good evening I'd like to call the April 8th 2025 Oldbridge Township Council meeting to order Please rise for a pledge of allegiance Please remain standing for a moment of silence and for our prayer I pledge algiance 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 As customary in this chamber we stand for a moment to remember those who are protecting our
freedoms both here and abroad our first responders for those who have made the ultimate sacrifice and for everyone suffering around the world A moment of silence Our prayer Mr Pasitti Dear Lord bless thy servants in
the ministry of public affairs who serve you in this chamber Give us quiet minds and hearts that we may hear your voice Help us to know when to speak when to be silent Give us strength to oppose the wrong and uphold the right And grant that we have a good conscience and soul
at peace with thee and with one another Amen Amen This meeting has been held in conformance with the open public meetings act Notice has been given to the official newspapers of the township on December 16th 2024 and is posted in public places Next open public meeting of the township council will be held on
Tuesday April 22nd 2025 Roll call Councilman Acatuli Yes Councilwoman Daro here Councilman De Palama here Councilman Desai is absent Councilman He's here He's here
Let the record reflect Councilman Desai is entering at 7:33 p.m Oh what's the Councilman Garcia Present Councilman Murphy here Councilman Pasitti present Council Vice President Dr Greenberg Bell
present Council President Sohar here Good evening everyone and welcome to the meeting Uh tonight we'll begin with budget items municipal budget presentation Good evening Welcome Thank you council uh for attending the many budget meetings of
subcommittees before the budget As you know a lot of work goes into this We begin in um August I want to thank all the department heads for all the work they did Uh especially um Dawn Vicki and Anna They've worked so hard on this
budget And um as we said at the um budget subcommittee meeting in our budget presentation a lot of the things are out of our control such as pensions and benefits they continue to rise at an alarming rate and they're out of our control but I think we did a pretty good
job with the budget this year Thank you mayor So I'll start with our 2025 municipal budget goals As mentioned during our budget introduction in February we have been working diligently to control our expenditures where
possible and explore costsaving saving measures by seeking alternative revenue sources to lessen the impact on taxpayers So our goals are as follows We are looking to sustain and enhance essential municipal services for old bridge residents while adapting to
rising costs We are looking to limit tax increases and ensure compliance with statutory caps to minimize financial burdens on taxpayers We are straining long-term financial planning by maintaining a balanced budget and focus on sustainable fiscal practices and are
identifying opportunities for operational efficiencies and costsaving strategies for the upcoming years 2026 and 2027 to ensure continued fiscal health These goals may sound familiar from past years but this has to be at the forefront of our minds when we work
on the budget These are always our goals They may be different every year uh we might be you know targeting a one goal more than others but these are our goals yearly we are already working for 26 and 27 and that's done through CDBG funding
that we're currently applying for or grants and things like that as well Our municipal budget guidelines are statemandated and they we are mandated to adopt an annual budget to authorize spending and andor tax resident for the
fiscal year We must have we have strict budget forms that must be prepared and submitted to the state for approval The state provides oversight conducted by the division of local government services under the department of community affairs State approval is required before the budget can be
adopted Municipal tax levy must align with appropriations minus non- tax revenues as per legal requirements Projected non- tax revenues must not exceed the previous previous year's actual non-t tax revenue Actual expenditures cannot surpass the budgeted
amount Transfers within the cap are permitted only in the last two years of the month uh two months of the year And finally fund balance or surplus cannot be used to increase spending after the budget has been adopted As we often joke the budget development
process is really a year long As soon as the budget is adopted today we'll be working on 26 starting tomorrow Um this is really uh something that that our CFO and director of finance as well as Vicki and myself the moment that we adopt this year's budget
we're already thinking about next year's Um as for the rest of our departments and our directors they're very heavily involved in the process as well In August is when the memorandum and budget guidelines is sent to all department heads In September we hold we have all
of our requests submitted by the by the departments October we hold our first meetings with all of our department heads So if you're not familiar with those meetings this is where our directors will come in and kind of justify what they're asking for Um this
is also where at that time Dawn will kind of go over with them their current year expenditures and have them explain why they've gone over on some lines or maybe not have spent a lot on others and and try to make sure that they balance their budget for the last three months
of the year In January is when we have the opportunity to meet with them again once the fiscal year closes We're able to look at what was spent in the previous year and this helps us guide us for the the upcoming year So in January that's when we go over all the 24
expenditures and say this is what we were looking to do for 25 based on previous year spending uh things that have come up and things like that In February of 25 is when we proposed the budget to the council at our February 25th meeting and that's when we
introduced it as well During the month of March we received stated certification on March 5th 2025 and held our subcommittee meetings on March 13th 19th and 26th Those are public meetings that our council uh uh chair and this is
the opportunity that for us to go through line by line literally uh for each department um what the requests are what we're giving what we're giving and what things might be cut and things like that So um we held those in March Today
we are hosting our public hearing a budget amendment and hopefully a budget adoption And at this time I will pass it over to Dawn to continue our presentation Uh before I do I really do want to emphasize what mayor said Uh Don and Vicki are instrumental in in all of
this Vicki is our presentation preparer our book prepare everything Um and and really just the behind the scenes and and Dawn with her expert expertise and knowledge in finance really you know is what helped us to get this balanced budget this year
Thank you 2025 municipal budget overview The municipal budget represents 17% of the total tax rate and is the only portion of the tax bill that the township officials can directly control Um the
percentage of municipal taxes in the budget has been on a downward trend Back in 2013 it represented 21% Um and in 2025 17% This 17% covers the majority of
municipal services that are provided to the residents of Oldbridge including public safety public works health and senior services parks and facilities recreation programs enforcement and community development The remaining
portion of the tax bill 83% funds the Old Bridge Public Schools Old Bridge Public Library Middle Sex County Government Middle Sex County Open Space Program and four fire districts Lawrence Harbor Cheesequake Southbridge and Madison Park By statute the township
collects the taxes for all agencies but the township has no control over these other agencies budgets This slide is a graphical presentation of the 2025 tax rate breakdown As you can see the biggest slice in red is the
school tax at 58% Municipal tax the only tax the township controls is 17% Now the township must collect and distribute to all other agencies 100% of their respective levy amount So we never
have a 100% collection rate but we still have to give all these other districts 100% of their levy Except for municipal tax and library tax on this slide all the other agencies are just an estimate We have
not we don't receive the certified billing from the county until usually the first week in July 2025 municipal budget summary The 2025 proposed municipal budget calls for
69,323,835 in expenditures Revenues include 5,814,114 in miscellaneous revenue 6,347,930 in state aid $2,235,000 in uniform construction and code enforcement fees
$425,000 in municipal court fines and costs 550,000 in interest on investments and deposits 1.5 million in receipts from delinquent taxes and 38,646,000 240 as the amount to be raised by
taxation An anticipation of 13 million from fund balance will be required to bring the 2025 budget into balance This will leave 5,958,79328 in cash fund balance to help with potential emergencies for 2025 and
to help stabilize taxes in 2026 The proposed municipal tax rate is estimated to be 1.030 in 2025 which reflects a tax increase of 017 over 2024 For an average home in Oldbridge
assessed at $157,373 the proposed municipal tax increase would be $27 2025 library budget summary The municipal library purposes expenditure category is included as an appropriation
in the municipal budget However since 2011 the amount is deducted from the municipal tax levy in the calculation of the amount to be raised by taxation for municipal purposes The 2025 minimum state required funding for the Oldbridge
Public Library is $4,58,543 which reflects an increase of $453,580 over 2024 The associated tax rate is estimated to be 0.108 in 2025 which reflects an increase of 010 in the tax rate over
2024 for an average home in Oldbridge assessed at 157,373 The municipal library tax increase would be $16 Under the statute the minimum amount required by the state cannot be decreased by the library board or the
municipality 2025 total budget summary municipal and library The total general appropriation for 2025 includes municipal library purposes is 73,382,378 compared to 72,490,218 in the 2024 budget as
modified This is a total budget increase of $892,160 or 1.23% 23% and of that budget increase it's kind of almost 5050 library and municipal portion
The proposed tax rate for both municipal and municipal library purposes for 2025 is therefore estimated to be 1.138 which reflects a tax increase of 0027 over 2024 For an average assessed
home in Oldbridge assessed at $157,378 the proposed municipal and municipal library tax increase would be $43 This slide shows a breakdown of expenditures between salary and wages other expenses and the library appropriation from 2020 to
2025 Other expenses is in blue salary and wages in red and the library appropriation in green Since we are a service industry obviously labor costs are our bigger biggest expense However our salary costs have remained pretty
stable In the last three years we've seen major increases in salaries as we try and compete with you know other private companies and to you know retain you know good employees
2025 expenditures The salary and wages expenditure category has increased by 1,574,876 In addition to contractual increases and minimum wage increases the 2025 budget includes funding for one new full-time
position in the police department a patrol officer and one new full-time position in the Department public works a laborer We need to increase our staffing levels to meet the increase in service demands and to better assist the public
I know Um one thing we always get is how do we do so much in a town this size with the staff we have I know I get it all the time in the tax office you know 20 thou 22,000 line items almost now and essentially you know two employees in
the office But um so far this year we have settled four hopefully five after tonight of the um non-union contracts that expired at the end of 2024 So that has been accounted for in this budget as
