herald News and the record on the same date. Additionally, a copy of the notice was filed in the office of the township clerk on said date. A link and a telephone number to join the meeting virtually can be accessed on our township website at
littlefallsnj.gov. Electronic provisions have been established for the public to participate during the public comment portion of the meeting. Thank you. At this time, please call the role. Council member Patel, present. Council member Murphy, present. Council member Havitz, present. Council member Venturi, present. Council President Scova,
present. Mayor Damiano, the floor is yours. Thank you, Council President. This evening, we have three proclamations. Uh we have a mental health awareness month proclamation, a Lyme disease awareness month proclamation, and an Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
proclamation. This evening, we'll start with the mental health awareness month proclamation, which is always uh in in something that should be on the forefront of all of our minds. And it reads, "Whereas mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being which can affect how we
think, feel, and act. And whereas one in five adults experience mental health problems in any given year. And such problems can contribute to onset of mental illness. And whereas one in 25 individuals live with mental illness such as major depression, bipolar disorder, or schizophrenia. And whereas
approximately 1/ half of chronic mental illness begins by the age of 14 and 3/4 by age 24. Whereas long delays, sometimes decades long, often occur between the time symptoms first appear and when individuals get help. And whereas early identification and
treatment can make a profound difference in successful management of mental illness and recovery. And whereas it is important to maintain mental health and learn the symptoms of mental illness to get help when it is needed. And whereas every citizen commu every citizen and community can make a difference in
helping the silence and stigma that for too long has surrounded mental illness and discourage people from getting help. And whereas public education and civic activities can encourage mental health and help improve the lives of individuals and families affected by mental illness. Now therefore be it
resolved I, James Belelfford Damiano, mayor of the township of Little Falls, do hereby proclaim the month of May 2025 as mental health mental health awareness month in the township of Little Falls to increase public understanding of the importance of mental health and to promote identification and treatment of
mental illness. Second proclamation this evening is the Lyme disease awareness month proclamation and it reads whereas May is a time to help bring awareness to Lyme disease and tickorn disease. Whereas Lyme disease is a bacterial infection brought on mostly by an
infected deer tick with symptoms that may include headache, fatigue, skin rashes, and fever. And whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 476,000 people are diagnosed with the disease in the US each year. And now, therefore, be it resolved that I, Mayor James Belelfford
Damiano, on behalf of the Little Falls Township Council, do hereby proclaim May 2025 as Lyme disease awareness month in the township of Little Falls. And finally, the Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month proclamation, which reads, "Whereas May was
established as Asian and Pacific American Heritage Month by Congress in 1992. And whereas Asian and Pacific American Heritage Month is the celebration of Asian-Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders in the United States. And whereas the month of May was chosen to commemorate the
immigration of the first Japanese people to the United States on May 7th, 1843 and to mark the anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10th, 1869. Because the majority of the workers who laid the traps were Chinese immigrants. And whereas despite generations of living
and contributing to the fabric of American society, many Asian, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders continue to be treated as not belonging and face persistent racism and stereotyping. And whereas since 911 South especially those who are Muslim,
Hindu or Sikh often face senseless violence and harassment due to the color of their skin or the beliefs of their faith. And more recently since the CO 19 pandemic, Asians in general, particularly women and the elderly have faced anti-Asian violence. And whereas May is a month to reflect on the rich
diversity of the Asian-Pacific community and the contributions Asian-Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders have made to our culture and civic life. And now therefore, I, Mayor James Belelfford Damiano, on behalf of the Little Falls Township Council, do hereby proclaim May as AsianPacific American
Heritage Month in the township of Little Falls. And that wraps up the proclamations this evening, Council President, and I'll turn it back to you. Thank you, Mayor. At this time, have a motion to open the meeting to the public for general matters and agenda items. So moved by So moved by Councilman Ventur,
second by Councilman Murf. This is a voice for all those in favor. I I All those opposed? Motion carries. Madam clerk, anyone wishing to address the township council may do so through the council president. It is preferred if you give your name and address for the record. Comments are to be limited to
three minutes. However, if appropriate, you may be granted additional time in the sole discretion of the council president. Members of the public who have joined the meeting virtually and desire to provide comment shall raise their virtual hand in the Zoom application. The meeting moderator will cue the members of the public that wish to provide comment and the council president will recognize them in order.