well The other operating expenses expenditure category has increased by $445,941 The major increase under this expenditure is health insurance but also another large increase we had this year was the recycling contract
um which 39% in total However we won't see the full effect of that until next year because it started just April 1st and then we'll be using some grant money this year to kind of cover some of those expenses The municipal debt service
expenditure category has increased by $133,725 This increase is the result of the amorization of previously issued bonds and notes The statutory expenditure category has increased by $899,66 The major increase under this
expenditure category is the police and firemen's retirement system which went up almost 700,000 this year The increase is the result of a combination of the required contribution rate by the state which has increased contractual increases and the additional
hiring in the police department The deferred charges expenditure category has increased by $52,482 The major increase under this expenditure category is the contribution to Arena Um this year we needed to contribute about
46,000 Um the revenues while still you know pretty good were a little we had a little less in the public skating sessions as well as one less hockey team So the revenues were not as much over the anticipated amount as it has been in
prior years The capital improvement fund expenditure category has not been changed for 2025 The proposed budget anticipates the same level of funding as last year 280,000 The proposed capital budget for
2025 is expected to be 6,180,000 for curbing drainage facilities and road improvements parks and playground improvements replacement of equipment and vehicles for various departments and divisions Capital projects will be discussed um in further
detail during the capital presentation The reserve for uncollected taxes expenditure category has increased by 550,000 This is a statutory non-spending appropriation The actual tax collection
rate for 2024 was 98.54% and our projected collection rate for 2025 is 98.54% The township usually projects 1% lower than our actual collection rate Um
if you notice our rate is always in the 99 You know it's usually about 1% higher Um we did have a large farmland roll back uh tax that is under appeal and the
owner did not pay the taxes That is the reason it didn't really affect because what what was part of the budget was separate the added and omitted are kind of on build in October on top of the budgeted amount but it does factor into
the collection rate So that's why it's it's showing lower here Um but we kind of feel that this is an anomaly that this year our collection rate will go back but because of that it
did drop it about 1% So 2025 expenditures a pie chart breaking down the expenditures by category The biggest slice is obviously salary and wages at 41.25% It's important to note that employee
salaries and benefits comprise just under 64% of the total budget when you factor in social security pension and insurance for the employees Next biggest is operating expenses at 29.28% And we always like to keep an eye
on the debt service Uh rating agencies like to see it 10% or under And we're currently at 7.62% 62% A further breakdown of expenditures by department Uh largest slice is public safety showing our investment in uh
public safety um which is over uh one quarter of our budget is for police and public safety The next largest is insurance uh which includes health and liability insuranceances Moving on to revenues Total municipal
revenue including the municipal library tax levy has increased by $892,160 The fund balance revenue category has been increased by 1.5 million The miscellaneous revenues category has been increased by
$119,840 The major increase under this revenue category is uh tax court judgments that were in our favor The state aid revenue category has been decreased by $652,994 The major decrease in this
revenue category is municipal relief fund Um we've talked in prior years uh the state back in 2022 had given some additional state aid uh called municipal relief fund in the amount of $326,567 which we then anticipated in
23's budget In 23 they doubled that amount to $653,134 which we then anticipated in 24 In 24 they did not give this municipal relief fund So that kind of you know gave us a little
$650,000 hole there in state aid The uniform construction code fees revenue category has not been changed for 2025 The proposed budget anticipates the same level of funding as last year The municipal court fines and costs
revenue category has been increased by 50,000 Municipal court revenues have been creeping back up to the precoid um levels Court is more they're having more in-person court and we've been
seeing an increase in those revenues The interest on investments and deposits revenue category has been increased by 200,000 That's one that I'm always kind of a little leerary about increasing because we all know one change can you
know drop those rates But I think where we have it you know I'm I'm comfortable with the receipt receipts from delinquent taxes revenue category has been increased by 500,000 This anticipated amount is within the
limit of the statutory formula and the amount to be raised by taxation revenue category has been increased by $1,416,482 from 37,229,758 in 2024 to $38,646,240 for
2025 Even though there's an increase in the amount to be raised by taxation of 3.8% the tax rate increase is only 1.68% due to the increase in assessed value This pie chart further breaks down
the revenue The largest piece as always is amount to be raised by taxation 52.66% 66% and the second largest is fund balance at 17.72% We're going to drill down further in revenues by looking back at the last
five years for each revenue category As I just explained um municipal state aid uh it was it was flat for you know three years while flat for many many years and then we did get that little bump in
municipal relief aid as well as a slight I think it was something like a 0.5% increase um the last two years but now they took away that municipal relief aid so we're kind of back where we were
no they just they the municipal relief fund aid they they didn't give out this year or I'm sorry in 2024 What I'm not sure Was it co money Yeah it was
the Okay that's why it was co money Surplus anticipated from fund balance in 2020 We anticipated 7 million In 2021 due to the impact of the pandemic we decreased by 850,000 to
6,150,000 This allowed us to maintain our cash fund balance for emergencies In 2022 due to most revenues being restored to prepandemic levels we were able to anticipate 9.5 million and still maintain our cash fund balance In
2023 we anticipated that same amount um 9.5 million And in 24 we anticipated 11.5 million while still maintaining our cash fund balance And for 2025 we anticipated 13
million Again still while maintaining that cash fund balance The next slide which is my favorite will show in more detail the relationship between fund balance and surplus The blue represents the fund balance as
of January 1st of each year The red represents the surplus amount in the budget from fund balance So the amount that we anticipate in each year's budget The purple represents the remaining cash balance throughout the year and the
green represents the fund balance as of December 31st of each year which then carries over to the following year The rating agencies pay specific attention to fund balance when reviewing our rating and this is part of our long-term financial planning and it is reflected
in our bond rating So as you can see we're you know we're maintaining that cash fund balance and even increasing it along the way even though the amount we were anticipating had increased Uniform construction and code fees Uh when anticipating these revenues
we look at historical trends as well as projects approved by the planning and zoning boards and the redevelopment agencies So we're keeping that uh the same level as last year municipal court fines and
costs Um we felt comfortable this year putting it back up to the preandemic amount that we had of 425,000 As I said you know more in-person court sessions as well as um the police have been picking up as far
as um enforcement on Route 9 as well as some of the side you know cut through streets and things like that So we have been seeing an increase in court revenue lately Interest on investments and deposit Um interest rates took a sharp
decline in 2020 due to COVID and it was refle reflected in our projections in 21 and 22 but midway through 22 the interest rates began to rise as reflected in 23 and we were able to increase the amount anticipated in 24 and 25 due to
interest rates remaining at that high level Miscellaneous revenues These always kind of fluctuate a bit The miscellaneous revenues include interest and costs on taxes tower rental fees interlocal service fee agreements fees
and permits pilots cable franchise fees licenses and state and federal grants And one of the main reasons it fluctuates so much is the state and federal grants because sometimes you know we received that um police technology grant last year 1.3 million
That's something that's not an every year thing I mean NJ do DOT grants are usually around the same amount each year So while bigger it is kind of consistent but that's why you see a fluctuation in this category
receipts from delinquent taxes They had stated the amount anticipated is within the limit of our statutory formula So we were able to um increase that this year Amount to be raised by taxation The blue bar reflects the
municipal tax and the red bar reflects the library tax Statutory caps The cost of living cap adjustment enacted by the state requires each municipality to limit any increase in said budget up to 2.5% as
annually set by the state unless authorized by ordinance to increase it to 3.5% over the previous year's final appropriations So we had back uh when we introduced the budget we also introduced uh the cap ordinance which we then adopted at the
next council meeting for Old Bridge Township The proposed final budget appropriation for 2025 is 57 million5,16 which is
$1,652 below the statemandated cap base of $57,6812 The property tax levy cap enacted in 2010 by the state requires each municipality to limit the local government units amount to be raised by taxation to no more than 2% over the
prior year's levy The state allows specific exemp exceptions for health benefits pensions length of service awards program or LOAP for volunteers capital improvements and debt service for township The proposed mun municipal tax
levy for 2025 is 38,646,240 which is $561,433 below the statemandated property tax levy cap of $39,27 I'm sorry $39,27,673 3 All right I'm gonna turn it back over
to Anna to discuss the future Thank you As I mentioned at the beginning of the presentation um budget process for 2026 starts tomorrow Um so we really are start going to start thinking about what are the
potential challenges ahead not just for 26 but 27 as well When I came in last January I kind of did a two-year outlook and and you know see what was going on what we were doing So this is how we're going to approach uh 26 and 27 as well The potential challenges remain the same
as previous years There's obviously a lot of unknowns Um so national state and local economic conditions will have an impact on us over the next two years So we have to find ways to adapt to that You never know weather related weather related emergencies and costs Uh we've
been very fortunate over the last few years that we've when we've had um mostly mo mostly flooding not necessarily snow emergencies We have been able to collect back from FEMA and other organizations Um our departments
public works police engineering um even recreation are very good at keeping track of any weather related expenses that they've incurred whether we had flooding in our basement I think in recreation one year we were able to recoup Um and finance is is does a great job at submitting anything that we can