Members of the public who have joined the meeting by calling in must press star six to mute and unmute themselves and star 9 to raise their hand. Members of the public who have joined the meeting via the Zoom application must click the reactions icon and then the raise hand icon. Once the process is complete, we will return to the reg regular order of business. Thank you,
Madam Clerk. The floor is now open. Seeing no one come before us have a motion to close the public. So moved. Moved by Councilwoman Habitz, second, second by Councilman Venturi. All those in favor, all those opposed, the motion carries. Mayor, items 1 through 7. Thank
you, Council President. Uh, I will circle back to item number one, the resolution to introduce the 2025 municipal budget, uh, which I will do a presentation on, but in the meantime, I will address the remainder of these items here. Item number two is the resolution authorizing the increase in
deferred school taxes for local and regional high school taxes. Uh the short of this is this is something that is undertaken by the municipality annually with the adoption of the budget. This is due to the fact that schools run on a separate uh calendar year than
municipalities. Schools run on a July 1 to June 30 calendar which permits us to defer the increase in the taxes to them until the following year in which our budget year runs. Are there any questions with respect to item number two? Seeing none on two. Uh item number
three is the emergency resolution. Uh this is an EMS emergency repair resolution uh due to a substantial cost due uh that is that we are dealing with on our 2017 uh Ford F450 uh ambulance in
town. There's a $13,000 and change cost associated with this repair. So we're looking to fund this as an emergency rather than as a reg regular cost to the budget. Any questions on item number three? Item number four is a resolution approving a change order for Hemlock
Road improvements, a decrease, which we don't see often, but we are appreciative when we do see, of $9,64826 in the contract price. Any questions with respect to item number four. All right. Item number five is a
resolution adopting the revised rules and regulations of the Little Falls Police Department. From time to time, our police department will modify its rules and regulations. Uh this is one of those instances. I know it's been provided and sent out in the link. Are there any questions from the council with respect to this these
updates? All right. Item number six is ordinance number 1517, the establishment of chapter 180 restricted areas and municipal buildings. Uh this is been an ongoing and hot button topic through not only not necessarily Little Falls, but
many surrounding municipalities through the state and throughout the country. And there are uh a number of first amendment auditors that come by from time to time and request access to various sections of the building ensuring that these sections of the building are marked correctly and
prohibit access to anyone who is looking to essentially unlawfully gain access to it. We are looking to ensure that the rules and regulations related to this are very clear. That is what ordinance 1517 does. Are there any questions on 1517? All right. Finally, uh number
seven, ordinance number 1518, the calendar year 2025 ordinance to exceed the municipal budget appropriation. Uh this one is again one that we see from time to time here. Are there any questions with respect to item number seven? Mayor, if I was sitting in the
audience, what would cap bank mean? So, I'm glad you asked and I'm also glad we have our CFO CFO sitting here who will be able to explain it in much more eloquent terms than I will. Uh but this has to do with uh increases that exceed two and a half percent unless authorized
uh by ordinance to increase up to three and a half percent. Uh but for the remainder of the uh thorough explanation, I'll hand it over to our CFO Roy. For the record, Roy, just tell us who you are. Roy Riatan. I'm the CFO for Little Falls. Thank you. So what this does is it basically takes whatever
the appropriation is for 2025. Whatever is remaining in the cap bank, we will move that into 26 and 27. It's a non-spending appropriation. What it does is it gives us more latitude for
the future years. All right. And with that, council president, if it's okay, I will uh share my screen to begin the budget presentation for this year. We're going to restart that one time. All right. So, there's a 2025 municipal