get to get that money back So obviously we have to to plan for those things As far as contractual and statuto cost increases that is really mostly going to be insurance costs probably and pension over the next couple years to see where they go As you know we are always going
out for market for our health insurance yearly to see what is out there We're currently under the state health benefit which at this time is the best option for the town both uh for the cost to the employee and the benefits that they receive Um we'll be going out in May for
market to see what's out there um if it is worth going back to private and that could have an impact So we'll keep an eye on that As far as contractual goes as Don mentioned we have settled four of our nine unions Hope hoping to settle
number five later tonight Um we still have four outstanding We're looking to get those done as well So those contracts are four-year contracts so they nestly won't impact us over the next two years but um we will keep an eye on those Accumulate time payouts for
retirees We do have quite a bit of employees still that are here um that are entitled to those accumulated payouts The law def uh changed in 2010 regarding payouts for sick leave and vacations So there's been a lot of mandated statutes that have come out on
that But we still have a lot of employees that fall that before 2010 statute that will be entitled to these payouts um in our police department I believe some in our public works department and parks department So uh we have to account for those things as as those employees uh look to retire over
the next couple years Uh we are looking to also potentially be ordered to implement a municipalwide revaluation and have those related costs as well We've been working I've been working closely with our tax assessor over the last few weeks discussing what the options are out there Um right now we've
been extended to 2026 uh as to when we will need to get this done but we are him and I have started the process of figuring out what we're going to need to do and what kind of costs will be incurred with that as well Uh tax appeal refunds Hopefully uh some of these uh appeals that we have out
there will will come to fruition and and we'll be seeing that money back that Don mentioned um you know we did not recoup in 24 and um also we don't know if there will be new or unfunded state mandates I know one of the biggest ones that came
out over the past year that I came in uh and PD PD can talk about that but um there was a lot of policing mandates that came in new trainings different things like that that were required but now funding provided to do that So uh we've had to address some of those licensing requirements and things like
that So we're looking to make sure we're we're following those mandates Um so these are things that are again out of our control but that we must follow Okay And our 2026 and 2027 potential
opportunities Again ongoing cost containment strategies We're always looking for competitive contracting for services Uh we've been doing really well with co-op uh purchasing for goods and services also over the last couple years and that has helped us keep our costs
down Uh as you know one of our biggest things that I personally rely on and I know that this is something that all of our directors also look for is grants whether they're federal state county and local grants We have a great um grant consulting company Millennium Strategies
that helps us with from beginning to end the application the submission the reporting and that has made a huge difference um over I know over the last couple years I've been here but even before that um just speaking from previous experience the senior center alone who has a $30,000 operating budget
not counting their salaries and wages receives over $130,000 in grants that helps them operate those those things We received grants for everything to police like Don mentioned to roadway uh reconstruction drainage to also um
equipment for public works things for our parks development of our parks I mean really there's a grant for everything out there If there's a grant out there we'll find it Um why use our money if we could use somebody else's right Um so we will continue to do that to go out and seek those grants and and
work there are a lot of work from beginning to end Even with our um consulting company you know it's still a lot of work for our directors and employees to put the the grant applications together to do the reporting on the grants afterwards Uh but they very are well worth it Um also
we will hope to add and enhance some of our shared services that we currently have with the Obridge public library the Obridgeidge public schools Middle Sex County government and other neighboring uh municipalities So that's something we are continuously working on to see how
um we can enhance those services And at this time I hope you will look to adopt our 2025 budget Um I believe we can take questions now Is it after Um oh Bob Yep Turn over to Bob Um sorry Bob It's okay
Um let me short and sweet Um this is uh I don't want to say that uh in the wrong way about being boring but being stable sometimes is boring And what this town is is very stable um from year to year Um no no matter what we run into whether
it's COVID um um or any other type of issue um our finances stay in a very good spot Um we have I have clients um who when they uh are no longer getting the state aid we talked about in federal
aid with regard to COVID they're in a very dire spot right now because they were living off that money and that money was needed for them to supplement uh in some ways actually supplant their own uh local revenues But here we were able to take that money and it was great
But we were also able to grow our surplus so that when that was taken away from us we don't have to miss a beat So um I think that I think that's very good The tax rates going up 1.6 1.7% which is far below um inflation and you're
absorbing pension costs health care costs which are going up much higher than inflation Um our surplus is still at a is still and continues to be at a stronger level We talked about the state uh uh not the state but the rating agencies on on Wall Street who look at
our operation and and and they give us a bond rating every every year and our bond rating is is uh is just about as strong as you can get within the confines of the type of town we have uh we probably can't get to the AAA level just because demographics and things
that are beyond our control but we are at the next highest level and our uh our surplus uh or fund balance to our budget continues to grow Right now we're at about 25% and that's a a strong number Um and the uh the rating agencies uh
they like to see that and they I'll go back to what I said before They also like to see boring They like to see consistent consistent uh growth uh without spikes going up and uh and then going down Um so uh I commend you for
your for your efforts here and uh I think it's a good budget to pass Um I just have one more comment Um we do have a state approval to adopt the budget tonight Um there were a few minor amendments that are in the resolution
that are on this meeting tonight but it didn't affect it did slightly affect the um tax levy but did not affect the tax rate Um but um yes I just want to say that the state continues to put mandates on us unfunded
mandates but we've been able to keep the budget in great financial standing despite all these things putting us behind the state continuously such as Oprah things like that And as you see they took away some of our funding They and I think it stayed the same for like 15 years I believe before it went up a
little with the CO but then they took it back And also the library is out of our control That's by state statute that rise So that has we have no control over that either And if you look at the pie chart you could see we only get 17% of it on a dollar So it's not a lot
and we give a lot of service for that little bit of money Thank you very much for a very good presentation Very thorough and it's very appreciated all the work Um I'd like to ask for a motion
John we have to do the motion first Um the public hearing Make a motion Okay Move it A public hearing Motion by Councilman Murphy Can we have a second Coun Councilman Esatuli Public
Yes A roll call please Councilman Esatuli Yes Daro Yes Councilman Deal Yes Councilman Desai Yes Councilman Garcia Yes Councilman Murphy Yes Councilman Pasitti Yes
Council Vice President Dr Greenberg Bell Yes Council President Sohart Yes Okay We're good We're going to open it up to the public Is there anyone in the public who wishes to come forth and be heard about the budget Okay Seeing no hands I'll close public
portion Council I will start on my left Okay we'll start Well let let's just go right down the line John Okay Mr Decide do you have any questions You're good Okay Mrs Daro I just have a simple question Um I missed what you said back
uh on the 2025 expenditure page um in the pie chart uh where salary and wages were you it says 41.25% 25% but then I think you I heard you say something that it's actually 64% Is that what you said
Did I Yes Can you explain that Yeah So just the salary and wage portion is 41.25% but when you factor in social security costs pension insurance all the benefits um that are in the budget for
the employees the total employee cost is just under 64% So that comes from some of these other pieces of the pie Okay So it would come from well this one um insurance is part of other operating
expenses but the statutory expenses as well And then if you look if you look at the slide um it's on page 15 2025 department expenditure percent Got it I mean it kind of breaks down by department and
the department one is salary and wage and other expenses but it does break out um insurance costs that are about 11 million and statutory expenditures Okay Thank you I was trying to find it on the pie chart and do the math in my head Thank you No problem That was it Okay I
don't have any questions I just want to say something This is my ninth or tenth budget that I've been approving This went so well All three of you did a great job and I have to the council was very good with it Uh all the department
heads and even Casey you got your person and that's why I want to say everybody did a hell of a job Thank you Thank you Thank you mama Just um thank you guys for all the hard work especially you know Anna
dealing with all the contracts this year I said let's start staggering these So we're not coming up on it but the fact that we're in the process of settling all the contracts for all um for all unionized employees this year and then still keeping the the numbers down to
where we are just thank you all for that Thank Thank you I just want to thank you for your hard work and efforts uh seamless transition from the other business administrator to our new business administrator and the old mayor to the new mayor Guys did a
good job Thank you Thank you What are you trying to say Uh I want to thank you guys as well You guys did a great job It's my fourth budget and it seems like it's you guys do a great job every year So keep keep up the good work and uh get get busy for next year or
next I guess next year I guess already right tomorrow Guys good luck guys Thank you Great job Mr Astatuli Obviously thank you And what I find really amazing is that you always put taxpayers first You always have the
taxpayers in mind And even as a citizen and a councilman I really appreciate it all of you Thank you Excellent effort on everyone's behalf Um it's a non-stop work process throughout the whole year Um when you look at this
budget uh it is very frustrating frustrating I know to achieve this in these times with the economics position that we're in It's nice to always hear that we are fiscally responsible and we've had a stable budget and that we're viewed by an outside agency muties and
someone else is evaluating you also and saying you're doing an excellent job with the double um a bond rating plus but it's it is when you look at this it's very glaring that the state as you said put certain mandates on us and we have to come up with money and ways to
fund that Well that's not only here It's also in MUA And so it really affects all the um taxpayers Then you go back and you look at how much state aid we get how it's been stable Yes it went up during COVID you know the the fund from
there Um but that was actually from the federal government It really wasn't from the state So really the state really hasn't participated much in making you know assessing communities And I obviously never took this on myself but
I'm always curious that our state aid is stable Does it how's it fluctuate in other towns Does it go up Is it going up And you know that you know I will probably want to look into and also in
spite of CO as uh Mr Allison said um you know we did quite well then um with our with our budget and then the fund balance and um that that we have a strong fund balance in case there is ever a crisis that you know is going to
be all right and that speaks volumes also So it is very frustrating you know to to do this and and once again I like to say it's 17 cents out of every dollar We always get yelled at Obviously when taxes go up it affects everything It's
not you know we want stable but there's things that we have no say about especially when you see how health insurance has gone up in the whole um you know the um in the country You know our GDP is now up to about 18% of that
That's uh that's inc it's incredible the cost of um you know health insurance and it's very frustrating to always go work with that Um but with this when you have a stable budget like this and you know we never like to raise taxes but it's a
reality that you have to do this but we take care of 17% And since we collect it so that's another thing I like to say our workers collect all the taxes So we get yelled at it because that's where people come and they pay for the taxes where they mail it in come to the desk
and then we have to distribute the money So we're doing the work for other agencies too And that's very frustrating on on our um you know the the people that work in the tax office that we are that's our labor but we're doing other
people's work So I I don't think people you know take pause and look at everything that's involved with this but um really what it comes back to you're doing a great job and I appreciate it very much for looking forward into the
future that we continue to do that Thank you I'll just finish up the comments with first of all I'm not going to say which budget this is of mine because then you'll know how old I am But it has been quite a while and I have seen a good progression through the years I've seen
stability that wasn't there before I've seen I've seen times when I sat and looked at a budget and said "Oh my god this this this can't be." But it was So I think there's been a lot of positive that's come through the years I think this team has been here now Vicki and
Dawn It's many years of of learning and growing and it shows And thank you Bob also for all the wisdom that you bring because through the years you've helped us segue through a lot of different problems and and come out the other side so to speak So I think for the residents
it's stability It shows that we're positive We understand what needs to be done And it is challenging I mean we have lost some state funding The state mandates as everyone has said have gone up and it's hard for us to compensate
for all that But I do think we do put the residents in the forefront and we give them that stability that they know we are good stewards of their money We really really do try to be So thank you all the whole team administration department heads our auditor everyone
Thank you very much for all the hard work and hopefully we'll meet the challenges now going into a new budget towards 2026 Oh my god I can't But anyway thank you all very very much So we have a motion and a second And I'd
like to ask for a roll call We did We did No No For the amendment Yes Right The amendment Can I have a motion for the uh resolution amending the calendar year budget Second Okay Moved by uh Councilman Deal
Second by Councilman Murphy Roll call Councilman Acatuli Yes Councilwoman Daro Yes Councilman Dealama Yes Councilman Desai Yes Councilman Garcia Yes Councilman Murphy Yes Councilman Pasci
Yes Council Vice President Dr Greenberg Bell Yes Council President Sohar Yes Yep Now is the motion to adopt the calendar year 2025 budget in the total appropriations amount of 73 million
$382,378 Do I have a motion Second Motion by Councilman Asatuli second by Councilman Pasci Roll call Councilman Asatuli Yes Councilwoman Daro Yes Councilman De Palama Yes Councilman
Desai Yes Councilman Garcia Yes Councilman Murphy Yes Councilman Pasitti Yes Council Vice President Dr Greenberg Bell Council President Sohar Yes Carris Okay Very good Thank you Thank you very much Thank you Thank you Thank you Have
a good night Thank you Thank you Okay Now that we gave you a minute we're going to go on the capital budget presentation All right Capital improvement program general overview The capital improvement program is a multi-year plan and schedule for
capital projects Uh the state requires us to have a six-year capital improvement plan that's provided in the back of the state budget Um this is only a plan and it's always subject to change but municipal infrastructure needs constant attention and maintenance
Failure to maintain your infrastructure will put your community at risk for future years By statute capital projects have a prospective useful life of 5 years or more Capital projects may include the acquisition and/or development of land
the acquisition of major equipment and personal property the acquisition construction improvement and/or renovations of buildings roads utilities and other structures improvements of public works and any other matter
described in NJSA4A 2-22 regardless of the financing sources The annual capital budget is prepared and adopted in conjunction with the annual operating budget Administrative preparation of the
capital budget includes a thorough review of each departmental project request in terms of need justification scheduling cost effects on operating budget method of financing and impact on municipal debt structure So
just as we hold department meetings on the operating budget we also hold them on the um on the capital project requests as well The capital budget does not directly appropriate funds The appropriation of funds is made um part
of the capital improvement section of the budget andor by adoption of a bond ordinance So on tonight's agenda there's the two bond ordinances for general and arena improvements Upon completion of a project any unexpended balances are can
cancelled by council resolution This is usually done once a year in December Capital improvement planning and budgeting goals Continue to develop a comprehensive six-year capital program on an annual basis that supports
township goals and objectives for equipment facilities infrastructure and technologies So we don't just look at the current year but develop a plan for several years for replacements and upgrades Um it helps eliminate the need
for considering projects on an emergency basis and helps schedule resources and equipment to ensure their maximum utilization and efficiency We continue to develop and implement a management system for prioritizing tracking and reporting on capital
projects to ensure timely acquisition and/or completion So finance and administration hold routine capital projects meetings usually on a quarterly basis to discuss the status of projects We look to maximize the
utilization of grants to offset capital costs and related debt service Um as Anna had touched on you know we like to use other people's money Um we've received congressional funding Um right now in process the 1.3 million we
received for police technology upgrades That's um in process They're doing renovations to 2011 now as well as the other projects that were applied for in that grant We applied last year um for an addition for the food bank building
uh was rejected last year but we're applying again this year so hopefully we get that Um the American Rescue Plan money we used towards uh parks improvements Manino Catrell Geke Park green acres funding Last year we
received uh five I'm sorry 750,000 for the Ge Park inclusive playground You'll see that as part of this bond ordinance um the funding for that And this year we are currently applying for um green
acres funding for Manino Park We have our annual DOT grants from the state This year we were awarded funding for Cindy Street for phase one That's part of this budget And always our annual CDBG funding where we'll use for road
reconstruction in um eligible areas Equipment and facility upgrades at the senior center and food de food bank ADA improvements to facilities within the complex We look to minimize the property tax impact of capital projects and
related debt service through sound financial planning and balancing of debt repayment schedules which we'll discuss later in the presentation Really quickly one of the things I would like to touch on that Don mentioned regarding CDBG funding What's great
about it it's it's we can use it for roads we can use it for for example the food bank receives funding through that to purchase food We receive it towards the salaries of employees at the senior center Um renovation at the senior
center recently The um craft room was completely redone all the cabinets countertops and everything So it's a it's a big grant that we rely on heavily because it supports those kind of underfunded populations and minorities that we have You know our food bank is always in need of food and things like
that And this is a good way It's also funded for us this year for the food bank new refrigerators as well as for the senior center a new freezer and refrigerator for the county meal program So the CDBG funding is a big part of of this Um and you know every year our teams work together Uh Nicole our
township engineer oversees the distribution of the funds Uh but it's it's a team effort All the the directors come together and and kind of say "Okay this is what we're looking We this is how much money we have How do we allocate it and and meet the needs of everyone?" So just wanted to highlight that really quickly Thank you
Uh we're going to take a very brief look back at the last three years of capital projects We scaled it back from five Uh this is the uh 2022 capital budget Um we're kind of heavy on the parks improvements in uh
2022 and 23 um due to the ARP funding So we did improvements at Catrell Farm Park Manino Park Uh we upgraded play or replace playground equipment at Central Park and Genanoa Park as well as um
converting the Fifth Street basketball courts um to a playground area pickle ball court installation at Manino Park as well as a Geke Park synthetic turf conversion So the 2022 capital budget authorized
was 10,675,000 and the current balance is1,534,321.93 uh for 2023 capital Again this is a list of the projects One thing you see throughout all the years um our annual curbing
drainage uh road reconstruction Um we always have uh vehicle and equipment replacement Uh some of our larger projects are done in different phases Um such as here Stevens Avenue pipe replacement phase four here
I think we're up to phase six now But um yeah larger projects especially Catrell Manino um are done in phases because they're multi-million dollar projects The 2023 capital budget the
total amount authorized was 14,667,000 The current balance 8,591,15589 2024 capital budget the list of all the projects Um one thing we've been focusing on in recent years is security
upgrades Um mainly our um door swipe access system I mean we've had it on some of the doors The first floor has kind of had it now for at least 15 years but um you know we did the renovations to the second floor with security
improvements um now expanding the door swipes into recreation senior center public works and then you know every year we'll probably have capital funding for it because as they get outdated and they need replacement