budget uh proposed for introduction. The agenda for this evening will be the annual municipal budget which provides the spending authority for all township departments. It will be the presentation which provides an overview of the 2025 spending plan and estimates the funding required to support that plan. Only
public information is presented herein and confidential information has been specifically excluded from the presentation. We'll get through the highlights, the revenue, the appropriations, the debt, as well as the tax rate. This evening, as far as budget highlights in comparison, uh in 2024, our fund balance
utilized was 2.8 million as opposed to this year 1.14 million. Anticipated revenues are in 2024 were 500 5,841,440 while this year's anticipated revenue is up to 6,71516. Our library tax increased from
$729 $729,49 to $823,513 nearly a $100,000 increase to the library. We also have receipts from delinquent taxes in 2024 that were $780,000 as opposed to this year's $460,000. The amount to be raised by
taxes in 2024 was $14,288,399 as opposed to this year's 16,792,645. The total budget to the municipality is in 2024 was $24,439,248 as opposed to this year's $25,931,275. As far as budget
highlights, the anticipated surplus of $1,140,000 for 2025 budget with 676,290 thou $290 remaining in surplus. The surplus has decreased from 2024 to 2025 in the amount of
$1,660,000. Library taxes are $823,513 for 2025. As you heard, nearly $100,000 increase to the library and appropriations have been set to reflect salary increases of between 3 to 4 and a.5% through various departments in
town. With respect to budget highlights, the collective bargaining agreements have been settled with the PBA, the Teamsters, which are DPW, and the International Association of EMTs, and negotiations with the FMBA, our public safety telecommunicators are continuing
at this time. Public employee retirement system and PFRS increased with additional contributions this year over last year of almost $66,000. Some additional highlights. And this year uh a number of the expenses that you'll see are related to safety
within the municipality. We have our vehicle acquisition program for police which will continue with the purchase of three police vehicles for 2025. The expense will come from the capital budget. Uh unfortunately we had lost a couple of police cars that we did not anticipate losing uh in this past year.
um one of them to the unfortunate uh accident that one of our officers was in uh and another one unfortunately another vehicle also no longer continues to operate for us. Uh we had operating expenses increased uh from
$266,600 in 2024 to $500,000 in 2025 for a net increase of $233,400. And in salary and wages they are expensing for increasing from 5,382,81024 to 5,726,453 in 2025 for a net increase of
almost $350,000. Some additional items to highlight in this year's budget. Our insurance costs are up nearly $400,000 over last year's insurance costs. Our public and PFRS retirement pension costs, as you as I indicated, are up nearly
$66,000. Our solid waste and recycling costs increased $104,000. Our utility costs are up by $110,000. Uh which leads to the assessed value of the municipality, which is substantially similar to the year
before. And in 2024, our assessed value was 1 bill539,46,000. where in 2025 our assessed value is 1 bill554,999,000. As far as revenues that we are anticipating this year by source, uh you'll see from our fund balance, we
have about 4.4%. From revenues, as we've indicated, we have about 32.1%. State aid has reduced from about 5% last year to 1.4% this year. and our taxes make up the remainder of the revenues that we are required to collect at 62.1%. The appropriations by source this
year and this is where the majority of the funds are spent as you see uh police is our highest expenditure with statutory and pensions being the second highest. Uh our debt service and insurance costs uh are unfortunately near equal now. Insurance costs have
continued to skyrocket over these past couple of years. Uh our public works department uh is the next high I'm sorry it's not the next highest but it's just slightly over uh a million and a quarter million and a quarter there. Our administration at nearly $2 million and you can continue down the line.