um also exter exterior door replacements and um the pro uh plans are almost done for the uh DPW building lobby security improvements and that's one of the projects that's um partially uh CDBG
funded about 50% of it 2024 capital budget total authorized 7,5,000 and the current balance 2,684,300 I'm sorry $833.18 which brings us to this year's 2025 capital
budget projects include annual curbing replacement at various locations annual drainage improvement program at various locations Cheesequake Village Haven Drive drainage improvements and NJD storm water mapping
and watershed inventory report Under equipment for recreation a speaker and PA system This will be used at our special events Oldbridge Day um the Halloween spectacular events like
that For the police department bodywn cameras and gym defensive tactics area This is for uh police training that I believe is now being mandated Yes this is part of the police licensing that I was talking about earlier Different trainings and things like that So to
reduce some of the cost of us having to go somewhere we are setting up a kind of a training room down in the recreation building and in one of the rooms that will be locked to the public So that way we could just bring a trainer here and be able to do the training on site and things like that So it reduce some of
the cost as well We already had the space available So some of this funding here is going to go towards getting this piece up and ready All right And continuing with equipment for the Department of Public Works hurricane leaf blower foam stream
eco-friend weed killer single axle snowplow and salter switchand go dump bodies F550 plow and salter welder and mobile vehicle column lifts for our garage under facility improvements campus generator project That's one of
those multi-phase projects Lawrence Harbor baseball complex roof replacement door access control systems carpet replacement animal shelter building improvements and arena boiler replacement furniture office furniture
replacements Uh this is mainly administration building on the first floor Parks improvements municipal I'm sorry Manino Park parking lot lights tennis courts at the municipal complex Manino
Park improvements Geke Park inclusive playground This is that green acres funding we received in 2024 being allocated Manino Park pickle ball basketball and botchi courts Manino Park
cricut field multi-use field and Catrell Farm Park phase three site improvements Under road improvements our annual road resurfacing program and NJ do cost sharing for the Cindy Street road resurfacing phase one
under vehicles for the Department of Public Works a rack body dump truck and a single access dump truck as well as a senior bus for our senior center The 2025 capital budget has a total project cost of 6.1 million
Section 20 costs of 80,000 which includes bonding costs and can also be used for preliminary engineering and architect fees The 750,000 of other funding is the green acres funds A down payment is required of
$272,200 which is provided in this budget and previous budgets through the capital improvement fund appropriation which leaves us with net borrowing of $5,157,800 Finishing up uh the capital funding process begins with the adoption of the
multi-purpose capital bond ordinance which authorizes project borrowings On tonight's agenda we have the general capital and arena improvement ordinances The next step is issuance of short-term bond anticipation notes or
bands These notes are limited to one-year expiration from the date of reissue uh we renew these bands for an additional two to three years to allow for projects to be completed and the final amount of borrowing to be determined Some of these notes are paid
down each year and then also new money added as projects keep moving Then after two or three years we'll convert the multiple short-term bands into an issuance of a long-term bond The annual amorization of township
debt is approximately 7.6 62% of the annual budget We try to keep our debt service as flat as possible from year to year to not have any large fluctuations Uh the rating agencies find this percentage to be very reasonable
They like to see it under 10% And the township's double A1 rating from Moody's Investor Services is the second highest rating Moody's assigns Um and this high rating has an impact on the borrowing rate and financing costs
which then helps us reduce those costs which we then pass on to the taxpayer This is a table of our current debt amorization It includes township issued bonds for general capital and arena utility funds The environmental infrastructure trust
loan that we have had in past years uh was fully paid off that 20-year loan in 2024 This chart does not include bans or projects authorized by debt not issued Our current debt amorization is 11
years Um the amorization is important because these capital projects provide a long-term benefit 5 10 20 years So we're paying it off over you know those years We have an informal policy not to borrow more than we retire and we leave
enough room for additional borrowing So this is kind of when we had the national le settlement and we had to go before local finance board and they kind of you know told us we needed to pay a certain amount of that debt down in 2025 we were
able again to work it into our budget because we kind of have those cushions built in here Um we will probably look to issue bonds um later this year most likely early in uh 2026 And finally we have a graphical
presentation of our outstanding debt You see it goes down each year but again as we issue new debt we kind of will fill it in to keep it level in our budget All right And we're recommending that council adopts these two bond ordinances
tonight so our department heads can keep moving forward with our capital improvement We'll open it up now if anybody has anything Thank you very much Anyone uh do you ladies have anything you want to add before we ask Okay we just want to say that we're continuing
to improve our roads our drainage from year to year and we put money into capital for that which wasn't done way in the past Okay All right Anyone have a question or a concern Mr P
Hi I just wanted to know how do you come up with the um road improvement number So if you go back five years and you look at the road improvement number you know it fluctuates up and down So how how do you
actually get to that number I'm just wondering Our township engineer gives it to us Okay So it's figured in engineering You're talking about the curbing improvements and drainage and things like that Road not curbing but the road road Oh I'm sorry The road So all those
things It's based on the assessment that that Nicole us Okay Great So I believe in 23 22 or 23 they did a presentation of a five-year outlook of all the roads that needed resurfacing and they were kind of rated and things change Obviously things come up Roads you know
deteriorate maybe faster than originally anticipated So it you know roads are shifted off that list and moved up and things like that But the numbers that we put in here are based on the requests that that are put in by our township engineer and our team That answers my question Thank you very much
No I just wanted to um to thank you guys One of the the line items is something that council president and I have talked about in Manino Park the um cricket fields So I think it's great the expansion of that park as we kind of go forward It's a baseball facility I guess
theoretically now with pickle ball courts but as we expand it there's so much more land that we could utilize for um for our residents and the growing population that we have within the township that would utilize those cricket peels I think it'll be a nice addition to the park once it's done
I agree The the park has really expanded in in uh you know active recreation It's you know we have passive recreation facilities in town but this is a very active recreation And while the emphasis and the center of that park is baseball
and softball um you know we've had the dog park in there now We have the pickleball courts we have a playground we're going to have a new playground coming up we're the you know the the we're going to have a basketball court botchi court So there's a little bit for everyone Um I think we're addressing the needs You know one of the things that
Don mentioned and mayors mentioned is what the needs of our residents are And I think as growth and popularity of different sports and things grow we have to kind of go with the times And uh I think that's what we're doing And the fact that that park offers all that space for us to be able to continue
doing so is is really good And we could still have our Catrell Farm Park that's more of a passive recreation with you know some activities for the younger kids and things like that So it's it's good that we're able to have kind of that that sports facility um in a park atmosphere
We'll be adding a new playground in Manino The other one's going to be taken down It's going to be over by the ball fields It's going to be a baseball theme Very good Anyone Yeah Do you have any plans to do anything with Veterans Park It's become a disgrace
Is there plans for that So we've t we've talked about that Yes we have some money allocated for that as well Okay you know as as you may know we do have some vandalism issues at Veterans Park that we've tried to address um through putting up cameras and different things So I know that we're looking to redo the
tennis courts and things there So we hope that when we do that we're able to add additional um security whether it's fencing things that will prevent people from driving onto our fields Uh we have had people drive onto the soccer fields there Uh really it's it's a shame So yes
we we definitely will be looking We would like to make sure that all of our parks are have credible equitable services and and amenities that all of our facilities do So Okay Thank you very much No problem Okay Anyone else Are we good Anybody good Okay All right Well
thank you very much I think it was a very good presentation and I think you're always thinking ahead for the public What's good for them What's activities they like and I think this is a very very good budget So I will ask now for um a motion for bond ordinance
providing an appropriation of $6,15,000 for various improvements in and by the township of Oldbridge in the county of M Oh in the county of Middle Sex New Jersey and authorizing the issuance of
$5,86,600 bonds or notes of the township for financing part of this appropriation Do I have a motion Move it Okay So moved by Dr Greenberg second by Mr Murphy Yep I'm opening it to the public Is there anyone in the public who wishes to
be heard Thank you Min Coun Thank you Councilman uh Murphy for bringing up uh Veterans Park I'd like to know how much money they're they're allocating to it in the budget Does anybody have an idea We have some past funding I believe I I don't
know the top of my head the number for this year but I know that we've redone the roof at uh Veterans Park on the building recently and there's money allocated from previous years also for the court renovation as well So those are the projects we're going to start with Enhancement of security is also a
big part I know we added cameras I believe by the rec building Mark Matt right Correct So um we're going to continue working towards that Well I'm kind of surprised about you saying that there was vandalism because we live around the corner and I haven't seen any of that But that said um what about Ward
3 I don't think there's any park in W 3 What are you guys doing to look for land to provide parkland for the community in Ward 3 Madison Madison apartments you know Walmart uh
Lowe's is there things like that Has the town really thought about that I mean every other county every other board has a a neighborhood where they have something except for W three And so I by the way I appreciate you taking notes on that Um but it's really something to
look at because I know Vina was talking about a few weeks ago about the land that you guys were assessing to sell behind Oh gosh it's it's behind Route Nine It's It's on the other side of Route 9 towards Cheesequake State Park
There's there's an open space of land the town still owns I can't remember the the loca the exact location It's between um Pineville Pine Road and I believe you're talking about the Summers property which is the
contaminated landfill land No no no That's the one down the southern part That's the part the one that's next to the the all the contractors Excuse me Excuse me This is on specific the capital project So you have to stay on point if you made your point You're
right You're right So So I'd like to see the budget assign money in the capital budget and we'd like to see the numbers assigned for Veterans Park not just some you know and we'd like to see money assigned in the capital budget directly
to facilitate park area in Ward 3 and of course not contaminated land And if there is contaminated land you know that should be cleaned up But okay that's your Thank you Okay Thank you Thank you Council President Yep
Thank you Anyone else wish to speak on this Okay seeing no hands close the public portion And now we'll go to a roll call please Councilman Estatuli yes Councilwoman Daro yes Councilman De
Palama yes Councilman Desai yes Councilman Garcia yes Councilman Murphy yes Councilman Pas Giddy Yes Council Vice President Dr Greenberg Bell Yes And council president Yes Motion carries Okay Next will be bond ordinance providing an
appropriation of $75,000 for various arena utility improvements in and by the township of Oldbridge in the county of Middle Sex New Jersey and authorizing the issuance of
$71,200 bonds on notes of the township for financing part of the appropriation Move it Okay Move by Councilman Murphy second by Councilman Okay I'll open it to the public Is there anyone in the public who wishes to be
heard Okay seeing no hands I'll close the public portion and go for a roll call please Councilman Estatuli yes Councilwoman Daro yes Councilman De Palama yes Councilman Desai yes Councilman Garcia yes Councilman Murphy
yes Councilman Pascitti yes Council Vice President Dr Greenberg Bell yes Council President Sohar yes Motion carries Okay Thank you very much ladies Have a good evening Thank you Vicki Have a good night Approval of minutes Resolution approving
special meeting minutes for November 14th 2024 and the regular council meeting minutes of February 11th 2025 So I did just want to make a announcement that these minutes were
brought up um by Councilwoman Darro and Councilman Desai as to their comments on the on the record So I went back revised the minutes put their comments in and I'm putting them back up for a roll call
Okay Move it Okay Moved by Mr Murphy second by Mr Asichuli Mr Pasci or Mr Oh I'm sorry Was it Mr Pascetti I apologize Roll call Councilman Asatulli Yes
Councilwoman Daro Yes Councilman De Palama Yes Councilman Desai Yes Councilman Garcia Yes Councilman Murphy Stain Councilman Pasci Yes Council Vice President Dr Greenberg Bell Yes And
council president Sohar Yes Motion carries Bill list Mr Garcia H Yes Thank you A bill list as of April 8 2025 Accounts payable April 8 2025
5,568,152.65 Payroll March 28 2025 1,376,188.78 Payroll overtime March 28 2025 $35,6322 And that completes my report Thank you Thank you Uh Anna do you have a
breakdown for us please Yes There was no major upticks in our overtime The police overtime was $25,948.81 Deduct grants $8,5143 Deduct ETO $1,168.38 for a total of
$16,729 We have two officers currently on light duty Thank you Okay Thank you very much Do I have a motion Second Okay Moved by Mr Desai and second by Mr Murphy Roll call Councilman Acatuli Yes
Councilwoman Daro Yes Councilman De Palama Yes Councilman Desai Yes Councilman Garcia Yes Councilman Murphy Yes Councilman Pasitti Yes Council Vice President Dr Greenberg Bell Yes Council President Sohar Yes Motion carries Okay
Next will be public hearing and our adoption for the ordinance is for second reading H1 ordinance establishing hometown hero program in the township of Oldbridge county of Middle Sex state of New Jersey Do I have a motion Move it
Okay And moved by Dr Greenberg second was Mr Esatuli I'll open it to the public Is there anyone in the public who wishes to be heard on this second reading ordinance Seeing no hands I'll close the public portion and go to roll call Councilman
Asetuli Absolutely Councilwoman Daro Yes Councilman De Palama Yes Councilman Desai Yes Councilman Garcia Yes Councilman Murphy Yes Councilman Pascitti Yes Council Vice President Dr Greenberg Bell Yes Council President
Sohar Yes Motion carries Ordinance for first reading FR1 Ordinance amending town Old Bridge Township Code Chapter 10 entitled Vehicles and Traffic Do I have a motion Move it Do I have a second Second Okay Moved by
Mr Peskitti Second by Mr Jama Roll call Councilman Asetuli Yes Councilwoman Daro Yes Councilman De Palama Yes Councilman Desai Yes Councilman Garcia Yes Councilman Murphy Yes Councilman Peskitti Yes Council Vice President Dr
Greenberg Bell Yes And Council President Sohart Yes Public hearing set for April 22nd 2025 Thank you Consent agenda I would ask for a motion and a second Bring it forward and then separations Move it Second Moved by Dr Greenberg
Belli Second by Mr Peskitti Councilman Estatuli any items for separation No thank you Councilwoman Dicaro no thank you Councilman Depal no Councilman Desai no thanks Councilman
Garcia no thank you Councilman Murphy no thank you Councilman Pasitti no separations Thank you Council Vice President Dr Greenberg Bell separations thank you And Council President Sohar no thank you Okay So we'll vote on the entire consent agenda please Roll call
Councilman Asatuli yes Councilwoman Daro yes Councilman De Palama yes Councilman Desai yes Councilman Garcia yes Councilman Murphy yes Councilman Pascitti yes Council Vice President Dr Greenberg Bell yes Council President Sohar yes Motion carries Okay Report of
the township clerk I have um just a small uh request that uh we do have our uh county I'm sorry our elections uh people who who place our poll clerks they are looking for a few poll clerks
to fill a couple positions So if anybody is interested or they know anyone that's interested they could please reach out to the township clerk's office and we will pass the information along to the chairpersons Thank you very much Report attorney
Nothing new to report madam president Thank you Administrative report Anna thank you All right Number one Obridge to receive tonnage grant for recycling The state has awarded $16.2 million in grants to
communities across the state to help them enhance waste reduction and recycling programs The annual awards are based on 2022 recycling performance the most recent year for which this data this data is available We are excited to announce that Obridge Township will
receive 287,676966 which was the top amount awarded in Middle Sex County and one of the top five in the state I think this is a true testament to our uh public works and department and our recycling
coordinator and the recycling division they are always coming up with uh with innovative ways to uh recycle get the public excited about it all these different programs and and this is a true testament for that I mean the the numbers don't lie the data doesn't lie
So this is a a very big thing for us to be uh to be the top in the county Municipalities must use their funds for various recycling initiatives including enhancing recycling collection making updates to recycling centers sponsoring household hazardous waste events
providing recycling recepticles in public spaces and maintaining maintaining leaf disposal operation In addition to shaping recycling laws and rules this grant allows municipal recycling coordinators to attend community events to educate residents about recycling create a strong
recycling ethic at the community level and decrease the amount of waste disposed each day to improve the state's recycling rate Congratulations again to our public works department Draft 2025 2029 5-year consolidated plan and 2025 annual action
plan Obridge Township is prep preparing a draft 2025 to 2029 five-year plan and 2025 action plan for the fiscal year 2025 CDBG program These plans address and contain Obridge's housing and non-housing needs objectives proposed
projects and other requirement statements which will be available during the period of May 15 2025 through June 15 2025 for review and comments Residents may submit their comments by mail email telephone or in person Monday to Friday 8:30 a.m to 4:30 p.m Comments
will be accepted until April 30th 2024 The plan will be available for public inspection during regular township hours at the office of the business administrator and online at orbridge.com/pros On April 30th a public hearing will be held on the 2025 2029
5-year consil consolidated plan in the 2025 annual action plan at 1 p.m in the Obridge Township Administration building located at 1 Obridge Plaza Obridge New Jersey 08857 in the second floor conference room room 217 Interested
parties may attend the hearing and present their comments on the draft plan This is in regards to the CGBG funding that I mentioned earlier um during our budget presentation Number three Obridge Home Improvement Program If you live in Obridge on your home and your total gross annual
household income falls below the HUD income limit for h household size you may qualify to participate in the Obridge home improvement program Applying is completely free The funds are provided as an interest free deferred loan with no monthly payments required Your project will be monitored
by professional inspectors and the loan is only payable upon the sale or transfer of the property title For more information visit obridge.com/homeimprovement program Number four spring leaf collection The first round of spring leaf collection
will begin on Monday April 21st in all wards Paper leaf bags should be placed at the curb the night before and kept outside all week Please visit obridgeidge.com/recycling for the full schedule Number five Mayor's Health and Wellness 5K race to honor hometown
heroes The Mayor's Health and Wellness Council in collaboration with Allar Araround Oldbridge will be hosting a 5K race honoring our hometown heroes It will be held on Saturday April 26th at the municipal complex The race registration will start at 7:00 a.m and the race will and the race will start at
8 a.m Please note that due to this event the Obridge Library will have a delayed opening that day For more information as to register please visit obridgeidge.com/5k Finally medicine takeback event Turn in your unused or expired medication for safe disposal at
the medicine takeback event on Saturday April 26 at the municipal complex from 10:00 a.m to 2 p.m It will be a drive up and drop off event Epipens inhalers injectables syringes and introvenous solutions will not be accepted And this concludes my report
Thank you very much Anna Does anyone have any question or comment for Anna Okay seeing no hands I'll ask for a motion to approve Move it Moved by Dr Greenberg Belli Second by Mr Piscetti Roll call Councilman Asetula Yes
Councilwoman Daro Yes Councilman De Palama Yes Councilman Desai Yes Councilman Garcia Yes Councilman Murphy Yes Councilman Pascitti Yes Council Vice President Dr Greenberg Bell Yes Council President Sohart Yes Motion carries Okay
Public comment portion The public comment portion of our meeting is to allow the public to bring to the council's attention their concerns or comments This section is open for any topic or items in the consent agenda In accordance with NJSA 10 col4-12A and the Obridgeidge rules of
council the council asked the public to limit their comments to 3 minutes or less Only one member of the public shall approach to speak to council at a time The council will respect the public's time by refraining from any comment until the speaker has finished with their allotted time Should be further noted that the public comment portion of
our meeting is not structured as a question and answer session If a member of the public has questions they seek answers to an appointment can be made with the corresponding department's office during regular business hours The township clerk will regulate the time during the comment portion of our meeting As you approach the microphone