Unfortunately, as you see here, utilities and solid waste costs have continued to increase substantially and now also exceed $2 million. and you continue down the line there to see the additional costs that the or appropriations that the municipality will need to spend on in
2025. As for a recap, the township's increased its budget in the amount of $1,492,000 due in part to many state mandates inclusive of the pension and healthcare costs. We also have increased our public safety budget substantially, including our EMS services. The township will finally experience the net effect
of the various pilot programs in place and the accurate pilot will have revenue in excess of $700,000 in 2025 which will reduce the tax burden on our residents. Uh as many individuals know and again the accurate pilot is just one portion of the entire pilot that the township is
collecting. As many individuals know and they've heard me say in the past, the redevelopment area that now makes up accurate uh as well as the town homes was previously paying in total to the municipality $300,000 annually. Just the
uh apartment buildings themselves will be paying 700,000 approximately in 2025 as well as the additional 102 town homes that we're now collecting on uh to the tune of somewhere between another seven about 700 to $800,000 more. Uh so we see a substantial increase in our pilot uh
program come that will be coming in in 2025 and this administration continues to fund emergency services of police, fire and EMS and shared service agreements all to protect the citizens as well as our fiscal responsibilities. As far as municipal debt, uh, as you see through here, our
municipal debt limit, uh, continues to increase and our municipal debt does as well slightly. And our schools, you'll see on there, are continuing to to track across the board, uh, each and every year in the past. As far as municipal
debt, our allowable debt limit is 65 mill nearly 66 million at $65,992,410. And our authorized debt as of the close of last year was 36 million about $36,400,000. We have available to borrow
about 29,600,000 with our current percentage of debt at 1.645%. As far as the total tax rate, the some of these figures continue to be estimates, particularly with the county and the local schools. We are waiting
for absolute final confirmation from the regional high school, but we've received some some figures from them. Uh so the municipal numbers are are are accurate. We are still waiting again for some final numbers uh from particularly the county and our local schools. You'll see
on there again the assessed valuation at the bottom of the page which I had just discussed recently with a slight increase over last year. So the question of how much do I pay, you can see here the tax rate again rounded to the third decimal point uh with the local rate as well as the total
rates again which remain uh estimated based upon the figures that we have available to us at this time which leads us to how much did the average taxpayer pay and on here you'll see a very slight increase from 2024 to 2025 in the average assessed value of
homes in Little Falls which has increased from 316,000 in change the $318,000 and change about a $2,000 increase. And the total tax on a $318,000 home in Little Falls uh last year would have been
$10,753 and this year approximately $1,47 with the municipal portion of that being last year $396 $3,96 and this year $3,623 which continues to remain a flat municipal percent of real estate taxes
at 28%. Finally, the municipal tax rate here uh is you will see on here the 2020 from 2012 through 2024 the difference between municipal school, county, and open space. And unfortunately, I seem to have missed
updating this page with our capital budget plan still indicating 2024, but this is for 2025. And it reads, "The capital budget is required part of the annual budget for all municipalities in the state of New Jersey." uh NJSA484-43 provides that the budget plan is for expenditures of public funds for
capital purposes. The authorization to make the expenditure still requires a capital ordinance adopted by the township council for each specific project which the township council will be asked to do in the next uh month or so. The capital budget addresses the needs for the township's infrastructure and equipment requirements and if
authorized by the council will reflect an increase in current debt of $3 million. You'll see here all of the capital budget requests from various departments this year where again not all of these will be approved but these were the total amount of requests and our capital
budget for 2025 and some of the needs of the municipality. Same for this page as well. And I'm not going to run through each one of them, but the presentation will may be made available as well as capital projects
continued here with you'll see at the end of 2025 a rough incre just over just under $62,000. And the budget hearing and adoption is now scheduled for Wednesday, June 4th, 2025 at 700 p.m. during our council
meeting, which has been moved to that date. Are there any questions from the council? The floor is open to council members. Council Murphy. Thank you, Council President. Um, I know we had a couple meetings with our new CFO on this budget and last year I know the mayor's
proposed budget had um when he presented it personally had a couple concerns with the amount of surplus that was being used to offset the rising expenses which I actually uh had directed to the former CFO. Um, and I was assured that basically unequivocally the numbers were
conservative, projections were sound, and that uh the numbers were conservative and that my uh projections were unfounded. The mayor uh proposed budget that was presented to the council last year was really a vote to lower taxes
and that was a vote that I voted a vote that I was happy to vote for and my vote was to lower taxes. It's now clear that the proposed budget and the assurances from the CFO last year were in my opinion a misrepresentation which I was a little upset with and I know we we vocalized some of that in some of the meetings. Um and I think the unfortunate
part now is we're being asked to vote on a uh budget with a pretty massive tax increase which I feel is unacceptable. Um I think I have a lot of concerns with that and uh I don't know if I could support a budget with that type of a an increase. Uh person I'm just going to ask that
when we vote on that if we could take one by one on the uh resolutions noted. Any other council members? Thank you. We'll move forward. Have a um have a motion to approve resolutions. Uh let's go B
through E. Is everyone comfortable? Okay. So moved by Councilwoman Patel. Second by Councilman Benur. Again, you're voting on resolutions B through E. M. Madame Clerk, call the role. Council member Patel, yes. Council member Murphy, yes.