please state your name no addresses Okay Good evening Anyone in the public wish to be heard Hello good evening My name is Diego Allesandro I've been living in this town since the Reagan administration I grew up here While I did drop out of bridge
high school I would have been a part of the class of 2002 Growing up the only place in this town that I felt truly safe and accepted was at Old Bridge Public Library I met so many of my heroes there Musicians like Bruce Springsteen Woody Guthrie
Pete Seager great filmmakers like Frank Kapra authors and poets like Walt Whittmann It was the one place in town that I ever felt accepted I found myself at Old Bridge Public Library It's part of what made me the man I am today a man
who was a small business owner I've performed on stage with members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame I've graduated college after dropping out of high school as a sophomore I won national awards in my
major in college as an undergrad And all of that success all of that growth started at Obridge Public Library I just wanted to speak on their behalf the staff throughout the years that have been so kind to me and I hope that you
will join me in my neverending and undying support for the members of our library Thank you Yeah very nice Is there anyone else in the public who wishes to be heard Come forward please Good evening Uh good evening I my name is Paul Moravec and I
live in ward 6 caddy corner from Veterans Park Uh I've been a taxpayer and a resident of Oldbridge for 35 years now And uh I didn't speak during the budget portion but I did want to mention this one thing The reason I've been here for 35 years is because of the quality
of life the services provided and the fiscal responsibility that this town has provided to me and the only reason I really stayed here So I wanted to thank you for that Now the reason I'm here tonight to discuss a situation that's
impacted me personally my neighbors and also its broader implications on the township as a whole In February of last year residents at 1233 Englishtown Road was sold along with a treed residential lot that runs down Brunswick Avenue in
front of my home Over the course of the last 14 months the new owner Slick Rick LLC has used the property on Englishtown Road in uses that appear to be non-compliant with our township code I sent a message to Mr Murphy back in
December He forwarded that to the appropriate code and zoning officials and I wanted to publicly thank him for handling that so quickly However I'm really not here to discuss that matter further as that issue is still ongoing with township officials
What I wanted to discuss tonight is an issue on the tree lot and an unintended consequence of a modification to the tree ordinance chapter 457 of the Oldbridge Township Code In in 2023 an
exempted areas section was added 457-10 section E It's ordinance 2023-08 is amended 228 2023 What this exemption was intended to
do was improve Oldbridge Township's residents ability to manage their properties without having ownorous costs The comp the council should be complimented for trying to look out for us residents However bad actors have
seen how to exploit this exemption And this is what happened in front of our home I sincerely believe that the council would not have passed this amendment as written had they thought someone would have done what I'm about to describe The owner of the vacant tree lot across
from us block 26055 lots 185 to 191 obtained a tree removal permit and was granted that permit using the exemption clause chapter 45710 section E paragraph 3
FYI the owner of record on that property is the Vernon Boys LLC and it's owned and managed by the same person who owns Slick Rick LLC I'm sorry sir That's your three minutes Am I allowed more I did pass down um the
pictures that the gentleman had provided for everybody to take a look at my business card administrator if you want to follow up with me via email send me the pictures and the additional information as well I took notes of everything you've said but I would like
to hear the rest of that So Okay All right I didn't realize it was cut So that's okay I will make sure to share your comments with the rest of the council as well So if you want to email me everything I can share with the rest of them Okay When I was talking to Gary he said sometimes there might be a
little bit of liberty Okay Oh I feel bad Yeah she could finish You know ma'am you could have your wife get three minutes Miss Joitz can you I But please I'd like to if if we could let her go first No I
understand That's why I stopped Okay Thank you Thank you Yeah No thank you very much Okay Um Paul's white cat Yeah that's all I'm also I'm also a retired environmental science teacher So the fact that this
Slick Rick LLC clearcut the entire property uh 76 mature trees and some of them were overundred years old And as you can see from those pictures the stumps are still you know there Yeah Um my husband wants me to read the fact that he asked Dan Halahan of the zoning
zone how long Slick Rick and the Vernon boys had to restore the property meaning removing all those stumps It's been months It's been since before Christmas actually It looks hideous Uh he said that the ordinances currently in place didn't provide for that So we are left
with this property in this current condition As you can see you have pictures that you can ponder on Um the Vernon boys also might try to build a home there and they're going to require a lot of variances which who knows where
they'll get them Um so on top of that the owner doesn't even live there He lives um in Aberdine in Mammoth County I I guess it's a rental property Um it's it really looks like a disgrace And um
it would hope that we would hope that you would amend the tree or ordinance for future residents and find out when exactly this gentleman is going to do something with that property I mean you could see from the pictures that big plastic wrap around there It's blowing around in the bree breeze and the the
twigs are coming over into our yard and a young girl lives down the street She's afraid to walk down the block It's a dead end street I don't know if you're familiar with it And I don't even like to get the mail anymore because there's all kinds of crazy people doing work in the lot on a regular basis but nothing
ever seems to get done So um I hope that uh my husband will get in touch with uh Miss Feliz and give him the rest of the story on this but pardon me Can you read Can you read this right here So um yeah please amend the tree ordinance for the
future require a restoration with a certain time frame and actually more importantly require a comprehensive plan for the property Like where are all these permits coming from What's what's he doing with this property that runs on Englishtown Road and directly across the street from our home Thank
you for for bringing it forward We appreciate it and Anna will be naturally she'll be in touch with you Please make sure you email me just so that way I have your contact info and things like that Okay Okay Thank you Thank you Okay Good evening Thank you By the way there's a property like that on on
Pleasant Valley Road where they've clearcut several acres acres upon acres Murphy is is nodding Everybody knows about it We know it's disgusting Um that said I didn't want to talk about anything sad tonight I just wanted to make you guys aware that several weeks
ago I became the first licensed wildlife rehabilitator specialist here in Middle Sex County I'm the first licensed person in New Jersey in Middle Sex County in just shy of 30 years It's a volunteer job of course and I'm self-funded That
said I wanted to remind everybody that we do have an amazing animal shelter and we all work with them The staff is fantastic Everybody knows that these folks have been working with me and my mentor for many years And our town really does have a direct savings having a wildlife rehabilitator here in town
And in general anybody who has any concerns about wildlife they can reach out to me and they can always contact the shelter who will reach out to me And uh and rather than me giving my direct number right here now by the way congratulations on all the union contracts completed Congratulations on
getting a budget for our community Congratulations to public works on the money gotten Great Casey for you and the team Um as for all the residents I wish everybody a wonderful post Eid and peace to everybody A great Passover which is coming up as well as Easter which is
around the corner and hopefully spring will arrive soon Thank you Okay Thank you very much Does anyone else from the public wish to come up and be heard this evening Okay Seeing no hands I will close public portion and go to council
comments Councilman Asetuli Yes Thank you First obviously thank you to the administration for making Obridge the best budget and always putting Obridge first Number two I like the fact that obviously we have something going on to make America healthy again And the best part about it is when we build these
parks and build out all these outdoor activities it's good for the kids A lot of kids and adults are always on the phone but staying home moment It gives them an opportunity to get outside and get some action and get some movement which is very exciting I did want to take a moment to express my deep
appreciation for our new chief of police In just a short time he's shown exactly the kind of leadership that OBridge needs When situations arose that could have shaken our community he responded immediately with clarity strength and
care That kind of quick action doesn't just solve problems It builds trust And in Obridge trust matters Our community is safe not by chance but because of the hard work and dedication of the men and women who wear the badge We see you and
we appreciate you Public safety is just one part of the foundation we're building here in Oakridge Our responsibility as leaders is to stay focused on what truly matters Smart fiscal policy strong schools safe streets and solid infrastructure These
are the basics but they're everything That's what good government looks like and that's exactly what our party continues to deliver for the people of Old We're not here for politics We're here to serve And I thank you all for your time Thank you
Councilwoman Dero Thank you Kate Um so I had some comments I was going to make and I'm I'm going to choose to um not make them uh regarding some comments that were made last
meeting uh because they just won't make a difference What I will say though is that I will personally continue to work to serve the residents of Old Bridge regardless of anyone's opinion of me or the narrative they choose to portray of
me Um I would like to mention the Y event that I attended last week and they gave out some uh really great awards I think everybody knows uh Bob Weiss He received the legacy award Uh he was the
legacy award recipient Bob Weiss is a retired Marine Corps officer and he's also the former captain of the police department the community award recipient which I think is really great Muhammad Muhammad Nabi
he got the award for um through his foundation the Jimmy Jimmy Jimmy Foundation He provided funding for um the Wise uh swim program uh 35 third graders uh third grade students received
water safety uh instruction through um the efforts of Muhammad and um his foundation is very personal to him as he lost his nephew to a drowning incident and uh and he wanted to give back and he
created this and and you know a great example of giving back and keeping his nephew's memory uh alive Uh the service excellence award recipient went to the Oldbridge Y Health and Wellness chronic
disease team Um I meant to mention uh our speakers I like to do that first before I um Paul last name Moore Yeah Um I'm glad that you came I'm glad you spoke out I'm glad that you got you know the response I always tell people come