Council member Hab, yes. Council member Van Sherry, yes. Council President Scoba, yes. Have a motion to introduce resolution A. So moved. Moved by Councilwoman Habits. Second. Second by Councilman Benerry. Madame Clerk, call
the role for resolution A. Council member Patel, no. Council member Murphy, no. Council member Habits. Yes. Council member Vaneri. Yes. Council President Scoba. Yes. Uh Madame Clerk, read Ordinance 1517.
Introduction of ordinance number 1517. An ordinance entitled An ordinance to establish a new chapter in the code of the township of Little Falls, Chapter 180 entitled Restricted Areas and Municipal Buildings with a second reading and public hearings scheduled for May 19th, 2025. Thank
you. Please call the role. uh to introduce I'm sorry. I have a motion to introduce 1517. So moved. Moved by Councilwoman Patel. Second by Councilman uh Venturi. Please call the role uh uh on 1517. Council member Patel. Yes.
Council member Murphy. Yes. Council member Hav. Council member Venterry. Yes. Council President Scoba. Yes. Madame Clerk, read Ordinance 1518, please. Introduction of ordinance number 1518, an ordinance entitled calendar year 2025, ordinance to exceed the municipal budget appropriation limits
and to establish a cap bank with a second reading and public hearing scheduled for May 19th, 2025. Have a motion to introduce 1518. So moved by Council Murphy, second by Councilwoman Habitz. Please call the role for 1518. Council member Patel, yes. Council
member Murphy, yes. Council member Habits. Council member Vaneri, yes. Council President Scova, yes. Councilman Murphy for council uh discussions. Thank you, Council President. Just quick for me tonight, we do have a domestic violence awareness committee meeting uh tomorrow night at 7 pm. We'll be in the
upstairs room of town hall. Thank you, Councilman Venturi. Thanks, Council President. Um first, I wanted to say thank you to a few people. Um as some of you guys know, last week my uncle, who's been a longtime Little Falls resident, uh passed away last Tuesday, and today, you know, we laid him to rest. I just
want to thank my colleagues that came, but I also want to thank the Little Falls Police Department as well as Little Falls EMS. They the day everything happened, they were on the scene just communicating with uh my uncle's family and just grateful for everything they tried to do for him. Um I also want to just thank the Wooden
Park Police Department as well as Mayor Keller and the State County Sheriff's Department and the Little Falls Police Department today because they helped with the escort as we led them to rest. So, I just wanted to say thank you to all those involved. We really appreciate it. and my three cousins, you know, who lost their dad last week. Wanted to also say thank you to all the members of the
police department for everything they did um for my uncle. Um just a couple other things real quick. Just finalizing the details around uh May 23rd, the concert in the park. I'm pleased to announce we are back for the sixth time to have our concert. We have two bands that are locked and loaded and we're
just working on some other details in terms of the vendors that'll be on site. And then for the Memorial Day parade on May 24th, same thing. just working on the details and hoping to have a meeting in the next couple weeks with uh the police department, fire department, EMS, uh DPW, and the rec center just to kind
of go through everything so that we're all on the same page for the day of the event. Um also want to say kudos to the police department um for and the DPW department for installing the new speed signs. They put them in three locations when they came in. Uh one's on Browardtown Road, one is on Lower Notch,
and a third is on Wilmore Road. Just another reminder for those of you driving just to slow down. And you know, it's also nice to see the traffic light up and running like I mentioned at the last meeting and hearing from residents. A lot of them said thank you. So it was a long time coming and to see that now in place is something that's going to be
beneficial to many. So that's it for me. Thank you. Thank you, Councilwoman. Thank you, Council President. Um I would just like to say uh the library hosted a wonderful event this past Friday uh for the Montlair uh art school. Uh the artwork is on display for the month of
May. So please stop by the library and see it. It really is absolutely amazing work. Um they're also starting a community garden beds uh that are being prepped as we speak. Um it's a great opportunity for our garden club, our schools, and our residents to take place in programming that will be involved
with the um beds and the library. Uh so we're looking forward to that being finished. Um, for more updates on the library, you can go to their website and their social media pages to see some more upcoming events. And just two weeks from now, we're going to be opening the
farmers market. Um, we have some jam-packed market with some new vendors, returning vendors, uh, great local sponsors and events for everyone. So, stop by May 19th, 9:00 a.m. here in the municipal parking lot. That's all I have. Thank you. Thank you, Councilwoman
Patel. Uh, thank you, Council President. Just a few events. Um on Saturday, May 10th from 1:00 to 4, the Clifton Health Department is hosting Touch a Truck event in support of raising awareness for autism. It's going to uh be at the
Clifton Fire Station 5. There's going to be arts and crafts, face painting, well, sorry, face painting, and many other activities for families. So, I encourage everyone to attend. Um they're also offering the wise program um to those that are 55 and older here in Little
Falls. It's a six-w week program that's starting next Wednesday, May 14th, and then it'll take place every Wednesday thereafter from 10:30 a.m. until 12. And it's actually at the Little Falls Civic Center. Um, it's just a program that focuses on healthy aging, and learning
about different tools to do so, such as nutrition, exercise, safe medication, things of that nature. So, whoever is interested, please sign up for that. Um, next Friday, May 16th, at 9:30 a.m., Little Falls will have its second annual
CO 19 memorial. It takes place at Memorial Park to honor those that have passed away um during the pandemic. So, I encourage you all to go. It was great. Um it was a great event last year. Um there is a mocktail paint and sip taking
place on Thursday, May 22nd. Uh at 6 p.m. at the Little Falls Civic Center. Again, residents uh can paint their own masterpieces, sip on mocktails, and they're going to be informed on sun safety um and how to protect their skin during the upcoming summer months. The
next public health committee meeting is going to take place on Wednesday, March 14th at 6:30 instead of 7 and it's going to be right here at town hall. And just finally, I really do encourage residents to check out the uh township calendar on a regular basis. It's updated almost
daily and all of our events and programs are all listed on there and currently I feel like it's the best way for residents to get to know what's going on. So, just wanted to say that. That's all. Council President Thank you. It's good to see our veteran banners go up. Thank you to the DBW department for
doing that where they take them down and put them up every year. Our spring fling went over very well. I don't know how we got that name spring fling. We have to take a look at that title um for the next year maybe. But uh it was well attended. I want to thank my colleagues for helping out. Uh the seniors had a
great wonderful time. Uh, also the next event will be in the fall because we do break for the summer with the senior advisory group have a motion to open the meeting to the public for agenda items. Moved by Councilman Vener, second by Councilwoman
Habitz. All those in favor? I. All those opposed? Motion carries. Madam clerk, anyone wishing to address the township council may do so through the council president. It is preferred if you give your name and address for the record. Comments are to be limited to three minutes. However, if appropriate, you may be granted additional time in the sole discretion of the council
president. Members of the public who have joined the meeting virtually and desire to provide comment shall raise a virtual hand in the Zoom application. The meeting moderator will cue the members of the public that wish to provide comment and the council president will recognize them in order. Members of the public who have joined the meeting by calling in must press
star six to mute and unmute themselves and star 9 to raise their hand. Members of the public who have joined the meeting via the Zoom application must click the reactions icon and then the raise hand icon. Once the process is complete, we will return to the regular order of business. Thank you. The floor is now
open. Is there anyone in our chat? No one coming before us here in the council chambers. Have a motion to close. So moved. So moved by Councilman Murphy. Second. Second by Councilman Patel. All those in favor. All those opposed?
Motion carries. Want to thank the staff for assisting me in putting on this meeting. Um, can I have a motion to adjourn this meeting? Moved by Councilman Ventury. Second, second by Councilwoman Habits. All those in favor. All those opposed, this meeting is now closed.