to a meeting you know share your concerns Um you know Anna is always very willing to help and and hear you So um I'm glad that you guys came and I'm glad that hopefully we'll have a resolution to your to your issue Diego uh the
library is the great is is the best I mean like you said you can go in there and just meet so many different people through books and and uh everything you know you just go in there and it's immersive and it's it's a wonderful place And uh Nina congratulations on
getting your um your wildlife license I know that you worked really really hard for that And uh the animals thank you And anybody anybody that um that needs help with animals they know who to go to
So congratulations for that Um that being said I just like to wish everyone a very happy Passover happy Easter Enjoy with your family and friends spring will be here hopefully and uh stay safe and enjoy Thank you Councilman
De Palama Thank you I just wanted to wish the Obridge High School indoor percussion um the best of luck I believe it's starting tomorrow the World Championships in Dayton Ohio Um so good luck They're
phenomenal group Hopefully this year they bring it back Um so good luck to all of them Also just wanted to bring to know with everybody um this past weekend was the start of a lot of the spring sports whether it was old bridge girls soccer um say with south baseball bunch
of other sports as well It was great to see all the the kids out there again even though Saturday coaching a soccer game in the rain was not exactly what I want to be doing but it was great to see all the kids back out there again um for the
spring Just a reminder and I'm sure everyone loves to hear this Tuesday is tax day 4:15 So everyone make sure that your taxes are filed Um and then everybody uh you know have a wonderful Passover uh wonderful Holy Week starting on Sunday with Palm Sunday and then a
very very happy Easter Thank you Councilman Desai Happy holidays to everyone Enjoy the holidays with the family stay together I'm keep saying from last two
meeting that winter is gone but this winter all winter is not going One day you feel you are in spring next again it come So I hope next time when we meet we
will have a good weather for good time Enjoy Thank you for participating in this event Councilman Garcia Yes Thank you I just want to again congratulate the mayor and
the team Dawn and Vicki and Anna and everybody and getting this budget passed Great job Again can't say it enough So thank you Also Casey we we never forget Casey Casey's always doing something great in this town Know him and his team
always doing something great It matters Well of course you can't exclude Matt but Casey you too Matt Good Yeah you too Good job Casey You and your You and your team Good job Every time we have money coming back it's a good thing So good
job Uh also Diego congratulations Good job I'm happy for you Good thing for the library Good thing Uh happy Passover Happy Easter And let's go Mets Oh my god You had to
get it out there That's gonna do it So guys have a good night Thank you Councilman Murphy Yes I just want to say it was a great job by everybody done on that budget Um
I will keep on Casey about getting Brunswick I saw him look at the pictures but that's a disgrace there And also West Greystone's got to be cleaned up Uh and congratulations uh Nina on your license And that's all I want to say Oh have a happy Easter and a happy Passover
Okay Councilman Pascetti No comment Thank you Council Vice President Dr Greenberg Bell Yes Thank you for bringing that situation with the trees to our attention Your husband is correct when
there are unintended consequences that or former environmental science chief also recently died three months Thank you Well we are bothers me Yeah I know It's very frustrating and it bothers us that that happened That ordinance was
not changed as you're as you both stated It was for the residents when they came up They would complain that they wanted to to put a deck or a pool in their yard that they it was very expensive for the trees and they want to do it Sometimes
you plant a tree and the tree dies also So there's problems you know the way you know whether in a storm or anything if it's too close to your house people are very concerned So with that I am sure we are going to address it but it was not intended for someone to obliterate a
property like that It's very frustrating when you think that Arbor Day is coming this April same time Earth Day Um so what happens um with the trees if you could imagine if everyone just planted one tree on their property what that
would do for the environment purifying the air cooling the environment Um it also is very discernment because trees are needed for drainage also So I am sure that we will be revisiting that ordinance and I am very upset that ha
that happened and um you know something I can assure you something will be done between our you know complaining coming here and bringing it to our attention but also with our business administrator the attorney etc And um we'll be
revisiting with our um engineer Nicole going over the um Mr Shapiro going over that ordinance and addressing it So I did want to say with the parks we pay attention to the whole town We do not
exclude any ward at all In in Veterans Park for example I know that we were all there when the basketball courts were resurfaced It is unfortunate I that there was a a skating um area also that was a skate
park that I know that was vandalized and damaged These are the problems you know that we have to deal with also So we look at every park and everything that has to get done In Ward three we redid Central Park with near
the Madison Park firehouse the girls softball league We assisted them helped them with the lighting and everything else So we do not just concentrate on one area where there is a need We certainly go out and we try to help them
I know I was uh friends with uh Councilman Reggie Butler who was a councilman in Ward 3 for 27 years Um and the bottom line is it has always been a problem over there as far as land and
what to do um how to get a park facility But anytime there is space and something we could do we will find a way to make an improvement And we are very fortunate during that time that now we have acquired Catrell Park Doesn't matter
where you are in the town you should go visit there because it is quite an amazing Even now with the ball new ball parks that we put in at Manino Park the girls softball league wants to go there because of the the space that they have
the fields and everything to use it So sometimes it's a a logistic situation Not that we're ever ignoring anywhere That is absolutely not the case and to even think that you go where you can do the best with the
resources that you have So we appreciate everyone bringing things forward and as you could see that we always try to move the town in the right direction We appreciate it and we will we will address that incident with the with these trees Thank you No one should do
that It affects the pro the properties next door for storm water runoff and it's very upsetting that someone would do that Take what was supposed to be intended for a good purpose and just ruin it Thank you
Council President Sohar Yeah I agree I mean we it we have to strike a balance with these ordinances and sometimes you know you try to make things better and then as you move forward you see there's a little here and there and then you come back and you revisit They're kind
of like a work in progress We want to try to help all the residents and balance out the finances with what what you know with the other things that are going on So hopefully you know this will be will be remedied Um also we are trying as as Dr green sake to put
recreation everywhere That's something that we that's our goal and I think the mayor and her administration have really moved forward in that direction and providing more for everyone It it's hard logistically sometimes but I think we really are achieving Uh it was opening
day this this Sunday that just passed and it was so nice to see again all the ball fields all the all the kids coming out especially the T-ball kids they're just running not really knowing where but they're coming out to have fun So that was a very very good thing The recck department had a dance program
this weekend um that Councilman de Palama's children participated in So there's so many so many good things that went on and you know are are there to enjoy So I hope everyone has a great holiday be it Passover be it Easter and everybody just enjoy family and each
other And hopefully you know we will see you again in May Have a great night Mary can I I'm sorry Council President can I just add something really quickly Just a couple things that were touched upon Councilman Murphy um Councilman Depal had reached out to me about two weeks ago about West Greystone and uh as well
as a resident actually reached out to me this morning and I was working with our engineering team and public works Uh so public works already went out there today They're going to be doing a litter cleanup tomorrow and Casey's going to be working with engineering to go look at how we can uh temporarily fix and and
address some of the the road issues And I believe that it is on the 2025 resurfacing list So I already advised the resident of the same And then as far as uh touching on council vice president's comments regarding WI 3 and the park uh situation our as as Dr Green
Bell I mentioned all of our parks are open to everyone Everyone can get a permit to go play at Manino one of our fields Anyone can go to at G Park any of those things It's open to everyone It's not just for one group one individual one resident one ward It's open to
everybody So please I encourage all of you if if you have interest and and want to rent out facilities or anything like that please make sure to reach out to our parks and recck department Thank you Yeah Thank you Thank you very much Anyone else Mayor did you want to add anything or you're good Okay All right
Very President I just want to apologize for my to my daughter who was in the dance recital that I didn't remember to say that So Briana I'm very sorry Okay So we're going to take a motion to enter into executive session We will be
returning after uh to come back into public portion So it's a resolution to exclude the public for contract negotiations for ask me local 3231-3 and contract negotiations of agreement in which township is or may
become a party Attorney client privilege discussion Can I get a motion Second move by Dr Greenberg Oh I second by who seconded down there Roll call Councilman Asatuli Yes Councilwoman Daro Yes Councilman De
Palama Yes Councilman Desai Councilman Garcia yes Councilman Murphy Councilman Pasitti yes Council Vice President Dr Greenberg Bell And Council President Sohar yes Okay Well what are we doing to have someone make a motion to come
back in to public section Move it Moved by vice president Second Second by Councilman Dealma Roll call Councilman Asatuli Yes Councilwoman Daro Yes Councilman De Palama Yes Councilman Desai Yes Councilman Garcia Yes
Councilman Murphy Yes Councilman Pasitti Yes Council Vice President Dr Greenberg Belli Council President Dr Greenberg Bell Yes Yes Council President Sohar Yes Okay Okay Back into open session 10:15 p.m All right Very good Okay Next will
be um excuse me Resolution ratifying and improving memorandum of agreement between the township of Oldbridge and AFSCME local
3231-3 2025 through 2028 Move it Second by Dr Greenberg Belli Second by Councilman Pasitti Roll call Councilman Asu Yes Councilwoman Daro Yes Councilman De Palama Yes Councilman Desai Yes
Councilman Garcia Yes Councilman Murphy Yes Councilman Pasitti Yes Council Vice President Dr Greenberg Belli Yes And Council President Sohar Yes Okay Next I'll take a motion to adjurnn Move it Move it Second Moved by Councilman Deal
Second by Councilman Pasitti Roll call Councilman Acatuli Yes Councilwoman Daro Yes Councilman De Palama Yes Councilman Desai Yes Councilman Garcia Yes Councilman Murphy Yes Councilman Pasitti Yes Council Vice President Dr Greenberg
Belli Council President Sohar Yes Thank you Have a good evening Meeting adjourned at 10:16 p.m